These gluten-free sourdough crescent rolls are literally the BEST you have ever tasted! Thanks to a special blend of gluten-free flour, they are flaky, fluffy and so delicious.
Nobody would ever know they are gluten-free or sourdough… They are so mild in flavor and perfect for serving on their own or with chicken salad in between them.
Gluten-Free Sourdough Crescent Rolls
I can’t even tell you guys how amazing these gluten-free sourdough crescent rolls are! We knew from the moment we started our gluten-free sourdough starter that we were going to use it to make these FIRST! You guys love our regular gluten-free crescent rolls so much that it seemed like the right way to start.
Both these and our regular gluten-free version are made from our BEST gluten-free cinnamon rolls base. So you know they are going to be good! After years and years of working on this gluten-free crescent rolls recipe, my amazing mama finally perfected it; so it was my honor to work on a sourdough version.
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I can’t say enough about how talented my mom is. In our cookbook, Gluten-Free on a Budget, she created 70% of the recipes. Including her famous flaky pie crust that can be rolled out and sliced into a lattice piecrust (which we will work on with our sourdough starter as well).
The secret to these rolls lie in the technique. Grating the butter into the dough and then folding it vertically and horizontally give the end products layers of buttery goodness.
While this is an extra step, it’s the key and totally worth it. They are great on their own or wonderful served up with our creamy Instant Pot Creamy Italian Chicken.
Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
I’d heard sourdough starters are way better than commercial yeast so I really wanted a truly sourdough gluten-free starter. One that would be suitable to me since I have celiac disease and for others who need it for their gluten-free diet. Since I had no experience, I figured it was time to take on the challenge myself.
We started this journey over on our Instagram page where we share our entire journey as we made THREE different gluten-free sourdough starters. Each was very different in consistency and yielded a slightly different end product.
One of the starters was extra tangy and sour in our crescent rolls. I now know it was because in that one, the hooch collected at the bottom and rarely got dumped out but rather stirred in. The other two starters made excellent rolls as well and neither even tasted of sourdough!
But starting one is very simple. We’ve tried with brown rice only, sorghum flour, a mix of my gluten-free flour and a Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF flour and all worked great but my family’s favorite was the brown rice starter.
You can get creative and use teff flour, buckwheat flour, or even organic brown rice flour in your starter. Remember though, starches like corn starch, cassava flour or blends with xanthan or guar gum don’t work for creating a good sourdough starter.
“Feed” your wild yeasts starter every 24 hours for the first seven days. We show you exactly how to take care of your gluten-free sourdough starter here.
Can I make these with gluten-free all-purpose flour?
While I think the best results for this homemade sourdough bread are made by using the flours listed in this recipe, we’ve also used a GF all-purpose flour and it works just fine.
Just know, the taste may not be AS good as when blending flours like in the recipe. These measurements have been tested over and over to get the crescent rolls just perfect.
Make sure if you use GF all-purpose flour, you avoid ones with bean flour. Also, check if it has Xanthan gum because you would then omit that if so.
How to make gluten-free sourdough crescent rolls
Place 2 T milled chia and 1/2 C warm water in a cup, let soak 2 minutes. Using a sturdy mixer with the paddle or dough hook attachment, combine all dry ingredients including flours, starches, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, sugar and gelatin in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Slowly add the coconut oil, butter, soaked chia, eggs and apple cider vinegar to the flour mixture in stand and combine until well blended. Add in the “fed” gluten-free sourdough starter.
AT THIS POINT, LET THE BREAD DOUGH RISE IN A WARM PLACE IN THE BOWL FOR 8 HOURS
Grate the butter on to the disc then fold vertically and horizontally a few different times.
Roll the dough out into a big circle disc shape on counter or saran wrap heavily sprinkled with white rice flour. Using a pizza wheel, cut into triangle shaped pieces like you would pizza.
Rollup each piece into the crescent shape, rolling from large end to small end. Place on a cookie sheet at least two inches apart. Let them rise for 1 hour on bread proof or 100 degrees.
Bake for approximately 18 minutes at 350 degrees, depending on how dark you like them.
Pro Tip: Brush on more melted butter after they come out of the oven if desired.
How do I make sourdough more mild or stronger in flavor?
To make sourdough baked goods stronger in flavor, stir in the hooch or liquid that has collected on top. When you go to feed it you will see this on top. The more often you stir in the hooch each time you feed your starter, the stronger sourdough flavor you will get.
If you want a more mild sourdough flavor that you can hardly taste, pour out the hooch, that you see with the fermentation process on your starter culture, before feeding and using the starter. The more you pour it off before feeding, the more mild tasting your sourdough starter will be.
Can you make these dairy-free?
Yes, you definitely can make them dairy free! Just be sure to use full-fat canned coconut milk in place of the regular milk. The high fat content in it makes them turn out great.
Also, you will need to use dairy-free butter sticks when grating onto the dough. Earth Balance has some that I’ve heard work very well.
How do I store these gluten-free crescent rolls?
These rolls are fantastic right out of the oven nice and warm, but they are also good at room temperature the next day.
Once they have cooled, you should store them in an airtight container. They are good for up to 5 days but are best within the first 3 days.
Do they freeze well?
You can also make a double batch and freeze them. You make the crescent rolls up until the point where you are going to let them rise for the second time and instead, place them on a baking sheet and flash freeze for 1 hour then place in a freezer bag.
When you are ready to cook them, just pull them out of the freezer and place them in the oven on bread proof or 100 degrees for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes to rise. Then bake them as directed.
What sourdough bread is gluten-free?
The answer is simply, only those made with a gluten-free sourdough starter AND with entirely gluten-free ingredients. Our gluten-free sourdough bread is delicious and is perfect for making gluten-free sandwiches when made in a loaf pan.
You can also make it in a dutch oven or cast iron skillet lined with parchment paper for a more rustic loaf.
While regular sourdough bread does have significantly less gluten than regular bread, it is still NOT gluten-free as it does contain gluten.
More gluten-free bread recipes
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Gluten-Free Sourdough Crescent Rolls
Ingredients
- 3/4 C brown rice flour
- 3/4 C white sticky flour sweet rice flour
- 3/4 C tapioca starch
- 3/4 C potato starch
- 1/2 C arrowroot powder
- 3 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 3/4 C sugar
- 1 tsp gelatin
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 C coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 C butter, melted
- 2 tbsp ground or milled chia
- 1/2 C warm water
- 1 lb frozen or cold refrigerated butter
- 2 C live, "fed" gluten-free sourdough starter
Instructions
- Make sure to freeze or refrigerate 1 lb of butter that can be grated
- Place 2 T milled chia and 1/2 C warm water in a cup, let soak 2 minutes
- Meanwhile, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine all flours, starches, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, sugar and gelatIn
- Add the soaked milled chia, eggs, coconut oil, 1/ C melted butter, live gluten-free sourdough starter and apple cider vinegar slowly to the flour mixture and combine until well blended about 3-4 minutes
- At this point, let dough rise for 8 hours in a bowl
- Roll the dough out into a big circle disc shape on counter or saran wrap heavily sprinkled with white rice flour
- Grate the frozen or cold butter on to the disc then fold dough horizontally and vertically a few times until the butter is incorporated in
- Using a pizza wheel, cut into triangle shaped pieces like you would pizza
- Rollup each piece into the crescent shape (rolling from large end to small end)
- Place on a cookie sheet at least two inches apart
- Let rise for 1 hour on bread proof or 100 degrees
- Bake for approximately 18 minutes at 350 degrees, depending on how dark you like them
- Brush on more melted butter after they come out of the oven if desired
Tara says
I’ve made your regular GF crescent rolls and love them! These are such a delicious variation – I love the sourdough!
Chandice says
Thanks, so glad you love both of them!