Gluten Free Back to School Sandwiches
Aaaaah there’s nothing like that mix of nervousness and excitement the night before the first day of going back to school.
There’s also nothing like having to think about what your kids are going to eat at school especially when one of them is Celiac! I’m sure SOME of you will relate, right?
While our school does provide gluten-free lunch options (along with other allergy-friendly meals), we felt they were a bit limited. We wanted our kiddo to have fun, tasty, and reliable lunch choices.
And let’s be real—if you’ve been gluten-free for more than five minutes, you already know: gluten-free bread is expensive, comes in small quantities, and has a short shelf life unless you freeze it.
They are really good options out there like Canyon Bakehouse’s Brioche-Style rolls but again, we are talking seven dollars for six rolls. That kind of math doesn’t work for our family. So, I went with the alternative of making my own bread, that way I can make my own version of gluten-free “Lunchables” and become a Youtube Billionaire.
This recipe is based on the Brioche burger buns recipe that can be found in the book The Elements of Baking by Katarina Cermelj. Is the #1 Book sold in Amazon for the Gluten-Free diets category, so… yeah… it’s good.
The first time I made this recipe I couldn’t believe how spongy and delicious these breads came out! Everyone in my family eats them which makes it way easier for us to plan meals for both our kids now.
Before you go into the recipe and stop reading such an engaging blog post, there are a few observations I want you to remember:
- Yields plenty: This recipe makes about 17–20 sandwich breads, depending on size. Since I’ve got two small kids, I usually end up on the higher end of that range.
- Don’t panic about size: You’re using yeast (I prefer active dry yeast for this bread), so the buns will double during proofing and puff up even more in the oven. They may look small at first, but they’ll get there.
- It’s a process—but worth it: This recipe takes time and has multiple steps. Read everything through before starting, and don’t rush it. I promise the results will blow you away.
- Trust me, use a scale:
- Freezer-friendly: You can freeze assembled sandwiches! I take them out in the morning, toss them in the lunchbox, and by noon they’re soft, fresh, and delicious.
I used to dread packing lunches. It always felt like a stressful guessing game. But now? Sundays are baking days. The house smells amazing, my kids get excited, and we all win.
This recipe didn’t just solve lunch—it turned it into something joyful. And I hope it does the same for you and your family.
Gluten Free Back to School Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 20 g whole psyllium husk
- 280 g lukewarm water
- 230 g tapioca starch or flour
- 135 g 1 cup millet flour, plus extra for flouring the surface
- 60 g sorghum flour
- 50 g white sugar
- 8 g instant yeast or 10 grams if you are using active dry yeast, NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO ACTIVATE IT FIRST
- 8 g baking powder
- 7 g xanthan gum
- 12 g salt
- 120 g whole milk lukewarm
- 2 eggs medium temperature
- 50 g sunflower oil or other neutral-tasting oil
Instructions
Making the dough
- If you are using active dry yeast, you need to activate it first. Mix the yeast with the lukewarm milk and one tablespoon of the sugar and set aside for 5-10 minutes. You will mix it later with the WET ingredients.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk all the dry ingredients together: the tapioca starch, millet flour, sorghum flour, sugar, instant yeast (ONLY IF USING INSTANT YEAST), baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
- Make the psyllium gel: In a bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and lukewarm water. After about 30-45 seconds, a gel will form.
- Add the milk, eggs and oil to the psyllium gel, and the yeast (ONLY IF YOU HAD TO ACTIVATE IT FIRST), mix well to combine.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add all the wet ingredients.
- Knead the dough until smooth and all the ingredients are evenly incorporated,I suggest using a stand mixer but you can do it by hand too.
- If using a stand mixer, use a rubber spatula to occasionally scrape along the sides and bottom of the bowl to prevent any dry patches of unmixed flour.
- Mix for 4-5 minutes.
- The final dough will be sticky but don’t worry, you’ll be adding flour to the surface later so please don’t add any more flour or water to your dough.
Shaping and Proofing the buns
- Place the dough onto a generously floured surface (with millet flour), and dust the top of the dough with flour as well. Kneed it a bit and divide the dough into 12-15 equal balls (Note: depending on how big of a bun you want, you can make less balls, but remember, these buns grow!)
- Arrange the buns on a large lined baking sheet, making sure that they're spaced as far apart as possible, and cover them with a sheet of plastic to prevent them from drying.
- Set a timer for 45 minutes.
- When the timer is up, preheat the oven to 375ºF and set a second timer for 45 minutes.
Baking the buns!
- Bake the buns for about 14-15 minutes in the middle rack until the burger buns are deep golden brown on top
- When done, transfer the burger buns onto a wire rack to cool.
Note: You can find a list of the flours I use and other baking essentials in the My Favorite Things section of this site.