Gluten Free Italian Torpedo Rolls

I’m pretty excited about these Italian Torpedo Rolls!  When I was a kid, we always had them, fresh from the Italian bakery at every party and family gathering.  I can still remember tearing one apart, the chewy texture of the crust giving way to the soft pillowy white bread inside.  This recipe is as close as I have ever come to replicating those bakery rolls.

Yes, they are gluten free!

You are going to love this recipe!  

Just 5 ingredients!  Mix up the dough, rest on the counter overnight and bake in the morning.  Use a stand mixer, or don’t!  Try it and see if anyone can guess that these rolls are gluten free.

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About the flour

My bread friends know that I am a big fan of Better Batter flour for bread baking.  So, which one is my favorite?  Their Artisan Flour Blend is at the top of my list.  It produces incredible breads with great flavor and texture every time.  But their new Bread Flour is a star in its own right, especially if you want a true white bread.

This recipe is another of my experiments with blending these 2 flours together.  I really think I have hit on the perfect flavor and texture of Italian Bread that I was looking for.  You can use all bread flour if preferred.

Remember to use my Promo Code MGFC30 when you shop at Better Batter, for 30% off full price items!

Enough talk, time to bake!

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Weigh all the ingredients (yes, even the water, use a scale!).  Combine the flours, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk well.  Add the water and beat for 6 minutes on low speed with the paddle attachment.

No stand mixer?  You can combine everything in a large bowl with a dough whisk.  Be sure to turn the dough over on itself a few dozen times, while rotating the bowl to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated.

Now cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it on the counter (room temperature) overnight for 12-13 hours.  I like to make my dough around 8pm, then shape the rolls while I’m having coffee the next morning, around 9am.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 475º with a baking stone on the middle rack.  Turn the dough out onto an oiled cutting board.  Use a bench knife to divide it into 4 sections.

Flour your work surface and gently roll each section into a torpedo shape (oval with tapered ends).  Arrange them on a lightly floured baking sheet lined with parchment or use a perforated loaf pan.  Score the rolls with a sharp knife or a lame positioned at an angle.

Place in the oven and spray the rolls and sides of the oven with water to create steam.  Bake for 35 minutes at 475º, then remove from the pan and bake directly on the stone during the last 10 minutes.

Rolls are done baking when the internal temperature reaches 210º.  The crust should be firm and dry, and you will get that hollow sound when you give the rolls a sharp tap.  Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

Wait for at least 8 hours and up to one day before slicing.  Remember that bread, especially gluten free bread continues to release moisture when it comes out of the oven, so you want to give it plenty of time for the center of the loaf to fully set!

You are going to have a hard time waiting for these rolls, but I promise it will be worth your patience!

At long last, it’s time for tasting.  These rolls are generously sized.  Just like the bakery rolls of my youth.  And back then, I could devour an entire roll in minutes!  Here I’ve just sliced one up for dipping and to show you the crumb.

What would you do with a homemade, hot out of the oven Italian roll like this?  Dip it in olive oil, or slather with garlic butter and toast it?  Slice it thin for bruschetta?  Maybe load it up with veggies, cold cuts and cheese to make a panino (a/k/a sub, hoagie)!  And for big appetites, you can serve them as dinner rolls (mop up that sauce!) or sandwich rolls.

However you choose to enjoy them, these rolls are delicious!

Variation: Instead of torpedo rolls, shape the dough into 6 round bulky Italian rolls.  You will be the envy of the BBQ!  Be sure to adjust the bake time to 25 minutes.

Notes ♪♫ Like most breads, these rolls are best when eaten within 1-2 days.  I recommend freezing any left over after the first day.  You can reheat them in the microwave, but they will have the best their texture when toasted.

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Gluten Free Oatmeal Bread

How are you feeling about oats these days?  As someone with Celiac Disease, I am comfortable with consuming oats that are both certified gluten free and purity protocol (see notes).  If you are one who can have oats, then this bread needs to be in your breakfast rotation!  It is a hearty, dense loaf that toasts up like a dream.   It is so good, everyone in your family will love it, gluten free or not!

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Ingredients:

Hint-I always have gluten free old fashioned rolled oats (not instant) in my pantry, so that when I need oat flour, I can just process a little in my coffee grinder and voila, fresh flour! 

Uncle Crumbles Oats are certified gluten free and purity protocol!

Preparation:

Place a pizza stone on the shelf just below the middle of the oven and preheat to 450º.  Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan (1.25 lb.) with parchment and/or mist the bottom and sides with cooking spray (using parchment will give you a lighter colored loaf).

This loaf is lighter in color; it was baked in a pan lined with parchment paper.

Warm the milk for 60 seconds in the microwave.  Add to the bowl of your stand mixer then whisk in the honey and yeast.  Cover and let it stand for 10 minutes then whisk in the vinegar and psyllium husk.  Let the mixture rest for about 5 more minutes to thicken.

Whisk together the dry ingredients (sorghum flour through salt).

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with the paddle attachment for 8 minutes to form a thick batter.

Carefully scrape the dough into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula dipped in warm water.  Be sure to spread it out evenly into the corners.  Cover with plastic wrap and proof for about 30 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and liberally spray the top of the bread with water.  Sprinkle rolled oats over the top and mist with water again to help them adhere.  Notice the dough hasn’t risen much.  That is normal for this recipe, but you should get a nice oven spring.

Score the dough.  I like to make one long slash down the center.  Place in the oven on the preheated pizza stone and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, carefully turn the pan on its side.  Continue baking for another 10 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 400º then reverse the pan to the other side.  Continue baking for another 10 minutes.

Hint: This bread is prone to the dreaded “tunneling effect”, where the loaf separates and leaves a large gaping hole through the top or center of the loaf.  The simple technique of rotating the pan from side to side during baking eliminates this problem.  *See notes.

Return the pan to the original position.  If browning too quickly, cover the top with foil.  Bake 10 more minutes (total bake time is 50 minutes) or until the internal temperature reaches 210º.

Remove from the oven and place the loaf on a cooling rack.  If you used parchment paper, let it cool down for 10 minutes then gently peel it off.

This bread needs plenty of time to set, at least 8 hours!  Even better, leave it covered at room temperature overnight and slice in the morning.  Resist the urge to cut into it right away, or the bread will be gummy in the center.

This loaf is darker in color; it was baked directly in the pan with no parchment paper.

Your patience will be rewarded.  Here’s the crumb shot!

Notes ♪ I am one of those people with Celiac who is able to tolerate oats.  I realize that not everyone can and that this bread may just not be for you.  Whether or not you choose to consume oats is a personal choice.  If you do, always use Purity Protocol oats, meaning oats that have been grown, harvested, transported, produced and packaged under strict standards to prevent contamination with gluten.  When the Bakery on Main was recently rebranded as Uncle Crumbles, I reached out to them to confirm that their oats would still be purity protocol, and I was happy to receive their response that “that all Uncle Crumbles products do in fact use Purity Protocol Oats”.

Notes ♫ In ‘bread-speak’ this is what is referred to as “tunneling”.  Huge holes running through a loaf of bread, usually along the top.  By rotating the pan from side to side during baking, the dough distributes evenly, and you will have a nice consistent crumb throughout.

Originally posted 09/02/2022, Updated 09/18/2025

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Gluten Free Sourdough Discard Zucchini Bread

If you are of a certain age, you had that cookbook.  Maybe you still have a copy, the one with the checkerboard cover that every new bride had to have in her kitchen.  The recipes were straight forward and always tasted great.  No pictures, no stories, just ingredients and instructions.

This recipe is adapted from that same book; it’s an old favorite of mine that I used to make all the time before my Celiac diagnosis.

Why Sourdough Starter?

To adapt this quick bread to be gluten free, I knew that some additional liquid would be needed.  I considered things like yogurt, sour cream or applesauce.  But I had my starter in the fridge waiting to be fed so….

The Flour

I used Better Batter original blend in my recipe, converted at 130 g. per cup.  It is my favorite flour for making muffins and quick breads!

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Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens® New Cookbook (the not so new version 😂).

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

  • 195 g. gluten free all-purpose flour (about 1-1/2 cups)
  • 1.3 g. cinnamon (1 tsp.)
  • 3.3 g. baking soda (1/2 tsp.)
  • 1.6 g. salt (1/4 tsp.)
  • .75 g. baking powder (1/4 tsp.)
  • .6 g. nutmeg (1/4 tsp.)

Wet Ingredients

  • 105 g. granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
  • 47 g. brown sugar (1/4 cup)
  • 65 g. sourdough discard (1/4 cup)
  • 50 g. canola oil (1/4 cup)
  • 50 g. egg (1 large)
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1/2 medium)
  • zest of 1/2 lemon
  • pecan halves (optional)

Preparation:

For best results, I strongly recommend that you weigh your ingredients.  Traditional cup and spoon measurements are provided as well, but at the very least always weigh the flour.

Whisk the wet ingredients together in one bowl, and the dry ingredients in another.  Use a batter whisk to stir the wet and dry ingredients together, just until moistened.

Scrape the batter into a standard 1 lb. loaf pan misted with oil.

💡 Let the batter rest while you preheat the oven to 350º.

You can optionally add some pecan halves to the top like I did.

Bake for 45 minutes and test with a toothpick.  Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Remove from the pan and let it cool before slicing.

Check out the crumb, it came out so delicious and moist.  Every bit the traditional zucchini bread, and you don’t really taste the sourdough.

Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for a day.  Beyond that, I recommend you wrap slices tightly in plastic wrap and freeze (store in a freezer safe bag).

Notes ♪♫ For moist quick breads with no gritty texture, be sure to let the batter rest for 15 minutes before baking.

© Better Homes & Gardens

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Gluten Free Pumpkin Sour Cream Pancakes

With fall days arriving there are pumpkin recipes popping up everywhere.  I have my own traditions, like the Gluten Free Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins that I make every year.  Then there’s Gluten Free Pumpkin Pasta, Harvest Sauce and even Pumpkin Meatballs!

This post started as one of those “use it up” recipes.  I had just a little bit of sour cream, and a little pumpkin puree left over.  You know I hate to throw anything away. 😉 So who wants pancakes?

The recipe makes a small batch, breakfast for two.  I ended up with 5 full size pancakes and one mini pancake.  You can double or triple the recipe for a large family, or if you want extra to freeze for later.

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Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

Wet ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp. canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2/3 cups milk (I used 2%)

+ Butter for the griddle

Preparation:

Preheat your griddle.  Be sure that it is nice and hot before you begin cooking. (Hint💡 Ever wonder why that first pancake is always “a little funny”?  The reason may be that your griddle wasn’t hot enough!)

Set up 2 bowls, whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl (I strongly recommend that you weigh the flour), and the wet ingredients in the other.  Stir the wet and dry ingredients together, just until moistened.

Melt butter 1 tbsp. at a time on the griddle.  Scoop batter by 1/3 cups and add to the griddle, leaving space in between.

Cook for 5 minutes then flip.  Cook 3-5 more minutes.  Keep in mind that gluten free pancakes take longer to cook than regular pancakes.  Check if they are done by inserting a toothpick in the center.  If it comes out dry, they are ready.

If you have a little batter left over at the end, you can make a test pancake, here’s mine.  Just one bite!

You can serve the pancakes immediately or freeze for later.  I let mine cool completely on a rack, then wrapped them separately and stored in freezer safe bags.

They reheat beautifully, about 75 seconds in the microwave.  So, who’s ready for breakfast?

Notes ♪♫ I confess, I like a nice pumpkin on the front porch, but in the kitchen, I prefer out of the can.  It’s just easier and I think it tastes better. 🤷🏻‍♀️Look for canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling).  Pumpkin should be the only ingredient.  I used Libby’s.

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