No Mozzarella dough here! These buns are powered by yeast.
And L O V E
Hunger Buns
Or hunger busting buns, which would be more accurate and slightly less creepy!
Today we are talking about “buns of cinnamon” and breaking down the barriers of gluteny breakfast bread, one roll at a time. And though these might not be identical to the bakery-style cinnamon rolls you used to indulge in, these keto yeast cinnamon rolls will absolutely give you the flavor and sweet yeasty aroma that your bun-loving heart desires.
Plus, they are way more filling!
Completely Honest & Transparent
Texture Assessment
Texture is (in my opinion) the number one complaint in gluten-free or keto baking so I want to be VERY clear in what this recipe will produce. It’s a two-way street, friends. I owe you that much!
These rolls are a texture somewhere near a dense cake, meaning they are going to be light with a soft crumb and a crustier exterior. That’s because the yeast, baking powder, and egg white are doing a lot of leavening but there’s still no gluten structure to trap enough air to simulate “super soft” bread. Now, there is an ingredient, whey protein isolate, that acts like gluten in baked goods, but my digestive system starts rebelling when I add too much whey protein isolate to my diet.
Luckily, these rolls take pretty basic gluten-free/keto ingredients that you probably have lying around your pantry!
Rolling Tips, So You Don’t Go On A Murderous Rampage.
Because this dough has to be wet enough to bake into a soft cinnamon bun, it’s also very sticky to work with.
My best advice is to use plastic cling wrap above and below the dough when rolling it out to prevent an annoying and sticky mess.
Then, you can use the cling wrap to slowly roll it (again) into a log of dough. After that, make sure you have a sharp knife and a cup of water handy!!!
To slice, dip the knife into the water and gently cut through the dough to make your cinnamon rolls. The water keeps the dough from sticking, so dunk it every single time you remove the knife from the dough. Trust me, it works!
Before you try it, watch this Step by step video and bake along with me!
(Pretty Easy!) Keto Yeast Dough Cinnamon Rolls
Your kitchen will smell like a bakery that had a freak cinnamon explosion that it never fully recovered from. Zero casualties though.
The pan you choose to bake your rolls in can be round or square. Just make sure you line the bottom with parchment to discourage bun-loss due to sticking. #stickybuns
Obviously ice them with a mixture of cream cheese, butter, and powdered erythritol (swerve or another brand). A splash of vanilla never hurts either.
A splash of bourbon might be considered if you are adventurous (like me) or love bourbon (also me).
Other important notes and stuff
- It’s imperative that you make sure all of the ingredients are room temperature so the yeast will work it’s magic.
- If you forgot to leave your eggs out and you are super horny for cinnamon rolls, make a warm water bath that your mixing bowl will sit comfortably in.
- Then, crack your eggs in there and beat the mixture. By the time you’re done, the eggs will be warm enough to use!
- The yeast rise time is up to you. The longer you let the dough rise, the stronger the yeast flavor becomes, which can be good or bad depending on your taste buds.
(Pretty Easy!) Keto Yeast Dough Cinnamon Rolls
Gluten Free yeast cinnamon rolls that are worth the hassle!
Ingredients
Cinnamon Rolls
- 2 cups Super Fine Almond Flour
- 2 tbsp Coconut Flour
- 1 packet Dry Active Yeast
- 1/3 cup Granulated Erythritol or sweetener of choice
- 2 tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 large Eggs, room temp
- 1 large Egg White, room temperature
- 3 tbsp Warm Water
- 1 tsp Molasses or Sugar, for the yeast
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 2 tbsp Butter melted and cooled
- 2 level tablespoons Greek Yogurt or 1 tablespoon Sour Cream
Cinnamon Sugar Mix
- 4 tbsp Granulated Sweetener
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon or to taste
Icing
- 4 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1/4 cup Powdered Erythritol like Swerve
Instructions
WATCH the video (it's long but helpful!) on how to make these rolls and what the dough should look like!
- Proof the yeast by adding the water, yeast, and a tsp of sugar or molasses to a small dish. Let it hydrate for 5 minutes.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients except for the sweetener (almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt) in a large bowl and reserve.
- By hand or with a stand mixer, beat the room temp eggs, vanilla, butter, greek yogurt, yeast, and sweetener until combined.
- Add half of the flour mixture to incorporate, folding with a spatula or with the mixer running.
- Add the rest of the flour mixture and continue mixing until a wet sticky dough forms. If it isn't coming together, use a silicone spatula to really mix it. You need the flours to absorb the liquid!
- Place the dough on a sheet of plastic cling wrap and cover the top with a second sheet. Roll out the dough to approximately 1-inch thickness.
- Sprinkle the dough with cinnamon and sugar and using the edge of the plastic wrap, begin to roll the long edge of the dough into a log. It will be VERY sticky so use the plastic to gently roll it up, working from side to side.
- Slice the dough with a sharp knife into 12 rounds and arranged in a parchment-lined baking pan and lightly cover with a towel to rise for at least 30 minutes. Make sure the area is warm (not hot!).
- Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, checking for excessive browning. If they are browning too soon, gently cover the pan with foil to prevent burning.
Icing
- Beat together the icing ingredients until smooth.
- Once the rolls have cooled, smear them with an obscene amount of frosting and serve!
Notes
When Rising you can choose how long to let the rolls rise. The longer the rise, the more volume and the stronger the yeast flavor.
Sticky Dough if you have trouble handling the rolls, a bit of water on the knife or your fingers helps! After you slice each roll, use your knife as a spatula to transfer the roll to the pan (keep it close to you!)
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 233Total Fat 20gCarbohydrates 10gFiber 5gProtein 8g
For those of us who cannot partake of the most fabulous breakfast treats of all time, Cinnamon Rolls, this recipe is a good stand in. The use of yeast in the keto dough adds to the flavor. The texture of the finished product has good mouth feel. The cinnamon pulls it all together. I made the recipe as written, followed the tips, and my rolls turned out beautiful. I kneaded the dough a bit till it held together in the bowl. I rolled out the dough using her idea of cling wrap. Voila! it worked. I will be honest here. The finished product is not as good as the old fashioned kind, but…I cannot eat the old fashioned ones.
Wow Deborah, thanks so much for the kind (and honest!) review. I agree, this one takes a lot of effort and it’s not like the *real* version but it’s great for those of us who have to change our diets. Hope you find some other treats to enjoy!
Ok Liz~ seriously, these are SO darn delicious! Considering the various versions of low-carb rolls I’ve made over the years, I’ve learned to not get my hopes up~which is sad, I realize😂 THESE babies however, are by far, the best ones I’ve ever tasted =) I am so darn thrilled~ THANK YOU for this recipe & instructions! (I was going to watch the video, as suggested, but found no link? Do you have a YT channel by chance?)
*I took the liberty of turning them into caramel pecan sticky buns, but stayed true to your printed recipe~ just added in toasted pecans, brown sugar sweetener, less cinnamon & more vanilla. I also added some caramel syrup to the cream cheese icing~ oh my word, YUM!!
👍My husband just threw in his abundant thanks to you as well. They are so satisfying, he could only eat one w/his coffee after dinner~ unheard of I tell you!🌟 Thanks again🙋♀️
I’m so glad you both enjoyed them!! Have to say, I’ve rarely stopped at one treat so to hear he did is impressive and a big compliment! Hope you love more recipes and thank you!
Also YES! There is a video but I’m slowly updating my site so it’s missing for now. It will be there soon though (with more to come)
You never talk us to put the yeast in the dough! Anyone who hasn’t made. Log of bread is going to…not put it in.
Made these for christmas morning. They were lovely! I doubled the icing…It turns out there is such a thing as too much icing. Even so, I’m not mad about it. Ha!
Thank you Diana! So glad you enjoyed them!
Hi, just wondering how much a packet of yeast is? My yeast comes in 2 cups bags.. so i don’t know how much to use here.
It’s about 2 1/4 teaspoons from what I can measure!
For some reason, the video isn’t showing up in your post for me. I found it on YouTube for anyone else not seeing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoCegUfEmZA
Also, why don’t you let the dough rise?????
You do let the dough rise! If you have time, watch the video in the post to see it made in real life
I’m going to attempt this dough this Saturday to use as the dough for East Bread. I need to roll out in two pieces for a bottom and a top. On the first rolled out piece I put a mixture of eggs, ricotta, and Italian sausage. Will this recipe work? And if so, should I double the batch. Thank you!
I think it would work but I am not sure if the filling will keep the inside of the bread from cooking completely. Especially since I’m not familiar with the type of Easter bread you’re making. If it’s a small bread you could get away with a single batch but either way, I urge you to make the dough and get a feel for it before your Easter celebration 🙂 I also have a yeast pizza crust recipe that I think might work better?
These turned out ridiculously terrible. I think the main pain points that myself and others have encountered occur because the recipe is given in cups. Would be a great help to see weighted measurements here, as a variance in any of the flours can cause an imbalance. With the yeast, too- packets can vary in the amount that is in each, and some folks use from the jar rather than packet; a measurement would be helpful. Also, what size eggs to use? And finally, when are we to add the yeast to the mixture? Am I missing it in the recipe?
So sorry Rachel. I was hoping the full length video in the post would help avoid disasters with the recipe. Thank you for the input, I’ve updated to large eggs and will test the recipe again to included weighted measurements.
This was very disappointing. I feel like I just wasted all of my ingredients. I followed the recipe to a T, and the dough was so sticky, it stuck to the sheets of cling wrap and was unusable. When I went to peel the top layer of cling wrap off, it pulled half the dough up with it. I tried using wet fingers to unstick it, but that just pulled it off in chunks.
I tried adding extra coconut flour as well, and that didn’t seem to help either. I added almost 3 additional tablespoons by the end of this attempt before just tossing everything.
I’m so sorry they stuck to the plastic wrap!! I’m not sure why some have had trouble with the sticky factor so I actually just shot a video to demonstrate and hopefully that will help!!
So, I made these today as a practice run for Christmas morning. I had everything at room temperature, followed the directions, found the dough relatively easy to work with following your tips, rolled it out, filled it, rolled it up, and came up with some nice, even, pretty swirls. I put it, wrapped, on a warm stove to rise, and it essentially didn’t. The yeast was properly prepared (with a bit of molasses to feed it) and had a nice action going on before it put it in, so it wasn’t that. After two hours, I put them in the oven, still not really risen, and theyever-so-slightly slightly rose and baked well. I’m disappointed in the texture and, to a degree, the flavor. I’m not a fan of the coconut flour, I think. So, long story short, any ideas on what I can do differently the next time to address those two issues? I’ve baked with almond flour and Swerve many times before, but not using yeast. Thanks.
I’m so sorry you the recipe didn’t work out like you’d hoped! I might recommend leaving out the coconut flour (if the flavor bothers you) and using 2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseed meal (reground very fine) which might help. Then only other thing that might help the texture is to make sure it’s really fine almond flour and to run it through a sifter to get any bigger bits out.
Also! I sometimes wonder if there’s some difference in the wetness of the dough (just varying measurements) and that the dough should be slightly hard to work with. When the dough is on the wet side it stays more moist and rises better so I wonder if that is the case? Also, if you do try it again (bless you and thank you) if it hasn’t puffed up much after 30 minutes, go ahead and I bake anyway because it may not rise as much if it sits out for too long. Thanks for you patience!
Love them!! I followed your recipe and it worked out perfectly— thank you!! I did let them rise for an hour, because I got busy on another recipe.. I am glad I did, they turned out a nice size. My plan is to have them on Thanksgiving morning. I am going to stick bacon in the back for feathers and put on goggly eyes and candy corn beak. Maybe even a boiled egg to prop the bun up for a complete light breakfast. It’s Sunday night before Thanksgiving so, I am going to try freezing the unfrosted buns- so they don’t dry out. Will that work?
Tracy I’m so happy you loved them!!! And such a cute idea for a thanksgiving breakfast! Freezing them might change the texture slightly but some extra icing should soften them up. Let me know how it works out! Happy Thanksgiving!
I love the recipe, and was wondering if I could sub in ½ cup of vital gluten for an equal amount of almond flour, just to give the dough more resilience so it doesn’t crack when rolled up. Have you ever worked with vital gluten? And do you think this could work? Trying to figure it out before I waste expensive ingredients…
Hey Danni! I wish I could say I’ve used wheat gluten in recipes, but I’ve been gluten-free for the last 8 years! That being said, you could feasibly add vital wheat gluten but I wouldn’t start at 1/2 cup. I would start lower like a few tablespoons and see how the dough comes together. Gluten will develop quickly so definitely don’t overmix, and you may need to add a splash of water (or milk) if the dough becomes too heavy. Good luck!
I made these cinnamon rolls for a first time. I followed all of the directions. I didn’t use cling wrap as the dough stuck to it. The dough was way too wet. When I peeled the parchment paper the dough stuck to it. This was kind of upsetting. I feel like I wasted my ingredients. So I didn’t know what to do with this “Wet” dough. I placed it in the refrigerator with the Hopes that it would form up a bit. I am not sure if this will help or not. What did I do wrong?
Hi Debbie! How wet was the dough? If you couldn’t work with it at all, adding another tablespoon of coconut flour can help firm things up. Also, putting the mixture in the refrigerator will help solidify the fats in the butter and make it easier to work with. Really work the dough to make sure the liquids get absorbed into the flours and know that it will be a little sticky (wet your hands with water to help this) but it shouldn’t be liquid. Let me know, I’d like to help as much as I can!!
The dough was so sticky it stuck to both sheets of parchment paper. The dough is in the refrigerator. How am I supposed add more coconut flour to this dough?
I am so sorry this dough is being so difficult! Here’s my suggestion:
1. Take the dough (parchment and all) out of the fridge and use a spatula dipped in water to try and separate the top parchment from the dough. It will probably be pretty rough looking.
2. Grab a new piece of parchment or plastic wrap and dust it with coconut flour. 1 tablespoon. Try your best to get the rest of the dough off of the other piece of parchment and add it to the floured surface.
3. Add some coconut flour to your hands and try to work the dough so it comes together anywhere that it had broken apart or cracked from removing it. Top it with another piece of plastic wrap or parchement and try to press it out into a rectangle gently.
4. Hopefully you can remove the top from there and fill it and roll it up to slice. PLEASE let me know how it turns out and again, so sorry this has been an issue for you!!!!
Thank you for the recipe! This is my 3rd time making it and I love it! my only issue I”m not sure what I’m doing wrong but I’m getting an inconsistent amount of rolls each batch I make. First go at it was 7 then 6 then 5.
First of all, glad you like it Alexis! I wonder if either the measurements (volume of flour vs weight) or the roll thickness could be it? Either way, I’m glad they are turning out even if you get fewer 🙂
I too want to thank for this recipe of keto yeasted buns! I made it with poppy seeds instead of cinnamon for this Easter, (the quarantine Easter!) I very much needed something like this especially when the whole world can’t be in church for this great holiday, it made up a little for what was missing this spring of 2020 🙂 The buns’ yeasted aroma and poppyseed combination were amazing and tasted very close to the traditional Easter Paskha from eastern Europe where I grew up. I did put 2 tbsp of yeast and proofed it with a bit of molasses and warm water separately and let it rise for a longer time, 1.5 hours in warm place and I also baked it a little longer too, like 50 minutes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them and it made your Easter feel a little more authentic 🙂 Thanks for the kind comment Julie!
My batch turned out pretty good for a first time. After reading the comments & critiquing mines, I know the adjustments I plan to make. Thank you for this recipe.
Thanks for trying them, Donna! You will have to let me know how the next batch turns out and what adjustments you made!
I LOVE this recipe! This is my 4th time making it! I have made a few changes. I added an extra tablespoon of coconut flour, and I bloom the yeast separately in a cup with 2 TBSP of 110 degree water and a less than 1/8 tsp of Blackstrap Molasses (just for the yeast to eat). The Molasses doens’t add any taste and makes the rolls rise a lot! I add the bloomed yeast to the wet mixture before I put in all the dry ingredients. You could leave the dough and do a double rise too, or don’t, it didn’t make a huge difference. My husband just loved the taste with the extra rise! I also melted 2 TBSP butter and brushed the rolled out dough with the butter and then spread the cinnamon sugar. This stops the rolls from being loose and not sticking to themselves. If you want you can brush the tops with butter and cinnamon too!
Thank you for such a fantastic recipe! I hadn’t had a good roll in years! This recipe is a keeper!
I love your adjustments! I have only recently been using molasses in more recipes but I bet it’s perfect for this! Thanks so much for the feedback. LOVE IT!!! <3
Hi! These look so yummy. Quick question, what could I use to substitute the sour cream/yogurt? I can’t have dairy and was wondering what would be the best substitute. Thank you!
There aren’t a lot of substitution options for greek yogurt out there (it adds some extra protein for structure) but I might play with a dairy free yogurt like this one! If you can’t your hands on it, beat 1 extra egg and add about half (or a bit more) of it. Test the texture and if it’s wet enough-go for it. Wish I had a clearer answer for you. Good luck!!
https://amzn.to/38yvXHK
The dough was way to sticky to roll…what did i do wrong? Im in Canada…could there be a difference in the size of the eggs…i added 2 more Tbsp of coconut flour
Hi Joy! Yes, there could absolutely be a difference in eggs (large vs extra large = more moisture) and also variation when you measure out the flours. Did the extra cocnut flour help? Also, it’s easier to roll with plastic wrap instead of parchment paper. Let me know!!!
Can you use the dough recipe to just make dinner rolls? Not a fan of fat head dough. Also would it work for pizza?
This specific recipe, no, because leaving out the sweetener will change the texture! I would try my Keto Yeast Pizza Dough or Garlic Bread Biscuits and ommit the garlic!
https://www.inspectorgorgeous.com/2019/02/easy-yeast-pizza-dough-gluten-free-low-carb/
Thank you for this recipe! I am so glad I found it😊 I used 3 eggs plus 1 egg white, hope that was correct? Your tips were very helpful and my cinnamon rolls are fluffy and delicious!! So happy how thick they got. I also added whipping cream to the icing. Think next batch I make I will try topping with my caramel sauce. Thanks so much!
That was correct! And I am so happy you enjoyed them. I hope you find other recipes you love!
What does the yeast “eat” in order to make the roll rise?
You can proof the yeast with sugar or inulin if you would like! If you use instant yeast, it doesn’t need to be proofed but it won’t rise as much as doing it the traditional way. Hope that helps!
This recipe is a bit confusing, like many people I jumped to the ingredients to make sure I had everything which I did so following the ingredients list I immediately took 3 eggs out to get them to room temp before I started baking…once I thought those were to room temp I got started and thats when some confusion started…
A- the directions make no mention of when the hot water comes into play so I threw it all in when mixing the wet ingredients. Hopefully this is correct!
B- the ingredients list states 3 eggs at room temperature and a separate bullet stating 1 egg white…I assume(assumed) this meant 4 eggs in total, the 3 full eggs at room temp and a 4th egg in egg white form but not mattering if it’s room temp or not since it didn’t state room temp next to it like the other 3 eggs, so I took my 3 eggs out ahead of time to get them to room temp. Then when starting the recipe, after my eggs sat for a while being the only room temp ingredient listed, I see the note that says ALL ingredients must be room temp so now I am wondering a couple things,
1-if the eggs are actually 3 in total(all room temp) and 1 of those 3 is an egg white…I used 3 eggs and 1 egg white since that’s what the ingredients list called for, but my egg white was NOT room temp since it was listed as it’s own separate ingredient and didn’t state room temp next to it so I may have an extra egg in there (as well as an egg white that wasn’t warm enough) not sure!
2- my next confusion with the important notes is that it states it’s pertinent ALL ingredients are room temp, but in the the ingredients list it only states the 3 eggs have to be, the ingredients nor the important notes state anything about the sour cream/yogurt being room temp. So needless to say I did not take that out with my 3 eggs (4 eggs? Still not sure!) to get too room temp ahead of time soooo I’m guessing all my ingredients are too cold right now…I can’t do the “warm water bath” because I’m mixing in the biggest bowl I have so I don’t have anything else it will fit in to do the water bath to bring to room temp…not sure what’s going to happen really!
This is a pretty lengthy process what with setting ingredients out to get to room temp(which I feel isn’t really included in the total time listed), then mixing everything, then letting sit for 30+ mins to rise, then baking for another 30 mins so it’s going to be disappointing if they don’t turn out half way decent! Hopefully they taste good!
Hey Jr, thanks for bringing all of this to my attention!
1. You did the right number of eggs and I don’t think it will be too hard on the yeast to have one chilly egg white in your mix. The whole idea about room temperature is to allow the yeast to work and it just works a lot slower if it’s cold!
2. I see where I missed adding the warm water in with the other liquid ingredients–Added!
3. I’ll also fix add a few more mentions of what should be room temperature so it isn’t so confusing.
Good luck with the rolling process (up next) and I really do want to hear how they turn out!!!!
-Liz
I think this will be much easier for people to follow! They turned out pretty good really! The rolling was not bad, I used the plastic wrap like you advised and really didn’t have any issues. I’ve made cinnamon rolls with the fat head dough and they just never puffed up well for me. These certainly fluffed up beautifully! I’d make them again.
I’m glad they turned out! I think for a yeast recipe, this one is pretty forgiving unlike a loaf of bread might be. Thanks for giving me some great feedback Jr! I need you as my proofreader 😉