Without a doubt my favorite part of my job is challenging myself to create innovative baked goods. While I most definitely always drive myself crazy through the process..its almost always worth the time and effort that I spend.

This recipe is a perfect example of that. A few months ago I created Brioche Buns that are unbelievable! So when I stumbled across the inspiration for this recipe from half baked harvest I HAD to dive right in and put my brioche dough to the test. The results were awesome (after a lot of finessing).

Its tricky to describe this recipe to you- as nothing really exists online like it.

I start with my soft and fluffy buttery brioche bread dough - roll it out somewhat thin & then filled it with butter, cinnamon and sugar. Then I flipped the dough over onto itself and create long strips of cinnamon & sugar filled dough. I then twist them up (in the cutest way). Roll them up into twisty buns, proof & bake. As an added bonus they have a delicious cinnamon and sugar crumble topping that adds a nice little extra touch of sweetness and crunchy texture that compliments the softness of the brioche bread perfectly.

So in a way its kind of like a cinnamon roll.. but not quite. They are fun and special in their own way. I highly recommend giving them a go this fall or holiday season!

Baking Tips:

Watch the class

If you are going to take the time to make this fun recipe- please also invest in taking the time to watch the class. Doing so makes the process pretty fool proof. I recorded the class as the process of rolling out, cutting and then turning the dough into twists is really unique & may not be the most intuitive from just reading the directions. I want these delicious little brioche buns to turn out just as amazing for you as they do for me!

Use the correct ingredients. PLEASE use what I have called for. This is not a flexible recipe… of course you can experiment but I don’t recommend it.

The hot box method for proofing the dough is essential especially in the winter if you live up north like I do. Otherwise the bread could take a full day to rise. This is a big loaf so it really needs the perfect warm & humid environment to rise to its full potential. The hot box method is simple- I preheat the oven while making the dough, then as soon as the dough is done I turn it off. I place the bread into the warm oven (the pan always covered with a towel) and leave the door a crack for 5-10 minutes so that its not TOO hot. Then I close it for an hour. Gluten free bread needs about 50% more moisture and dries out easily. A dry dough- even if just the outside layer is dry can stop rising completely. This is why I like to also add a bowl of steaming hot water to the oven right before I close the door for the hour of slow proofing. It really makes a BIG difference. When I use the steaming bowl of water added I easily got an extra half inch in height.

IF you want to take the time halfway through the hour of proofing to reheat that water in the microwave and stick it back in the oven to get another nice burst of steam you can. This may be a good idea if you cant resist peaking in and checking on your breads progress.

Using a stand mixer works best. If you don’t have one or cant get one a hand mixer will work in a pinch. Its important to get the dough really well mixed.

Making the dough in advance. You can totally do this. You can make the dough and place it in a TIGHTLY sealed container and stick it in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Then just follow the directions to shape and proof the dough.

Ingredients (Some of these are affiliate links that earn me a few cents if you shop using them! :)

Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend

This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. As a result its extremely popular. Around the holidays it tends to sell out everywhere and so they are in the process of restocking right now. Usually its available on Amazon and at Walmart. Lately I have been ordering it from the Better Batter website directly. When they sell out- they tend to restock pretty quickly. Check back within a day or two if they are sold out when you look. I buy it in bulk now (20 lbs at a time) as I cant risk running out. I use it in too many recipes that we love.

What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.

Better Batter so kindly offered me a 35% off promo code to share with all of you! This can be used as often as you would like for every single purchase made directly on BetterBatter.com Use the code: BakingAngell35

Expandex

This bread is truly only possible because of the magic of expandex. It is a modified form of tapioca starch that was formulated to improve gluten free baking. The word Modified tends to worry people- so let me explain further. Essentially they studied tapioca and removed portions of it leaving only the parts that would allow for it to cause amazing elasticity (aka its name) in gluten free recipes. This flour allows me to get an incredible rise with everything I use it in. It traps the air bubbles in the dough just like regular flour with gluten does! Its honestly incredible. If you eat any processed or store bought foods you have eaten many forms of modified starch. Its nothing new- its just semi new to the home baker. Its non gmo and I typically get it from the brand Judee’s on amazon. Under no conditions can you sub it out for another regular starch.

Outside of the US there is a product called Ultratex 3 I have not worked with it but from what I understand its comparable! I would use that in the exact same quantity as the expandex amount that I call for.

Yeast: I recently learned about a special yeast made for sweet breads. Breads with sugar that are higher in fat have a harder time rising and typically take much longer to do so. Which means that this yeast has some extra oomph to it. Which gives me confidence that it could really benefit gluten free bread recipes. This is a sweet bread recipe- so it will benefit this bread in particular. https://amzn.to/3AQPMsZ

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of getting that specific bag- any brand will do. Just make sure that its fast acting or listed as instant.

Xanthan gum: I recently read somewhere that all brands of xanthan don’t work the same. I didn’t know this as I have always just purchased bobs. So- I would stick with bobs for this recipe and all of my recipes.

Milk - While I think that most dairy free unsweetened milks will work just fine, the only thing I tested was oat milk so far. I used both full fat and original from oatly and had the same results. If you are not dairy free i’m guessing regular milk would work just fine as well.

Sugar- REAL Sugar is important. Its what feeds the yeast and makes this bread possible. I do not recommend swapping in a liquid sweetener as that could throw off the recipe. Please don’t use any keto sugars or even coconut palm sugar. It may not work as well.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Sugar Brioche Twists