This easy recipe for Cheese Bread makes pillowy soft rolls that are fluffy, moist and deliciously chewy. Made with part-skim mozzarella cheese, these rolls are bready, airy and so yummy you may not know they’re gluten-free. If you’re someone who equates gluten-free bread with lacking taste, texture and frankly, not worth eating 🙂 , this recipe will change your mind! This is one of the few gluten-free bread recipes I just adore! It has just a few ingredients and is really straightforward to make. Freshly baked, this Cheese Bread makes an awesome breakfast or snack. Instead of traditional dinner rolls, serve the Cheese Bread as a scrumptious bread alternative. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and share your thoughts with me! Enjoy!
Watch the video for instructions.
Notes on the Cheese Bread / Rolls Recipe, Tips and Tricks
I adapted this recipe from Sweet y Salado’s recipe for Pandebonos, a Colombian cheese bread. In Diana’s recipe, she mixes everything by hand making wonderfully rustic-looking rolls. As there’s a good amount of mozzarella cheese in this recipe, I prefer the cheese taste to be more subtle and evenly mixed. To do this, I use the Ninja Mega Kitchen food processor to crush the cheese and then work it into a dough.
The interesting thing to note about the mozzarella cheese in this recipe is it acts as binder for the dry ingredients. The mozzarella cheese starts out as shreds. Then it’s broken down into fine crumbles. When combined with dry ingredients and processed for 2-3 minutes, the cheese breaks down and transforms into a soft and elastic dough. When fully incorporated, you no longer see the mozzarella cheese. During baking everything melds together making a bread that is not too cheesy or heavy tasting.
If after 3 minutes of processing, the mixture isn’t coming together and still looks like tiny balls of cheese (sort of like couscous), it’s time to add the milk. Add milk, just 1 teaspoon at a time and pulse together for 30 seconds until a dough forms. Repeat with more milk if needed. Don’t be impatient and add too much milk too quickly. Just a little bit of milk is needed to pull everything together, about 1-2 teaspoons. If you overdo the milk, add more tapioca starch to balance the moisture.
The corn starch provides structure to the bread. Substitute corn starch with glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour also gives the bread structure and elasticity.
I bake the Cheese bread using a baking rack covered with a baking mat so the bottoms don’t get over-cooked while the tops are browning up. Because of the starches, the rolls don’t get golden brown like traditional rolls and biscuits made with wheat flour. You can certainly bake them longer if you want more color but be careful about burning the bottoms.
If you want to bake using a sheet pan or cookie sheet, reduce the oven temperature to 375 F (191 C). The bottoms brown up very quickly when using a solid pan.
This bread is best enjoyed the day it’s made. Refrigerate any remaining rolls and enjoy within 3-4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, warm in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or in the toaster oven for 3-4 minutes.
Cheese Bread / Rolls – Gluten-Free Recipe!
Cheese Bread / Cheese Rolls - Gluten-Free Recipe!
This easy recipe for Cheese Bread makes pillowy soft rolls that are fluffy, moist and deliciously chewy. Made with part-skim mozzarella cheese, these rolls are bready, airy and so yummy you may not know they're gluten-free. If you're someone who equates gluten-free bread with lacking taste, texture and frankly, not worth eating 🙂 , this recipe will change your mind! This is one of the few gluten-free bread recipes I just adore! It has just a few ingredients and is really straightforward to make. Freshly baked, this Cheese Bread makes an awesome breakfast or snack. Instead of traditional dinner rolls, serve the Cheese Bread as a scrumptious bread alternative. I hope you'll give this recipe a try and share your thoughts with me! Enjoy!
* Recipe adapted from Sweet y Salado's recipe for Pandebonos, a Colombian cheese bread.
Ingredients
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese , low-moisture, part-skim
- 2 oz unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 tsp milk , as needed
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C). Have ready a wire baking rack covered with a baking mat or parchment paper.
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In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, corn starch, sugar, baking powder and salt.
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Transfer the shredded mozzarella cheese into a food processor and pulse into crumbles, approximately 30-40 seconds.
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Add the butter and whole egg. Pulse for 5 seconds.
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Add the dry ingredients. Pulse together for 30 seconds. Scrap down the side of the bowl, working in the dry ingredients. Pulse together for another 30 seconds. Scrap down the bowl again. Process continuously for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl again and process for another 2 minutes or until a soft dough forms.
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If the mixture is still crumbly, add 1 tsp milk and pulse for 30 seconds. Add more milk as needed until a dough forms.
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Transfer the dough onto a work surface. Press the dough together and pat into a ball. Roll the dough into a 12 inches long log. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each dough piece between your palms forming a smooth ball.
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Place the dough balls on the baking rack spacing them 1 inch apart.
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Transfer into the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes. After 8 minutes, rotate the rack for even browning.
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Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack or plate. Let cool for 5 minutes before enjoying.
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Enjoy this delicious Cheese Bread while fresh. Refrigerate any remaining rolls and eat within 3-4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, warm in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or in the toaster oven for 2-3 minutes.
Recipe Video
Notes, Tips & Tricks
- For bread rolls with more cheesy flavor, add sharp cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago or other cheese you like.
- If using a solid baking pan, reduce the oven temperature to 375 F (191 C).
If you enjoy this gluten-free Cheese Bread / Rolls recipe, you may also like:
Honeycomb Cake – Eggless / Gluten-Free Recipe
(Banh Bo Nuong)
Vietnamese Donuts – Gluten Free / Yeast Free
(Banh Cam Banh Vong)
If you adore bread rolls and don’t mind the glutens, try these yummy recipes:
Taro Buns
(Banh Mi Nhan Khoai Mon)
Braided Ham and Cheese Roll
(Banh Mi Ngot Ham va Cheese)
Sweet Rolls / Dinner Rolls
(Banh Mi Ngot)
Tools I Love and Use in My Kitchen
Hi. Is it ok to use cassava flour together with sweet rice flour instead of tapioca starch and corn starch? Thank you
Hi Dan,
Yes, cassava flour works and is the same as tapioca starch. The sweet rice flour will yield rolls with a slightly denser consistency but would work as well. Good Luck!
Hi , Trang
I live in US. I’m looking for the good food processing . Can you tell me what are you using now? Is it good to make Chả. Thanks
Hi Tuyen,
In this recipe, I am using the Ninja Mega Kitchen https://amzn.to/2HR2Fud It has a 1500 watt motor which is really powerful and does a fantastic job with grinding meat for cha and bo vien. The only thing that could be better is if the prep bowl were bigger. It’s 8 cups so you can process up to 2 pounds meat but I process 1 pound at a time to make sure the pork is finely ground for cha. If you’re making a lot, it would take some time. The Ninja Mega has one of the stronger motors without going to a expensive professional grade food processor. I hope that helps! Let me know which ones you’re looking at.
Hello friend,
Thanks for this recipe. I made it and everybody loved those little, tasty buns. They are very good with jam or garlic butter too. Very versatile.
Can’t wait for Fridays to get more surprises.
Thanks for all your work.
Take care.
Anne Marie
Hello Anne Marie!
I am thrilled you like this recipe. I’ve been addicted to these bread rolls since they’re so easy to make. You’re right, they are versatile and pair well with sweet or savory flavors. Thank you for stopping by and your kind support! <3
Hello Trang.
II made the Cheese Bread yesterday and everyone in my household was happy with my work. I doubled the quantities and added 1/4 pound of imported Spanish sheep-milk cheese for added flavor. However, doubling the butter made the paste a bit soft and would stick to my fingers. To make the paste a little firmer, I added more Tapioca flour. I also ran out of corn starch, so I miked in a little potato starch. All-in-all (other than a little mess in the kitchen) it was very good and this bread is a keeper in my household. I love your recipes and many thanks.
Hi Steve! I am thrilled to hear your family enjoyed the Cheese Bread. I’ve tried this bread with all sorts of cheeses including feta but I have yet to try sheep-milk. It sounds delish! The dough is pretty forgiving and your adjustments sound like they worked out great. One time I used cream cheese to make the dough. It was too sticky to roll so I used a cookie scoop and baked in a muffin pan. I’ve used potato starch instead of corn starch as well and liked the results. LOL! A messy kitchen means you worked “extra” hard to make the Cheese Bread. Pat a little starch on your nose too for added effect. Take care! 🙂
Can I use Parmesan cheese instead of mozzarella cheese? Tq
Hi Christina,
Definitely! I’ve made this cheese bread using all Parmesan cheese and a mix of different cheeses including Parmesan and it’s delicious! As Parmesan cheese is drier than mozzarella, you will have to add milk to get the dough soft. Enjoy and please stop back to share your results. 🙂
I whipped up a batch and it was so easy to make. 30 minutes from start to yummy bread in my mouth…lol! I saw something similar at a Japanese bakery and they called it Cheese Mochi Bread and it also had some rice flour in it. Do you think I can add it to the recipe?
Hi Lana,
Substitute the corn starch with rice flour or glutinous rice flour. You will definitely notice the difference in taste as the bread will take on the rice flour taste. Give it a try and let me know what you think!