Olive Rolls and Focaccia

These rolls take me back to when I was about 11 years old and I went to visit my brother in the kibbutz. His wife (then girlfriend) made these amazing olive, cheese buns for me and I totally fell in love with them. Fast forward 20 years and I still can not forget the taste and wonderful texture of those tasty morsels, only now I can not have gluten and should stay away from cheese soooo... this is my gluten free, dairy free homage to those buns. If you can have dairy, add you favorite grated cheese, about 1/2 a cup and it will be even more amazing. The olive hidden in the middle is a great surprise for kids and adults. This is a great snack for parties and picnics as well.


1/2 cup white  rice 

1/2 cup tapioca

1 and 1/4 cups cornstarch

1/2 cup potato starch 

¼ cup quinoa flour

1/2 tbsp salt  

1 tbsp x. gum

1/4 cup honey

1 tbsp yeast

¾ cup water

½  cup almond milk or other milk of choice

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil or shortening 

1 egg for egg wash

Pitted olives of choice. I use green

- Mix yeast, honey, water and milk and let bubble for 5 minutes. 
- Mix dry ingredient in a bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
- Add yeast mixture to dry ingredient, then add eggs and oil/shortening/butter.
 - Mix for a few minutes until it looks like a smooth batter.

- Cover the bowl and let it rise for 1 hour. I put in a turned off oven with a bowl of hot water. That creates an ideal warm and humid environment for the dough.

- Heat the oven to 350F
- Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners and spray with oil. My liners stick to the dough.
- Scoop a little bit of dough into liners, put an olive in the middle and cover with more dough.
- Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds or salt.
- Bake for 25 minutes until slightly golden and sound hollow when tapped.

This recipe make a great focaccia. Just spread the batter on a lined sheet tray in a rectangle shape and about 2 inches thick. Sprinkle with herbs and bake for 20-25 minutes, You can add veggies, cheese or whatever.

These freeze beautifully for at lease 2 months.