Prebiotic, gluten free brioche buns

When I was first testing my blood sugar many years ago, I noticed that one of my biggest spikers were burgers, which was unfortunate, given Friday night’s are burger night for Chris and I. We would go to town making healthy burgers, but the gluten free buns (no matter the type I tried) always took my levels sky high.

And I am not alone, spiking after burgers is pretty common, due to the easy to digest starch from the flours in the burger buns. And unfortunately, gluten free buns often aren’t any better (there are exceptions, some have added fibre), because many contain simple starches that really elevate levels.

Now, if you’ve ever had a shop-bought gluten free bun, you’ll know that most of them aren’t very good and fall apart, are dry or are flavourless. Honestly, I don’t know how we’re in 2025 and store bought gluten free goods are still so bad, because with the right recipe, you can make incredible gluten free bakes, including rolls, brioche and bread (by the way, if you want some gluten free baking recipes I recommend Naomi Devlin and Aran Goyoaga’s books)

After several years of disappointment, I got so sick of bad gluten free buns (I can’t always be making them from scratch!), that on Friday nights, I allowed myself to have gluten based buns, but I added several layers of support to regulate my blood sugar.  

For me, over the years, as I’ve improved my endo symptoms and built up my body’s resilience, I can have about one to two serves of gluten a week and be okay. If it starts to creep up, I end up with worsening gut symptoms and endo symptoms/period pain too.

My experience also mimics the experience of thousands of other endo peeps, with a recent study of around 2500 endometriosis patients showed 45.4% of participants who removed gluten experienced reduced pain.

I also unfortunately have a pretty big risk of developing coeliac disease as both my brother and sister have it, and I have the double genes, and of course, have endometriosis, which is associated with the condition, so I wanted to find an alternative, especially following this new study and minimise my regular intake to reduce my exposure to it.

I’d seen the chickpea and lentil rolls making their rounds on Instagram, and I made the lentil ones and really enjoyed them. I had never made the chickpea ones, but when I saw them, my mind turned to creating my own brioche version that focused on blood sugar, whole food ingredients, fibre and beneficial nutrients.

The result? Honestly the best gluten free burger buns I’ve ever had. Now, let me be clear - these are not soft and fluffy, so I don’t mean it in that way. They are however tender, moist and flavourful, and they hold together really well and don’t dry out easily. When paired with a burger, they were so satisfying that I could happily eat these as my go-to burger buns for the rest of my life if I had to (like, say, if I develop coeliac disease).

The next best thing: Forget the burgers, slice these babies in half, toast them and spread with salted grass-fed butter or your butter of choice. They’re like sweet English muffins! Chris and I became obsessed.

Now, Chris is a  bread fanatic, and when it comes to gluten free goods, he is pretty hard to impress, but he loved these and was more than happy to taste test any that came his way.

Before we get to it, I do have to warn you, this recipe is not super quick because the buns are yeasted and so need proofing time, but if you’re the only one in your household who eats them, a batch can last you a while, especially if refrigerated or frozen. If you’re not someone who enjoys baking, maybe this recipe isn’t for you, but I love to bake and enjoy the process, so if that’s you, I hope you enjoy these too! Before I scare you off though, I do want to reassure you that the recipe is pretty straightforward, there’s just a lot of waiting time involved.

So, now I’ve hopefully convinced you, let’s get to the recipe.

These buns are…

A great source of prebiotic and soluble fibre for microbiome health and bowel regularity.

People with endo have already been shown to have microbiome dysbiosis, with lower levels of some beneficial bacteria and higher levels of pathogenic (bad) bacteria, which can not only fuel IBS symptoms like bloating, but also inflammation.

These brioche buns are a great source of prebiotic fibre from the chickpeas, dates and psyllium husk, providing 6.5g fibre per bun, providing around 22% of your recommended 30g per day, to keep the gut microbiome fed and healthy.

Prebiotic fibre, which is fibre that resists digestion and ends up in the large intestine, where it feeds gut bugs. This in turn increases levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFA), beneficial gut compounds which are produced when good bacteria eat fibre. These guys help to keep inflammation down in the gut and the body, help to keep blood sugar levels healthy, inhibit bad bacteria and foster good bacteria growth.

Because research suggests that people with endo may have gut inflammation, high levels of unhealthy gut bacteria and low levels of beneficial bacteria, as well as blood sugar issues, and often low levels of short chain fatty acids, replenishing SCFA levels and restoring the microbiome management is essential to endo belly and endo management overall.

Finally, psyllium husk helps keep you regular. In fact, it’s an evidenced based treatment for constipation, which I know many endo peeps struggle with, especially in the luteal phase when progesterone can slow down motility.

Are blood sugar balancing thanks to the whole foods ingredients, fibre content and naturally occurring sugars.

These buns are made with complex carbohydrates such as chickpeas and dates, because complex carbs have more fibre, they take longer for the gut to breakdown, resulting in a steadier release of glucose, whereas flours, which are typically used to make burger buns, which break down quickly and are responsible for the blood sugar spikes which can occur with regular buns. Despite these buns having moderate carb content (around 22g), thanks to the carefully selected ingredients, they are still low glycemic index and have a low to moderate glycemic load, meaning that they should have a gentle, steady affect on your blood sugar (though remember, everyone is different and blood sugar reactions are very individual).

This blood sugar impact will be further reduced by the psyllium husk (not to mention, the general fibre content). Psyllium husk provides viscous fibre, a type of soluble fibre that forms a gel in the gut, and is particularly beneficial for blood sugar because it significantly slows down the digestion of glucose.

Finally, these buns also contain a decent amount of fat and protein (for a burger bun) and fat and protein also help to slow down the release of glucose to the blood stream.

Keeping blood sugar levels stable helps to prevent oxidative stress, which leads to more inflammation in the body and that may trigger further pain and symptoms. In fact, oxidative stress is higher in people with endo, and it’s a key driver of endo growth. Blood sugar spikes raise inflammation levels, resulting in more of those inflammatory symptoms and painthat we’re trying to avoid.

Additionally, constant blood sugar swings can take their toll on hormones, leading to issues like elevated androgens (think testosterone), which can affect ovulation and cycle length. Blood sugar swings may also cause oestrogen excess or dominance and low progesterone if ovulation is interrupted or stopped entirely.

Rich in folate, B6, iron and magnesium to support hormones and a healthy cycle.

Folate is a B vitamin (B9) which is crucial for healthy ovulation (check out this, this and this) and oestrogen metabolism. This recipe provides up to 100mcg of folate per bun, which is half of the UK RDA!

B6 is a hormone hero. It supports progesterone production and oestrogen metabolism, and research has shown that B6 treatment can help reduce PMS, especially the mood challenges that can come with the syndrome. Each bun provides a whopping 18% of the UK RDA at 0.25mg per bun, from the chickpeas, egg and dates.

Iron deficiency is extremely common in general, but even more so in people with heavy menstrual bleeding. Iron plays a major role in preventing fatigue, and yet many of the clients who I work with, come to me with significantly low levelsdue to having SIBO, avoiding red meat, heavy periods or other reasons. Supporting healthy iron absorption and intake is a key part of beating endo fatigue and recovering from heavy blood loss and low levels can cause brain fog, extreme tiredness, heart palpitations, dizziness, muscle weakness and depression to name a few.

These buns provide 1.5mg of iron form the chickpeas and dates, which is around 11% of the UK RDA. But here’s the thing, plant iron is harder to absorb, and plant compounds in chickpeas called phytates also reduce iron uptake by binding to the mineral. The good news is, soaking significantly reduces phytates and adding vitamin C foods (so think tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, citrus fruit) increases iron absorption from plant foods.

Now let’s look at magnesium. Research has shown magnesium to be an effective treatment in preventing dysmenorrhea (period pain) because it reduces inflammatory prostaglandins that are the drivers of both endo and period pain. One study showed that six months of magnesium treatment reduced prostaglandin F2a by over half!  In fact, in recent research, magnesium is being explored as a dietary treatment for endo and a higher intake of magnesium rich foods was associatedwith a lower risk of endo. Additionally, magnesium helps to regulate our sex hormones, and as result, is a recognised treatment for preventing PMS.

One bun provides about 10% of your UK RDA of magnesium, which may not sound like a lot, but if you eat a good amount of veggies, fruit, beans, grains and nuts and seeds across your day, it’ll all add up!

Important notes to help you tailor this recipe to your own body and needs (and tastebuds!)

Which milk should you use and the caveats with dairy

I’ve included dairy milk as an option here because it can enhance the flavour of these buns, however, when it comes to endo and dairy, it’s nuanced and some people will tolerate, and some people won’t, or won’t be able to tolerate certain types of dairy. To learn about this, listen to this episode (or ready the accompanying blog post).

Additionally, new data has revealed 45.2% of participants who removed dairy experienced reduced pain.

If you’re one of the people who experience benefits from removing dairy, go for a nut or seed based milk. I would avoid any added gums because they might change the texture (you could try it) and any extra carb sources like rice or oats, which can spike blood sugar in this form and increase the starch content of the buns, changing the glycemic index and load. Obviously, don’t stress if that’s all you can find!

Do chickpeas bloat you?

Unfortunately, this recipe is not low FODMAP, which usually my recipes are, and I know many people with gut issues or SIBO can’t tolerate too many chickpeas. Soaking chickpeas can actually reduce the amount of FODMAPs in them, so that should help, and if you make 12 buns from the recipe, not 6, then that will actually bring the chickpea content down to low FODMAP serving sizes, and the rest of the ingredients are low FODMAP in the regular serving size too, so overall, smaller portions should make these easier to digest.

 These buns are pretty big, so halving the size of the buns actually won’t be too small (though your patty might hang over the edge!).

I haven’t tried this recipe with other beans, but you’re welcome to try.

Don’t know if you tolerate psyllium husk?

If you’re not sure if you tolerate psyllium husk, then have a listen to this episode. However, rest assured that the amount per bun is very low, so should be better tolerated and for many people, is really beneficial for the gut and IBS symptoms.

Can I use tinned chickpeas?

No, definitely no! Tinned chickpeas have a higher water content and create a runny mess!

Further resources

If you’re struggling with your endo nutrition or gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on gut health and blood sugar.  

To understand more about the low FODMAP diet, start here.

prebiotic gluten free brioche buns

Method:

• Soak the chickpeas for a total of 24 hours, this will make the recipe much easier to blend but also enhances nutrient uptake. You can do 12 hours, but I found even my high speed blender struggled.

• The day of making, preheat the oven to 180°C fan-assisted/200°C conventional and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Soak the dates in hot water for 10 minutes and add the vinegar to the milk, and leave to curdle at the same time.

• Rinse the chickpeas and strain the dates.

• Add the dates, chickpeas, oil, milk, egg, salt and vanilla to a powerful blender. Pulse a few times and then blend on high speed until you get a smooth consistency, like a thick pancake batter (aim to get the mix as smooth as you can with your blender).

• Add the yeast, baking powder and psyllium and blend again on a lower setting to fully incorporate. Do not overheat the mix with too much blending, as it can kill the yeast.

• Leave aside for 10 minutes to thicken.

• Once thick, tip the mixture into a bowl and with wet hands, divide out six even scoops, shaping into balls as you go. Every time you handle a new bun, wet your hands, this will make them easier to handle and less sticky. The batter will be loose, but should still come together into a soft ball shape, especially with wet hands.

• Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

• Set aside in a warm corner of your kitchen (but not hot) and loosely cover. Leave to prove for 40 minutes, until puffy.

• Place on the middle tray in the oven, and bake for 22-25 minutes. At 10 minutes in, cover with foil - due to the dates, these buns darken significantly, they will look burnt but I promise you, they won’t taste it, it’s just the natural sugars in the dates caramelise and create a dark brown colour (not black, if they’re black, they’re burning!). Keep in mind some ovens run hotter or cooler, so you may have to adjust the bake time by a few minutes give or take, or turn up down the oven by 10°C.

• Leave to cool entirely, as these continue to set as they cool - this is essential for the best texture! Upon cutting, the texture will be moist (see my Instagram video for an example), but you should still be able to crumble the bread with your finger, and it should bounce back when pressed.

• When serving, you can toast these if desired, or just eat as is, stuffed with your favourite burger or sandwich ingredients.

• Store in the fridge in an airtight container for three days. You can try freezing these, but I personally haven’t tried that.