Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!
Back to basics today with this whole wheat dinner rolls recipe. I first discovered this recipe back in 2014 when I wanted to make some Whole Wheat Bunny Rolls for Easter. With the holidays coming up, I thought it would be a great time to re-make and share this delicious whole wheat roll recipe with you.
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
A lot of recipes claim to be “whole wheat,” but use white whole wheat flour, or a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flours. This recipe is 100% WHOLE WHEAT, and incredibly soft and fluffy.
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The key to light and fluffy whole wheat dinner rolls is to not use too much flour. If you do, it will dry the dough out and make the bread dense. You want a slightly wet, sticky dough.
I highly recommend using a stand mixer to knead the dough so you don’t over-flour it. I prefer my Bosch Universal Plus Mixer because the hook really gets under the dough. Kneading it well to create those flexible gluten strands, which is key for a soft, fluffy dough. A Bosch is such a strong machine, which makes it perfect for bread dough.
How to Shape Dinner Rolls
If there’s one trick I learned while interning in a bakery and in culinary school, it’s how to shape rolls. It saves time and achy wrists from rolling the dough.
- Flatten the dough and divide it evenly. This recipe makes 2 dozen (24) whole wheat dinner rolls.
- Cup your hand and push the dough through your thumb and pointer fingers.
- Pinch the ends and place the rolls seam-side down onto a greased baking sheet. (I use a 12×18-inch pan.)
- Cover and let rolls rise. Then bake until golden brown.
My kids eat these whole wheat dinner rolls with no problems at all. In fact, they fight over them to make sandwiches for their school lunches. They won’t disappoint for your holidays either!
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp yeast, (quick rise or instant dry yeast)
- ½ cup (118 ml) warm water
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened
- ¼ cup (84 g) honey
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (237 ml) milk or buttermilk, lukewarm
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 ½ – 5 cups (684-760 g) 100% whole wheat flour, (stir, spoon, and level when measuring)
- 1 Tbsp oil, (canola, vegetable, olive)
Instructions
- Stir yeast in warm water to dissolve. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and honey.
- Add the eggs. Mix and scrape bowl. Add the milk, salt, and yeast mixture. Mix to combine.
- Stir, spoon, and level 4 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. Add to the wet mixture. Switch to a dough hook and knead for 5 minutes, until a soft dough is formed. Add extra whole wheat flour 1 Tbsp at a time, if needed. Dough will be sticky, but if touched with your finger, should come away clean.
- Pour oil into a large bowl. Scrape dough out of the mixing bowl, and into the bowl with the oil. Flip the dough over so all sides of the dough have oil on them. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. (Whole wheat or all-purpose flour works fine.) Flatten dough and divide into 24 pieces.
- To shape rolls: Cup your hand and push the dough through your thumb and pointer fingers. (See image in post.) Pinch the ends and place the rolls seam-side down onto a greased baking sheet about an inch apart. (I use a 12×18-inch pan.)
- Cover rolls with greased plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush extra melted butter over the top of the hot rolls. Enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this?
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Hi,
I only need to make 12 dinner rolls. What do I do to the recipe?
Thank you.
This recipe makes 2 dozen or 24 rolls, so you would half the recipe.
Can I substitute butter for olive oil?
That should be fine, but the flavor will take on that olive oil taste.
I really enjoyed making this recipe, and while it was rising my dough looked fantastic! For context, However, while in the oven the rolls collapsed, and they came out quite dense, and a bit grainy. The flavour was really nice though.
Any tips on what I might have done wrong?
Oops, the context is supposed to be that I used a standing mixer to knead my dough, and for the second rise I let them sit for 45 mins instead of an hour.
If you only let the rolls rise for 45 minutes, it probably wasn’t over-proofed. But if your kitchen was particularly warm that day it still might have over-proofed. My only other guess is the oven temperature wasn’t hot enough (pre-heated thoroughly) and it rose really high, but didn’t get hot enough to set properly and collapsed.
Can I use atta flour?
I’ve only used 100% whole wheat. Atta flour is better for unleavened breads, so I don’t see it working well in this recipe.
Very easy to follow recipe and the results were FANTASTIC , wish I could post a picture.
I wish you could post a picture too. Hoping to be able to add that feature to my web design in the future. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to leave your comment Marcella!
Is it ok if I don’t want to add honey.
You may want to substitute with granulated or brown sugar. The sugar/honey feeds the yeast making the rolls lighter and fluffier.
Can you make these in a bread machine?
I don’t have any experience with a bread machine, so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
These were good! However, mine came out too yeasty! Is it really 2tablespoons or is it 2teaspoons or 1 packet of yeast?
2 Tablespoons is correct. There is a possibility that if you let it rise too long, it will have a strong yeasty taste. You could try slightly less yeast or a slightly less rise time. Hope this helps!
Does freshly ground wheat flour work well in this recipe?
Yes. That is what I use. Enjoy!
Oh my goodness these would be perfect for Thankgiving! THatnks for the idea!
Definitely! Enjoy!