Soft Honey Whole Wheat Rolls
These 100% whole wheat rolls are super duper soft, hence why I call them soft honey whole wheat rolls! These are made to be dinner rolls but they're large enough that they work really well as hamburger buns too. They're buttery, with a delicious honey-wheat and buttermilk flavor. In my opinion, the hallmark of a good roll is: that it's good without butter. These are absolutely delicious without butter. Of course, they're even more delicious with butter, but these don't need any help with flavor or texture.
You may look at the time required and think this recipe is super daunting. I promise you, it's really not that hard. Most of that time is spent letting the dough slow rise in the fridge to develop the flavors and soft texture. Really you just measure a handful of ingredients, knead it a couple of times right in the bowl, and let it rise a couple of times. I promise you'll do fine.
This recipe makes a huge batch of rolls so it's perfect for big families or holidays. Not only will this recipe make enough for a max of 16 people, but they'll also all be super impressed when you tell them you made them yourself! If you aren't feeding a crowd, that's okay. These keep super well in the freezer, or you can easily halve the recipe. They'll also last a few days on the counter before they get stale.
One benefit of this recipe is: it doesn't call for a particular kind of whole wheat flour like some recipes. Some whole wheat roll recipes call for white whole wheat flour because it tends to make a softer bread than red wheat. It can sometimes be difficult to find white wheat flour though. Fortunately, this recipe will work with any variety of whole wheat flour. It relies on instant mashed potatoes, butter, buttermilk, and honey as dough conditioners/enhancers for softness!
Dough enhancers fascinate me, especially natural ones. A little bit of ground ginger (not enough to taste, I promise!) is also added to this recipe as a dough enhancer, because yeast likes ginger! Who knew? I didn't until a few months ago. You can read more about dough enhancers here: https://bit.ly/2DAcHiV
Or, you can skip the bread nerd stuff and just follow this recipe. Have leftover soft honey whole wheat rolls and want to make lunch? These rolls would be perfect for making egg salad sandwiches! Here's Mary's egg salad recipe: https://bit.ly/30FVL33
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 packet active dry yeast (or about 2 1/4 tsp)
- 4 cup whole wheat flour (red or white whole wheat both work)
- 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 cup salted butter plus 2 tbsp (divided)
- 1 1/3 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Measure out the water and honey into a small bowl and warm it in the microwave until its just lukewarm.
- Add the yeast to the bowl and stir. Set aside.
Measure out the flour, mashed potato flakes, ginger, and salt and put it in a large bowl. Mix with a fork.- Melt the butter.
When the yeast is a little foamy, add it to the flour mixture. Also add the buttermilk and butter. Mix with a fork until it starts to come together.
Knead the dough in the bowl (without adding additional flour!) for about 7 minutes. It'll be a soft sticky dough.- Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for about 5 hours. Not more than 6 1/2 or less than 4 1/2.
Remove from the fridge and let sit on the counter at room temperature for about an hour.- Butter a large 10 by 15 baking dish.
Punch down the dough and knead it for a minute or two.
Cut the dough into 16 even pieces. I like to cut the dough into 8 pieces with kitchen shears in the bowl and then pull the pieces out one at a time and cut them in half. But, you can do it however you want as long as the pieces are semi-even.- Place dough balls in the dish, these are pull apart style rolls so don't worry that they're close together.
Melt about 2 tbsp of butter and generously brush each dough ball with butter.
Cover with a damp cloth or paper towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 200°F.
Enjoy! Best served warm.