Hawaiian Rolls Made with Fresh Milled Flour
I’m not sure about your family, but my kids can demolish a pack of King’s Hawaiian rolls in about 2.4 seconds. They are one of their favorite things. Never mind that they are gone almost before I even take them out of the bag, but the store-bought versions leave a lot to be desired in the nutrition department. So, of course, I had to go on a mission to make my own Hawaiian rolls using fresh milled flour.
Whole wheat flour often gets a bad rap for making dense, crumbly, or heavy breads. But these pineapple juice sweetened rolls are soft, airy, and packed with the nutty and earthy goodness you love about whole wheat. Perfect for any dinner, holiday meal, sandwiches, or burgers.
Up for more fresh milled whole-wheat baking? Try our Dinner Rolls, Half Whole Wheat Sourdough Boule, Sourdough Sandwich Bread, Hot Cross Buns, Homemade Crescent Rolls, or Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.
Autolyzing Sweet Whole Wheat Bread
For the best results, we soak the flour, sugar, and juice for at least 30 minutes (up to an hour) before adding other ingredients to help with the gluten development in freshly milled flour.
It helps to soften the bran as well to avoid some of the density and crumbly texture you might have experienced with other freshly milled flour recipes. You don’t want to add the fat or oils before the bran has softened as it will coat the grain and prevent it from hydrating and giving you a softer roll.
It is also super important to knead your dough long enough to get the elasticity and gluten strength you’re looking for in these whole grain rolls. This is a sticky dough so you’ll want to make sure you’ve passed window pane test (or pretty close) before you bulk rise or you’ll be left with a sticky mess.
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Fresh Milled Hawaiian Roll Recipe
Tools
- Grain Mill
- Stand Mixer with Dough Hook Attachment
- Mixing Bowl
- Dough Scraper
- Pastry Brush
- Spray Oil for Rolling Dough and Greasing Pan
- Baking Pan(s)
- Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (255g) Pineapple Juice
- 1/2 Cup (100g) Water
- 1/4 Cup (55g) Brown Sugar
- 2 Cups (400g) Hard White Wheat Berries
- 1/2 Cup (95g) Kamut Wheat Berries
- 1 Egg
- 1/3 Cup (70g) Coconut Oil, melted
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Tbsp Butter, melted for brushing tops of rolls
Step By Step Instructions for Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Autolyse Dough: Add warm water, brown sugar, and pineapple juice to bowl of a stand mixer and grind flours right on top of water. Mix into a shaggy dough and autolyse for 60 minutes, meanwhile grease baking pan(s).
Mixing and Kneading: Add coconut oil, salt, egg, egg yolk, and yeast. Knead for 5-15 minutes. Time may depend on your mixer and environment. You’ll know when your dough is kneaded enough when you can pull some dough up a few inches, and it stretches rather than breaks apart. You may also see some strands of gluten have formed.
First Rise: Cover and let dough rise for 30-60 minutes, or until your dough has about doubled in size. Don’t cut your rises short as they are important for developing the flavor and texture of your bread.
Shaping: Dump the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and cut into 16 pieces with dough scraper. I eyeball it when it comes to dividing the dough into 16 pieces, but you can use a kitchen scale. Shape dough pieces into dough balls.
- Step 1: stretch each piece out a little into a rectangle
- Step 2: fold over right side, then left side
- Step 3: scrunch the dough together like a dumpling
- Step 4: using your palm, roll the dough in circles on the countertop for about 5-10 seconds
You want to make sure they have tension, so they don’t flatten into pancakes. I like to lightly oil my counter and hands for shaping.
Place shaped rolls into greased pan. Spacing is up to you – some people like to have them closer to be able to tear them apart, I generally space them a bit as I often freeze them for sandwiches, but if you want to classic tear-apart rolls feel free to place close together!
Second Rise: Cover with plastic wrap and let Hawaiian rolls rise for 15 minutes in a warm area, or until puffed. While rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees. You can tell when your rolls are ready for baking by pressing a knuckle into the dough and seeing if it bounces back into place or not. It is ready when the dough does NOT bounce back quickly and stays depressed. If the dent still bounces back fast give them another 5 minutes of rising and check again.
Bake: Brush tops of the rolls with melted butter. You can alternatively do an egg wash if you’d like. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and internal temperature is about 200-205 degrees.
Serve: Brush tops with butter again if desired and enjoy!
Notes:
- This is a very sticky dough due to the hydration %! It will become a little less sticky after the first rise, but will be a little more involved with shaping.
- You can try lightly flouring the counter for shaping too, I have just found the oil works best for me.
- If you don’t have pineapple juice on hand, try using orange juice
- You can use all hard white wheat
- Makes about 16 rolls
Serving Suggestions for Hawaiian Rolls
Now matter how you enjoy your sweet Hawaiian rolls, you will savor the perfect balance of wholesome nutrition and indulgent comfort. We love to eat them warm from the oven plain, and if they last more than an hour, they are also great served as mini sandwiches with:
- Smear of salted butter
- Nutella
- Jam
- PB&J
- Lunch meat and cheese
- Egg and Sausage
- Burgers
I hope you give this whole wheat Hawaiian rolls recipe a try. Just the smell of that sweet flavor filling your kitchen will make you want to bake them again (and maybe your kids begging).
How Long Does Hawaiian Bread Last
If these rolls last more than a day in your house you can place completely cooled rolls in an unsealed plastic or bread bag, or container, on the counter for a couple of days. You can also freeze them after they have cooled for 2-3 months if sealed well. Let rolls thaw and come to room temperature before serving or rewarm in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Homemade Hawaiian Rolls Made with Fresh Milled Flour
Learn to make homemade Hawaiian Rolls with Fresh Milled Flour. These whole grain buns will have you skipping the store and baking up a storm.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (255g) Pineapple Juice
- 1/2 Cup (100g) Water
- 1/4 Cup (55g) Brown Sugar
- 2 Cups (400g) Hard White Wheat Berries
- 1/2 Cup (95g) Kamut Wheat Berries
- 1 Egg
- 1/3 Cup (70g) Coconut Oil, melted
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Tbsp Butter, melted for brushing tops of rolls
Instructions
- Autolyse Dough: Add warm water, brown sugar, and pineapple juice to mixing bowl and grind flours right on top of water. Mix into a shaggy dough and autolyse for 60 minutes, meanwhile grease baking pan(s).
- Mixing and Kneading: Add coconut oil, salt, egg, egg yolk, and yeast. Knead for 5-15 minutes. Time may depend on your mixer and environment. You'll know when your dough is kneaded enough when you can pull some dough up a few inches, and it stretches rather than breaks apart. You may also see some strands of gluten have formed.
- First Rise: Cover and let dough rise for 30-60 minutes, or until your dough has about doubled in size. Don't cut your rises short as they are important for developing the flavor and texture of your bread.
- Shaping: Dump the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and cut into 16 pieces with dough scraper. I eyeball it when it comes to dividing the dough into 16 pieces, but you can use a kitchen scale. Shape dough pieces into dough balls.
- Place shaped rolls into greased pan. Spacing is up to you - some people like to have them closer to be able to tear them apart, I generally space them a bit as I often freeze them for sandwiches, but if you want to classic tear-apart rolls feel free to place close together!
- Second Rise: Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes in a warm area, or until puffed. While rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees. You can tell when your rolls are ready for baking by pressing a knuckle into the dough and seeing if it bounces back into place or not. It is ready when the dough does NOT bounce back quickly and stays depressed. If the dent still bounces back fast give them another 5 minutes of rising and check again.
- Bake: Brush tops of the rolls with melted butter. You can alternatively do an egg wash if you'd like. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and internal temperature is about 200-205 degrees.
- Serve: Brush tops with butter again if desired and enjoy!
Notes
This is a very sticky dough due to the hydration %! It will become a little less sticky after the first rise, but will be a little more involved with shaping.
You can try lightly flouring the counter for shaping too, I have just found the oil works best for me.
If you don't have pineapple juice on hand, try using orange juice
Use all hard white wheat if that is what you have.
Makes about 16 rolls
Nutrition Information
Yield 16 Serving Size 1 RollAmount Per Serving Calories 61Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 15mgSodium 181mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 2g
*This has not been evaluated by the FDA
FAQS
You can store completely cooled rolls in an unsealed plastic or bread bag on the counter for a couple of days.
We recommend using hard wheat as a higher gluten content is required in this recipe.
Yes! This recipe will make 2 small sandwich loaves or 1 large loaf.
Yes! Freeze them after they have cooled. They will keep for up to 3 months if sealed well. Let them thaw and come to room temperature before serving or rewarm in microwave for 20-30 seconds.
I was looking for a Hawaiian roll recipe and yours popped up. I am so glad that I found it, because I love Hawaiian rolls, but don’t like to eat refined foods. So this is perfect with the fresh milled flour and I’m glad you have such detailed instructions on hydration and all the steps. Awesome recipe!