Whole Wheat Rolls for a Perfect Holiday Meal or Sunday Dinner
Are you looking for some easy whole wheat rolls to make your dinner special? Well, you have found the perfect recipe. These not only make delicious rolls to serve as a side but also can feature in your main course as slider buns (small buns to serve with mini hamburgers and pulled pork or chicken). These whole wheat rolls make a great dinner or fantastic addition to a party spread, too!
Are These Rolls Hard to Make?
If you have ever made sandwich bread then you will find these rolls easy to make. Even if you have never made sandwich bread, or any other bread, I provide easy to follow, step-by-step instructions below. That way, even the most novice bread baker can succeed in making these delicious whole wheat rolls for dinner.
I trust King Arthur’s Flours as they are always of good consistent quality, fresh and readily available at grocery stores.
In this recipe I use instant dry yeast like this Fleischmann’s a brand I trust. Use an instant yeast in your local store or ordered online.
I trust King Arthur’s Flours as they are always of good consistent quality, fresh and readily available at grocery stores.
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Are These 100% Whole Wheat Rolls?
No, I use a combination of 100% organic whole wheat flour and organic all purpose flour to achieve the consistency that I desired. There are recipes that use a higher percentage of whole wheat flour, for sure. However, the trade off in making soft rolls using a higher percentage of whole wheat flour is time. The bread dough using a high percentage of whole wheat flour must be allowed to rest overnight or longer to soften the wheat kernels to produce a fluffy dinner roll. The recipe I offer is a combination of whole wheat flavor but with a reduced time for fermenting and proofing. This produces a soft and fluffy whole wheat roll without the overnight wait.
How Long Does It Take to Make These?
From beginning to end, the recipe takes 3.5-4 hours, the rolls can be prepared ahead of time and retarded in the refrigerator to prepare the next day. The actual time depends on some factors, for instance, how warm is your proofing area. If you want to decrease the time it takes the dough to rise during bulk fermentation, you can place it (or the formed rolls for final proof) in a warm location. Some suggestions that work nicely is in your oven (do not turn it on) with a pan of steaming water. In the oven with the interior light turned on. Or, if you happen to have a proof setting on your oven, that is fantastic. Just keep an eye on your dough as it will rise rapidly in those environments. Do not allow them to over proof as it will ruin your dough.
I use a bench scraper for every bread I make, to cut and portion the dough and to scrape off dried on dough from the countertops. Indispensable, just get one.
I use this Anchor Hocking glass 9″ x 13″ baking dish for these rolls. You can use a metal one but I like the glass one so I can see if the rolls are done on the bottom.
I use a silicone pastry brush to egg wash these rolls. I like the silicone because it is easy to clean and can be washed in the dishwasher.
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How To Serve These Rolls?
These whole wheat rolls are fantastic served warm. From the oven, allow 10 minutes cooling time, then serve with your meal. They can easily be reheated later if you want to prepare them ahead of time. Just pop them into a 350 degrees oven for 10 minutes and then serve.
These rolls make a wonderful accompaniment to any meal. However, they can also be used as slider buns. For the benefit of those who are reading this from countries other than USA, a “slider” is a term we use for mini-sandwiches. Usually, mini-hamburgers or pulled sandwich meat like pork or chicken. They will equally serve well as small sandwich rolls for ham and cheese or any other fillings, too. The leftovers also go exceptionally well with butter and jam for breakfast.
As an Amazon associate I earn a small amount from purchases, at no cost to you.Freezing Whole Wheat Rolls For Your Dinner
These rolls can be frozen pre or post-baking for easy meal prep. If you desire to make them well in advance, you can freeze the 12 dough balls after the Pre-Shaping & Rounding step in the recipe below. After forming the 12 balls, place them on waxed/grease proof paper and allow them to freeze without touching one another. After frozen, place them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Pull out as many as you want to bake, place them in a prepared baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature until doubled in size. Bake as directed.
It’s also possible to freeze these after baking. Do not tear them apart. After baking, freeze whole in a freezer bag. Remove from freezer and allow to come to room temperature. Reheat in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Inspiration for This Recipe
It was a Sunday afternoon and I had a pork shoulder in the crockpot on slow cook, producing delicious pulled pork. However, I did not have any rolls to serve with the pork for dinner. My family wanted to go for a bike ride, so no time to run to the store before dinner. Instead, I quickly modified my Challah recipe to make this version of rolls. While the dough was bulk fermenting, I was able to take that bike ride, something my family loves to do together! When I returned, I was able to form these, proof them and pop these in the oven to bake while I assembled a side salad and finished prep on the pork. Too easy.
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Sharing is Caring
This recipe makes one dozen Whole Wheat Rolls. You can easily break off a half dozen and give them away to a neighbor, co-worker or friend. It is sure to warm your generous heart and to delight your friend! As always, please post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag me @christinasbreadbakes. I love to see your beautiful creations.
Happy baking Bread Bakers!
Soft Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls/Slider Buns
Equipment
- Digital Metric Scale
- Electric Mixer with Dough Hook and Whisk
- 2 L container with lid (or bowl)
- Bench scraper
- 9" x 13" pan
Ingredients
- 225 grams Buttermilk 1 cup
- 3 T Honey
- 125 grams Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup
- 1.5 tsp Instant Yeast
- 60 g Butter, melted 1/4 cup
- 1 ea Egg
- 250 grams All Purpose Flour
- ½ tsp salt
Topping
- 1 ea Egg
- 2 T Poppy Seeds optional
Instructions
Scaling
- Measure all ingredients using a metric kitchen scale.
Mixing
- Mix on low the whole wheat flour and instant yeast in bowl of electric mixer with whisk attachment.
- Heat buttermilk to no warmer than 110 degrees. Hint: I used one cup of 2% milk and added 1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar since I did not have any buttermilk.
- Mix honey into warm buttermilk.
- Pour buttermilk mixture into bowl of an electric mixer with the whole wheat flour & yeast.
- Mix with whisk attachment on medium-low speed until ingredients are moistened. Scrape sides and mix again.
- Rest mixture for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt butter and allow to cool slightly.
- After 15 minutes, pour melted butter and egg into bowl of the electric mixer with the whole wheat mixture.
- Mix with whisk attachment on medium-low speed until ingredients are just incorporated.
- Switch to dough hook and add salt and all but 2 T of AP flour.
- Mix on low for 2 minutes or until no dry ingredients remain.
- Mix on speed two for 5 more minutes until dough pulls from the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom. Adding the extra 2 T of flour, if needed. Hint: Do not add too much flour or knead these too long. It will make the final rolls tough rather than soft.
Bulk Fermentation
- Dump dough onto counter, knead a few times just into a smooth ball.
- Spray a container or bowl with spray oil.
- Place dough ball into container.
- Cover with plastic wrap or cover, set aside and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, may take up to 1½ hours.
Folding (sometimes called punching)
- Dump doubled dough onto counter top. Gently press dough into a loose rectangle about 30 x 23 cm (12" x 9").
- Roll dough loosely into a 12" log.
Dividing
- Using a Bench Scraper, cut the log into 12 equal pieces.
Pre-Shaping or Rounding
- Pull outside of each piece of dough into the center. Turn dough ball over and tighten by pulling towards you, turn, pull until you have a tight ball. Repeat with each of 12 pieces.
- Rest the rounded dough balls on the counter for few minutes while you prepare the baking pan.
- Prepare the baking pan lightly with spray oil or butter.
Make-up and Panning
- Give the dough balls one more tighten. Place them into the prepared pan 3 across and 4 down, spaced evenly.
- Cover pan with plastic wrap.
Proofing
- Set rolls aside to proof in a warm area until doubled in size, may take up to 45 minutes. Rolls should be touching slightly.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 375° F / 190° C.
- Mix egg with a few drops of water.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the doubled rolls with egg wash being careful not to deflate them.
- If desired, sprinkle the tops of the rolls with sesame seeds.
- Place rolls into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn pan 180° and continue to bake for 10 more minutes until they are golden brown on top and bottoms are browned.
Cooling
- Cool buns for 10 minutes in pan, pull apart and serve warm.
So golden and delicious! Yum!
Hi Addie – Glad you like them, come by again soon!
Love these whole wheat dinner rolls. Tastes so good.
Hi Shilpa – So glad you enjoyed them, thanks for the visit!
I love homemade bread. The taste is AmAzInG!
Hi Gina – I agree, homemade bread is amazing!! Thanks for visiting.
I’ve always wanted to make my own dinner rolls but felt intimidated. These look easy enough, though! They sound delicious too!
Hi Leah – Thank you. These are easy enough rolls to make and a great addition to dinner. Enjoy.
If I could eat bread without gaining weight I’d make homemade rolls every night for dinner. Yours look wonderfully soft and fluffy!!
Hi Cindy! Since I bake bread almost every day, I totally understand the concern about weight gain. Thanks for the compliment though, these rolls are indeed soft & fluffy!
I love dinner rolls. I’ve tried to make some before, but I can never get it right. I always get the preparation of the yeast wrong, and the dough is always so flat. I love that you’ve included detailed instructions and pictures on this recipe so it’s easy to follow. I have to learn to make dinner rolls again because they’re so delicious!
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Hi Colette – I always write my recipes with full instructions to help novice bread bakers, enjoy trying these!
What a great recipe! Cannot wait to make it. Those rolls look amazing and delicious.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Giangi! Enjoy serving these with your favorite dinner.
Wow … these whole wheat rolls look absolutely delicious!!! I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Amanda – Thank you and enjoy the rolls!