These are soft 100% whole wheat rolls.
Whole Wheat Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 4 ½ cups whole wheat flour (510 grams) + a little more as needed
- 1 ½ Tbsp vital wheat gluten
- ¾ tsp salt
- Unsalted butter, softened (to brush on the hot rolls after they come out of the oven)
Instructions
- Use a whisk to dissolve the yeast in the ½ cup warm water (in a glass or ceramic bowl or cup that will hold at least 1 cup of liquid.) Set aside
- Cream the butter and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping the sides of the bowl after each egg. (Note: there will still be some butter lumps after you finish adding the eggs.)
- Stir in the milk and the yeast mixture.
- Add 4 ½ cup of the flour. Then add the vital wheat gluten and the salt. Mix until combined. Change to the dough hook and knead for 2-3 minutes only, just until the dough comes away from the edges of the bowl. (The dough will still be sticking to the bottom of the bowl.). The dough should be smooth, but not tacky. If needed, add 1-2 tablespoons more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead it for a few more seconds. The kneading is done if you can lightly touch the dough without the dough sticking to your finger. (The dough will only leave a small residue on your finger)
- First rise: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 1 hour to allow the dough to rise.
- After the first rise, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead a couple of times, and then let the dough rest for 3-5 minutes.
- Butter and bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and a 9 inch square baking pan.
- Shape the dough into a rectangle. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough into 24 roughly equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place into the baking pans: in the 9 x 13 pan, you will place 15 the balls 3 across x 5 down, evenly spaced. In the 9 inch square pan, you will place the balls 3 across x 3 down, evenly spaced.
- nd rise: Cover the baking dishes with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the rolls will round, and the balls will spread out to touch each other.
- The last 20 minutes of the 2nd rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- After the 2nd rise is complete, place the baking dishes into the preheat oven and bake 18-25 minutes, until the tops of the rolls are golden brown.
- Remove pans from oven and brush the tops of the hot rolls with unsalted butter.
- Let the rolls cool in the pans until they are just warm enough to eat. Then turn the rolls out of the pan, break them apart, and serve.
- Notes:
Make ahead rolls:
- After the rolls have cooled in the pan, remove them as one piece. Separate into sections and place each section into a freezer bag. Freeze up to a month until needed.
- When ready to use, thaw the rolls on the kitchen counter (still in the freezer bag). After thawing, remove from the bag, wrap in aluminum foil, and bake in a preheated 300-350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the rolls are warm through.
- Or, you can thaw 1-4 rolls in the microwave by wrapping them in a paper towel and cooking on high for 6 seconds per roll.
