Marie Saba

From My Kitchen To Yours

These easy wheat dinner rolls are so tender and soft. Fresh from the oven, they taste like a warm hug. If you’ve never made rolls, not to worry. Let’s break it into four steps: (1) Dough, (2) Knead, (3) Rise, (4) Rolls.

For the DOUGH, you’ll need a small bowl, a medium bowl, and a large bowl. In the small bowl, whisk the yeast and a bit of sugar, and then some warm water. If it gets foamy after 5 minutes, you’re good to go. In the medium bowl, heat the milk and butter in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. In the large bowl, mix together the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Then add warm milk, melted butter, honey, sour cream (or egg), and the yeast mixture to the flour. Now stir until a dough forms.

Next up, kneading. KNEAD the dough in a stand-mixer with a dough hook or on a lightly floured surface, adding flour as needed. Then put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

To let the dough RISE, set the bowl in a warm place for 1-2 hours. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, and divide the dough into 16 balls of dough. (My hack for making 16 even pieces is on this video.) Then let the ROLLS rise for 45 minutes. Now it’s time to bake! Brush on an egg wash, pop them in the oven for 25 minutes, and your wheat dinner rolls are ready to enjoy! Don’t have wheat flour? These easy dinner rolls are made with all-purpose flour.

Wheat Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

2 1/4 teaspoons (1/4 oz, 7 g) active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon (12 g) sugar
3 Tablespoons (45 g) warm water, 105 to 115 degrees F (40 – 46 degrees C)
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
6 Tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (55 g) sour cream or 1 large (50 g) egg
1/4 cup (84 g) honey (optional)
2 cups (280 g) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoon (9 g) Kosher salt

For Egg Wash: 1 egg + 2 teaspoons water, whisked and strained

For Butter Wash: 2 Tablespoon melted butter

Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together yeast and 1 Tablespoon (12 g) sugar. Add 3 Tablespoons warm water and whisk again. Let stand 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, microwave milk and butter for 1 minute, or until milk is warm and butter is just melted. Add sour cream and 1-4 Tablespoons honey (depending on desired sweetness). Stir gently to combine.
In a large bowl (or bowl of a stand-mixer), whisk together wheat flour, white flour, and salt. Add milk mixture and yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms. Knead dough in a stand-mixer with a dough hook, or by hand on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 4-5 minutes in the stand mixer or 6-8 minutes by hand.
Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down dough and then bring it together into a ball. Divide dough into 16 balls. Place rolls side by side, lightly touching, into four rows of four. Cover with a clean dish towel and let sit in warm spot 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If using an egg wash, whisk one egg in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons water. Strain egg and discard stringy pieces. Using a pastry brush, gently brush tops of rolls with egg. Bake until rolls are puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

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