Whole Wheat Hawaiian Rolls made with Fresh Milled Flour – Outstanding!
I have to share how I make these Whole Wheat Hawaiian Rolls made with Fresh Milled Flour! They are outstanding, dare I say, even better than the name brand ones you buy in the store! And, they are so light & airy, they just peel apart. Basically, my mouth is watering as I type this!
Why You Need To Try These Dinner Rolls
These Sweet Hawaiian Rolls are a must try! They are the perfect combination of sweet with a “tang.” And, I think they are even better when I prepare the rolls the night before. Then put them in the refrigerator overnight covered. Next, get them out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before you want to bake them. Bake them and enjoy warm & fresh! I can’t explain how soft, airy, and pull apart good they are!
What Is Different About Making These With Fresh Milled Flour?
The main difference between making these Whole Wheat Hawaiian Rolls with Fresh milled flour vs regular commercial flour is the health benefits that fresh milled flour provides. Commercial Flours are processed and in doing so, the nutrients of the whole wheat are stripped. Also, fresh milled flour requires more kneading time. So, knead until it passes the window pane test. HERE is an example of that windowpane test.
Which Nutrients Are Lost When Flour Is Processed?
Processing Whole Wheat to make flour removes the most nutritious parts of the grain. When processed, the germ & bran are removed for the sake of spoilage and a longer shelf life. The Nutrients that are lost when flour is processed include, but not limited to:
- Protein
- Magnesium
- Dietary Fiber
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin B
- Iron
- Selenium
- Potassium
So, What Is Left After Commercial Milling & Processing Of The Flour?
After Flour is commercially milled and then processed, only the endosperm of the wheat berry remains. The Milling process grinds the whole wheat berry, and the commercial processing then removes the bran & the germ. The result is a soft fluffy white flour that contains little to no nutritional value.
What About Whole Wheat Flour From The Store?
Unfortunately, whole wheat flour from the store is not a whole lot better than white flour in the store. It is marketed as a healthier version of white flour, because it has some of the bran added back in. This too, is why it normally will have a bitter flavor, and needs to be sweetened to cover it up (hence, honey wheat being so popular, etc) So, when whole wheat flour is processed, it goes through the same processing steps as the white flour, completely stripping the flour of all the nutrients, then just adding a small percentage of only the bran back in.
Ingredients To Make These Whole Wheat Hawaiian Rolls
- 3&1/2 cup fresh milled flour 420g (I used hard white wheat, with a little Kamut)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pineapple juice (240g) (room temperature)
- 4 TBSP softened butter (56g)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (75g)
- 1 tsp vanilla I love to make my own Vanilla Extract. HERE is my video how to make that.
- 1&1/2 tsp salt
- 2&1/2 tsp yeast
- *optional 1 TBSP butter to top after baking
Instructions To Making These Whole Wheat Hawaiian Rolls
- Mill the flour
- Pour Pineapple juice, softened butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, & salt into stand mixer bowl & mix until combined
- Add flour into bowl & Mix until cohesive & smooth. It will be a sticky dough.
- Let mixture sit covered for 15 minutes for the flour to absorb liquids.
- Then, add yeast and begin kneading dough until it passes the window pane test.
- Spray dough with oil & cover for 1-2 hours or until doubled.
- On an oiled surface, divide dough into 12 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a smooth ball.
- Oil or line a 9×13 baking pan with sides.
- Put 12 rolls into pan & cover – Let rise for 40 minutes until nice & puffy.
- Preheat oven to 350*F towards the end of the second rise.
- Bake for 20-25 mins until internal temperature is 190*F
- After the rolls come out of the oven, brush with melted butter *optional
What Is The Window Pane Test?
The Window Pane test is a test to see if the dough is ready to rise (done kneading.) The dough should be stretchy, and you should be able to pull it gently to pull the dough so you can see through it like a windowpane. I made a very short video to show a window pane pass and fail test! You can watch that HERE
If You Want To Learn More About Milling Your Own Flour, I have a Fresh Milled Flour 101 post. I Recommend Starting With That Post.
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Checkout My Other Recipe
Tips & Tricks For Milling Your Own Flour
Whole Wheat Hawaiian Roll Video – Copycat King’s Hawaiian Rolls Recipe
Whole Wheat Hawaiian Rolls
Ingredients
- 3&1/2 cup Fresh milled flour 420g I used hard white wheat, with a little Kamut
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup pineapple juice 240g (room temperature)
- 4 TBSP softened butter 56g
- 1/3 cup brown sugar 75g
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1&1/2 tsp salt
- 2&1/2 tsp instant yeast
- *optional 1 TBSP butter to top after baking
Instructions
- Mill the flour
- Pour Pineapple juice, softened butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, & salt into stand mixer bowl & mix until combined
- Add flour into bowl & Mix until cohesive & smooth. It will be a sticky dough.
- Let mixture sit covered for 15 minutes for the flour to absorb liquids.
- Then, add yeast and begin kneading dough until it passes the window pane test.
- Spray dough with oil & cover for 1-2 hours or until doubled.
- On an oiled surface, divide dough into 12 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a smooth ball.
- Oil or line a 9×13 baking pan with sides.
- Put 12 rolls into pan & cover – Let rise for 40 minutes until nice & puffy.
- Preheat oven to 350*F towards the end of the second rise.
- Bake for 20-25 mins until internal temperature is 190*F
- After the rolls come out of the oven, brush with melted butter *optional
Video
Notes
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Could I freeze rolls after shaping before that second rise. I’m trying to do as much Pascha preparation ahead of time as possible ha. Also just noticed I’m out of hard white berries but I have hard red and soft white. Would you recommend using all hard red or maybe doing a combo 80 red 20 soft white? Thanks!
I wouldn’t use soft white, it doesn’t work great in bread type doughs because it doesn’t develop gluten for nice stretchy dough. I would go with all hard red out of those options. You can freeze them before the second rise, then put them in the fridge the night before to thaw. OR make them the day before, and before the second rise cover and place them in the fridge overnight. With either method, after you pull them out of the fridge, set them on the counter to come to room temperature (usually 1-2 hours) then bake. 🙂
This dough was way too sticky. I had high hopes but even with putting oil on my hands it was too sticky to work with.
I have a new video out on sticky dough that may be helpful. 🙂
https://youtu.be/tdnCrbOsVag
Still have yet to make these, but I am making them in advance for a trip. Recommendations for reheating after frozen? I’m good to bake before hand, but would you recommend freezing before the second rise?
You can freeze after shaping before second rise. Then put them in the fridge the night before you want to bake them to thaw, then the next morning, put them on the counter to come to room temp (usually 1-2 hours) then bake as directed. OR you can bake them, and freeze after baking, then let them thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours before enjoying. 🙂
Would love to know how I could do these with sourdough!
You can sub the yeast out, and add about 1/2 cup 115g of active sourdough starter. Decrease the liquid by about 50g, and watch the rise times, they will be a bit longer.
I rarely leave reviews, but thought I’d do so in case it helps anyone.
I am one year into my FMF journey, but newer to breads. I’m a skilled home cook, but not a confident baker. I went through some stages of emotion while making this recipe and questioning how it would turn out. Follow the instructions closely and you will be set up for success.
I used a mix of 75% hard red & 25% einkorn.
I let my dough autolyze 5-10 minutes longer than suggested.
Many comments cite wet dough — I experienced the same, and nearly gave up on this recipe, but didn’t want to waste ingredients, and decided to persist.
It took my KitchenAid mixer ~32 minutes to reach windowpane stage. After about 20-25 minutes, the dough really transformed from a shaggy, wet mess into a tacky, loosely-formed ball.
If you are struggling with wet dough, I suggest keep kneading… it will come together eventually.
The end result was excellent. The whole pan was gone in a flash!
Awesome! I Aam glad you enjoyed them, and thank you for sharing! 🙂
Just a heads-up in case you want to edit the write-up that goes with the recipe, there’s this heading: “So, What Is Left After Milling Flour?” The text that follows it sounds like it is talking about what is left after PROCESSING flour.
Of course when we freshly mill flour, we’re left with all the good things, but that part of the article makes it sound like milling the flour leaves you with a depleted end product.
Thank you so much, I did make some changes to that to clarify for readers. Thank you! 🙂
Hello! Could I use an oil (like avocado or EVOO) instead of butter? If so, about how much do you think I should use? Thank you!
PS We’re dairy free, and I’d prefer not to use coconut oil, so it can make finding a sub for butter a challenge 🙂
I would like to make a batch of these and freeze them before baking. Should I do this after the first rise and shape? Then how long do I set them out before baking?
I let the dough rise once, shape them. Then freeze in an oiled freezer safe container. The night before baking, put them in the fridge to thaw, then on the counter the next day to come to room temp (usually 1-2 hours) Then bake.
Is it possible to make these without the pineapple juice or a different kind of juice. Sadly, I’m allergic to pineapple.
The Hawaiian Flavor comes from the pineapple juice, to make them without, I recommend you use my sweet dinner roll recipe here. https://grainsinsmallplaces.net/sweet-yeast-dinner-rolls/
Can these be made and then frozen after the second rise? And then take taken out to thaw and do the 2nd rise on the day of baking?
You can let the dough rise, then shape and freeze before the second rise. The night before you want to bake them, let them thaw in the fridge. Then the day you want to make them, put them on the counter to come to room temp (about 1-2 hours.) Then bake them.