Freshly Milled Flour Hawaiian Rolls
These freshly milled flour Hawaiian rolls are perfectly fluffy and sweet! We love having them plain with butter, serving them with BBQ, or using them for homemade sliders.
Servings: 24 rolls
Calories: 168kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ cups pineapple juice warmed to about 100–105°F
- 4½ teaspoons active dry yeast 2 packets
- ¾ cup cane sugar divided (166g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter melted and cooled (1 stick)
- ¼ cup whole milk (2oz)
- 5 cups freshly milled hard white wheat flour (650 g (130g per cup))
For the wash
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Activate the yeastPour the warm pineapple juice and milk into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the yeast along with 2 tbsp of sugar.Add 1 cup of the flour and whisk into a thick slurry. Let sit 5–10 minutes until bubbly and expanded.
- Build the doughAdd the remaining sugar, eggs, and salt. Mix well.Add 4 more cups of freshly milled flour. Begin mixing until a shaggy dough forms.Knead for about 4–5 minutes before adding the butter.
- Add the butterSlowly mix in the melted butter a little at a time. After everything is mixed, wet your hands and begin kneading the dough in the bowl. Knead for about 10 minutes. The dough should become smoother and start pulling away from the sides of the bowl, though it may still stick slightly when you lift it.The dough will feel sticky. That’s normal and helps keep the rolls soft. Try not to add extra flour if possible. If it becomes too difficult to handle, you can add a small amount of flour a little at a time, but keep in mind that adding too much flour will make the rolls more dense.*See notes below for doing the stretch and fold method.
- First riseCover the dough with a tea towel.Let rise until doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 1 ½ to 3 hours, depending on your home's temperature. (See notes on rising tips.)
- ShapePunch down the dough and divide it into around 24 small rolls.Shape into tight balls and place into greased baking pans. Keep in mind they are going to about double in size, so shape them accordingly.
- Second riseCover and let the rolls rise again until puffy, about 1 ½ times their size (about 40 minutes). They should look airy and pillowy.
- BakePreheat oven to 350°F.Bake 18–22 minutes, until golden and the internal temperature reaches 190–195°F.
- Cool and serveBrush the warm rolls with melted butter. Let cool at least 10–15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- *Stretch and fold: Instead of kneading, you can develop the dough by stretching and folding it during the first rise.
- After mixing the dough, cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes. Wet your hands, then grab one side of the dough, gently stretch it upward, and fold it back over the center. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Continue until you’ve gone all the way around the dough (about 4 folds total).
- Cover the bowl again and let it rest another 30 minutes. Repeat this process every 30 minutes for about 2–3 hours, or until the dough becomes smoother, elastic, and holds its shape better.
- If your house is on the cooler side, you can place the dough in the oven with the oven light on. Just make sure you do not turn on the oven!
- You can make this with hard red wheat, too, but it will be a bit more grainy. Still good, but they don't have that same "Hawaiian roll" taste.
- I always recommend investing in a good grain mill. I tried a few before I settled on my Mockmill professional grain mill, and the quality of the mill made a huge difference in the texture of my baked goods.