These whole wheat rolls are fluffy, stay soft for days, and make excellent sandwiches! A must-have for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. With a dairy-free option. Check out the reviews if you need convincing!
Continuing on with healthier Easter recipes, I give you the gift of fluffy whole wheat dinner rolls! For me, no holiday meal is complete without dinner rolls.
I have to admit that I really love the frozen ones you can bake in the oven, but homemade and whole wheat is always better, right?
If you’re like me and don’t like your whole wheat recipes to actually taste of whole wheat, then try my whole wheat chocolate cupcakes! They’re every bit as delicious as cupcakes made with all-purpose flour.
The same is true of this whole wheat healthy carrot cake. And this whole wheat banana bread!
Your whole wheat roll search is over!
But back to today’s recipe. These whole wheat rolls could also be called Miracles of Fluff. Because they are. :D I’m so happy I found this recipe on An Oregon Cottage!
I can’t tell you how many 100% whole wheat roll recipes I tried before finding a good one. I even tried 50% whole wheat and couldn’t find a really amazing recipe. But these?! 100% and so ridiculously fluffy and tasty!
One of the best parts about this recipe is that the rolls stay soft for longer than just a few hours after baking. The rolls that other recipes I tried yield rolls that are good out of the oven, but later that night, they’re crumbly and not that appetizing. Or they’re just plain bad.
What to serve them with
Whenever I make brisket or pulled pork, I make these. I don’t know what it is about this recipe, but these always stay soft for days after making them! These rolls would also be great alongside this Paleo Pot Roast from Noshtastic! And if you’ve got an Instant Pot, try this Instant Pot chuck roast. These pork chops with apples also look wonderful.
My favorite way of enjoying these whole wheat rolls is with honey. Just a little is enough. These rolls are already slightly sweetened with honey, but they’re not that sweet. Totally acceptable for sandwiches!
Got leftover turkey? Put it in here and rejoice. :D Turkey leftovers won’t be that boring anymore!
I’ve also made these into cinnamon buns. That recipe is hopefully coming soon! They’re pretty naughty. But at least they’re still whole grain!
I’ve halved the recipe before but I always regret it. Since these wheat rolls stay good for so long, there’s no need to halve the recipe. And you can always pop them in the fridge and reheat in the microwave if needed.
You could also freeze half of the dough and make them into cinnamon buns later, which I highly recommend doing. They’ll no doubt be the fluffiest 100% whole grain cinnamon rolls you ever have.
And just like the dinner rolls, I’ve tried loads of whole wheat cinnamon bun recipes. This is the base you want to use!
I’m also excited to try the leftover rolls in these pizza sliders for a fun treat.
Other flours?
I’ve tried these with whole spelt flour and that didn’t work out. If you adjusted the liquid, it’d work, but none of the formulas for converting whole to spelt recipes have worked for me. Not yet, anyway.
I’m quite confident using a gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour wouldn’t work for this recipe. So for a gluten-free version, try these gluten-free dinner rolls.
Dairy-free whole wheat rolls
For a dairy-free version, use coconut oil instead of butter and homemade buttermilk. Use any dairy-free milk (except canned coconut milk) and 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
Pour the vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup. Fill with milk. Give it a few stirs. Let sit for 5 minutes while preparing the dry ingredients. There you have dairy-free buttermilk!
If you give these rolls a try, let me know how they come out. I love feedback. :)
Photos updated 3/2020. Here’s an old one.
Whole Wheat Rolls - Soft and Fluffy Dinner Rolls!
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 24 rolls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) warm water
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter or coconut oil1, softened + additional butter for brushing on top, if desired
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey
- 3 large eggs (50 gram each, out of shell), room temperature
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) room temperature or slightly warm buttermilk or homemade dairy-free buttermilk2
- 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups (563-625 grams) whole wheat flour
Directions
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water. Set this aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and honey until well combined.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, and yeasty water and beat until well combined.
- Add in the vital wheat gluten and the salt and switch to the dough hook.
- Add in 2 cups of the flour and mix.
- Then add in enough of the remaining flour so that the dough just comes together. Depending on the day, you may need quite a bit.
- Knead for only 2 minutes.
- Once the dough is no longer tacky, cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour. I like to turn the oven to the lowest setting for 1 minute, then turn it off and let the dough rise in there.
- Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and knead it a few times, then let the dough rest for 3 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 24 balls and place these in a buttered 13" x 9" baking pan (the pieces will touch).
- Let the rolls rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bake the rolls for 13 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. It's very important not to overbake the rolls!
- Remove from the oven, rub some butter over the top of the rolls, and serve immediately or let cool completely and then cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Anything past that, I'd stick them in the fridge (to prevent mold).
Notes
- For the dairy-free version, use coconut oil. It should about as firm as softened butter and not melted! If you don't want any coconut taste, use refined coconut oil instead of unrefined.
- Use any dairy-free milk (except canned coconut milk) and 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Pour the vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup. Fill with milk. Stir and ket sit for 5 minutes.
Adapted from Soft 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls from An Oregon Cottage
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274 comments on “Whole Wheat Rolls (soft and ultra fluffy!)” — Add one!
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I made these this evening to go with pot roast. They were amazing!! I can’t believe how soft they turned out using 100% whole wheat! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad that you liked them. :) Thank you for your comment!
What changes do I need to make for living at 5,000 feet altitude?
I have zero experience with high-altitude baking but found this and hope it helps: high altitude baking. There’s a section for yeast breads.
Made these today with a mix of fresh home milled Turkey Red wheat and a local organic wheat flour called DuPage. Taste and texture are so good I’ll be making for family Thanksgiving. Only issue I had is I needed a bit more wheat flour than in recipe, taking care not to make a stiff dough. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. I told the local mill about it. Now they want to make it for Thanksgiving too!
I’m so glad that it worked out well! Thanks for sharing the recipe with your local mill and for your feedback. :) I hope your Thanksgiving guests will enjoy them, too!
Can I use an Egg replacer for this recipe? If so, is there one you recommend?
I’ve never tried so I really don’t know. I use chia eggs in baking but doubt that that’d work here. Sorry about that!
I’m going to try these, but I’d like to make them into sandwich buns (eg burger buns). Should they be shaped differently and/or spaced out on a cookie sheet instead of touching? Thanks.
You would just make them bigger (and adjust the bake time accordingly) and spaced out and not touching is correct! Hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
How long is the baking time for burger buns?
It depends on exactly how big you make them. Once they reach an internal temp of 200 °F, I’d take them out.
Is there a point at sometime you can make the rolls before they rise and freeze them
Hi! I haven’t tried it but I found this article, which I thought was helpful and gives you some options when it comes to freezing. :)
Can you use the dough to make loaves of bread instead of rolls??
I haven’t tried it but I don’t think it’d work. But I could be wrong! Sorry I’m not more helpful.
This look amazing! I try to avoid enriched wheat AND sugar, which isn’t ready, ssdi I’m going to start making my own baked goods again. Would this work as hamburger/sandwich rolls? They look so soft and yummy. Thanks for this recipe, I am booing to try it real soon!
You’re welcome! I hope that you’ll enjoy them. I love them as buns and sandwich rolls! I’d love to hear what you think of them. :)
I LOVE these rolls!!! Addicted to them. However, I am wondering if you have tried using Instant dry yeast instead of active dry yeast. I can get the instant dry yeast WAAAAAAY cheaper at Sam’s. Any thoughts?
Sorry for just now seeing your question! I haven’t tried it but I’m pretty sure it’d work. :)
I’ve bread lots of times, but never have I ever had such fluffy whole wheat bread. Oh my goodness!! These are scruptious. Followed the recipe (minus the gluten because I didn’t have any on hand) and they were a hit. It’s super cold here today in (typically) sunny Arizona. I made potato soup and these rolls with wheat I ground myself. Thank you!! ❤️
I’m really glad that they came out well and especially without the gluten! Potato soup and these rolls sounds like a super tasty meal. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Hi from sunny England. Just wanted to ask you all, did you find that 350 was hot enough to bake your rolls? I usually bake bread at a higher temperature but guessing by your positive comments all was well.
Hi! Sorry for just now seeing this, Yes, 350F is what I and the reviewers baked the rolls at and it was the right temperature. :)
Don’t try to store your bread in the fridge to make it keep longer….it won’t. Either eat it or freeze it.
I tried this and omitted vital wheat glutten. The buns were amazing. I did all my kneading in the breadmaker and then shaped them and baked. thank you.
HELP! I’m still trying to master the art of bread making and I think I made some mistakes with these rolls! :/
I added ww flour to the dough as it mixed in the Bosh mixer until it cleaned the sides of the machine. (what I do for bread) Then I mixed it another 2 minutes. Should the dough be stickier than bread dough? Or could I have over mixed? The dough was tearing and I couldn’t put them into nicely shaped rolls. They are rising in the oven now. ANY times would be MUCH appreciated!!! <3 THANK YOU!
Hi there! Sorry for my slow reply. The dough might be a little stickier than some bread doughs but not overly sticky. I have to admit that I’m more of a sweets baker and not really a bread expert so I looked it up and found this thread which is all about bread dough tearing. I hope you’ll find it useful! I learned a lot. :) How did they end up? I hope they were at least delicious!
Can you make these without the honey? I’d rather have them without any sweetness.
I’m actually not sure. A little bit of sugar might be necessary for the yeast. I’d recommend using at least 1 tablespoon. It won’t make the rolls sweet.
Bread is full of carbs/starch that breaks down to sugars. If you are worried about sugars, then why are you eating breed? We all need calories for energy to function, but some of us have to severely limit carbs due to health requirements. Hope that you find a way to balance what you can eat with what you can not eat.
Sugar or honey is essential to feed the yeast to make it rise
I’ve tried this recipe and it’s tastes great!! But since I do not have the vital wheat gluten, Would it be possible to substitute part of the whole wheat flour for all purpose flour that way it won’t be so dense? If so, what ratio should it be and would it affect the measurements of the other ingredients? Thank you
I’m happy you like them! I think you could use up to half AP flour without any issue. And it shouldn’t affect the other measurements. They’ll just taste a little less wheaty. :)
I made these rolls today and they are fabulous! So light and fluffy, delicious with a pat of salted butter. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy that you liked it. :)
Is it possible to make these without the vital wheat gluten. Just realized I don’t have this ingredient. Thank you.
It is! Hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
I have never rated a recipe before, but this is by far the best whole wheat yeast roll recipe I have ever made.
I so appreciate you taking the time to rate them! So happy you liked them. :) Thanks for your comment!
Hi the rolls look so good I can’t wait to try them – well I want to fill the rolls with a mince filling do you think it will hold up
Also if Im using instant yeast how much should I use
Hi! I’ve never tried filling these (and don’t know anything at all about mince filling) so I unfortunately don’t know. I believe you’d use the same amount of instant yeast.