Whole Wheat Rolls (soft and ultra fluffy!)
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 one that was good. 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 it 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 confidentthat 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 ultra fluffy!)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter softened + additional butter for brushing on top, if desired; or coconut oil, see notes
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey
- 3 large eggs 50 gram each out of shell, room temperature
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk room temperature or slightly warm; or homemade dairy-free buttermilk, see notes
- 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten optional
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups (563 to 625 grams) whole wheat flour divided
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water. Set this aside.2 tablespoons active dry yeast, 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and honey until well combined.1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, and yeasty water and beat until well combined.3 large eggs, 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
- Add in the vital wheat gluten and the salt and switch to the dough hook.1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Add in 2 cups of the flour and mix (ignore the quantity listed below – it's a technical problem I can't change).4 1/2 to 5 cups (563 to 625 grams) whole wheat flour
- Then add in enough of the remaining flour (ignore the quantity listed below – it's a technical problem I can't change) so that the dough just comes together. Depending on the day, you may need quite a bit.4 1/2 to 5 cups (563 to 625 grams) whole wheat flour
- 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.
- For homemade dairy-free buttermilk, use:
-
- any dairy-free milk (except canned coconut milk)
- 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice
- Pour the vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup.
- Fill with milk.
- Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
-
- Adapted from Soft 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls from An Oregon Cottage.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
- The nutrition information includes the optional vital wheat gluten.
We absolutely love these rolls! I first tried them for Thanksgiving and have made them 4x since (4th batch currently rising in the oven as we speak). They are delicious, and freeze perfectly! This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing it!!!
Oh, wow. I love that you’ve made them so many times already! :) I had no idea that they freeze well. I do love these rolls but sometimes it’s too much for two people. Thanks for the tip and thanks a ton for your feedback!
I make batches just for the freezer! That way when we need just a few for dinner I can just pull them out. THey are always so good :) Thanks..this recipe is the best. Have you ever tried it as a bread???
I’m so happy that you like them so much! I’ve never tried it as a bread but I like the idea. I wonder if it’d rise properly / cut well, though. Let me know if you try it and thanks so much for the feedback! :)
There’s that vital wheat gluten again. Lol. I see that you said you can skip it, but the final product won’t be as fluffy, right? I wanted to try to make these for Christmas dinner.
Haha. Sorry. I swear… I only have like 3 recipes on here with vital wheat gluten. You just seem to have found them all. ;) You can totally leave the vital wheat gluten out here. I often forget it and they’re still super fluffy! Good luck with the rolls and happy holidays! :)
I’ve made these twice now, and both times everyone loved them. The second time I put them on a cookie sheet, slightly apart, instead of in a 13×9 pan. The first rising in the bowl was for 2 hours and the second rising on the cookie sheet was 1 hour. I think they were better this way – they had more room to rise and did fill the cookie sheet completely. So light and delicious! Another keeper for us!
Oh, wow! Great tip, Karen. I’ll try that next time! Thanks so much for the idea and for the rating. I’m happy that you and your guests enjoyed them! :)
Hi,
I’d like to add a suggestion for anyone who, like me, was not responsible for the main Thanksgiving dishes (dinner hosted at in-laws).
I made up the dough yesterday morning and let it rise in the fridge until this morning. I took it out to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then divided up the dough and shaped into rolls. I let them rise for an hour and then baked per the directions.
They were delicious! I received several compliments.
Thank you!
So sorry for the slow reply! I’ve had a bit of a comment issue. I’m so happy to hear that making the dough the day before worked for you! I’ve tried that once and the dough tasted extremely yeasty and even inedible the next day. Good to know it’ll work with this recipe! Great tip. Thanks so much for the tip, the feedback and the rating! :)
Can these be baked a few days earlier and frozen for thanksgiving day?
Yes, that should be fine! Hope you’ll like them. :)
Why do you need the vital wheat gluten? Is it still necessary if you grind your wheat? TIA
You could make these without it but it’s definitely a good thing. :) “Because it’s almost pure gluten, a little goes a long way to improving the elasticity and rise of the raw dough and the crumb and chewiness in the final loaves.” There’s an article about what it’s good for here.
I can’t stop looking at these rolls! I want to tuck myself inside there :)
Hahaha. I know. Dinner rolls. They’re just evil.
These look like dinner roll perfection! I’ve never made dinner rolls with whole wheat flour before. These look so good!
Thanks, Erin! And I hope you get a chance to try. Sooo good! :)
Goodness these look soooo amazing@ I love my carbs so much I should probably get help. But really these look great :) And I can’t wit to read about these cinnamon rolls you have cooked up ;)
Haha. Same here! It’s kind of scary that I eat mostly carbs. I just can’t stop. :(
These look insanely perfect! Thanks again for letting me feature you.
Haha, miracles of fluff – I like it!! There’s nothing like a soft, fluffy dinner roll and even better if it’s whole grain so I can justify more than one…
I always love a good, super soft roll!! These will be so perfect for my post-Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches!
These rolls look seriously to die for! I cannot wait to make them! I think they need to show up on the Thanksgiving menu! Haha I loved your DITL on Rachel’s site! Your kitchen is tiny!!! And thank you so much for suggesting me at the end! You are the greatest!
I’m such a bread lover, I could easily make a meal out of these rolls! :)
When I started grinding my own wheat a few tears ago I took a class. The instructor told us to never put bread in the fridge. She said the condensation did something to the nutrients. Freezing is fine, but not the fridge. Also, can freeze the wheat but not put it in the fridge either. The longer it is left out the more nutrients it loses too. This was all new to me. The instructor was Sue Becker of Bread Beckers if you want to read about her.
These look so yummy!!! I need to try them.
Ooh my, these rolls look so soft! Soft rolls like these are my favorite, and I’ve never been able to replicate them well whole wheat, either! I’ll definitely have to try out this recipe. :)
These look perfect for Thanksgiving! Or any dinner. or breakfast. They look all around delicious :)
Love these rolls, it’s a must try for sure!
I love a good warm roll slathered with butter. Love these!
These certainly do look scrumptious! Nothing better than a warm bun!