Whole Wheat Rolls with a Soft Crumb

Whole Wheat Rolls with a Soft Crumb keeps the shopping list focused on buttermilk, unsalted butter, and dry active yeast 1 package. It serves 48 rolls.

Count on 25 minutes of prep, 18 minutes of cooking, 2 hours of resting, about 2 hours from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast 1 package
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 5 cups whole wheat flour

How the cooking goes

Make the dough

1. Warm the buttermilk, butter, honey, and salt in a small saucepan over a moderate flame until the butter has melted and the mixture is 110°F, stirring often.
2. While your milk mixture is warming, proof your yeast. Add ¼ cup of warm water (100°F – 110°F) to the yeast and stir to mix. Then, you added 1 tablespoon of sugar to the yeast/water mixture. Wait 10 minutes and if the mixture has tripled in size, then the yeast is healthy & ready to use.
3. Tip the milk mixture and the proofed yeast mixture into a bowl of a electric mixer and whisk together.
4. With the dough hook attachment, add the whole wheat flour one cup at a time, mixing and continuing to add flour until you have a stiff dough.
5. Once you have a cohesive dough, continue kneading on setting 2 for about 2 minutes. Mix until you have a smooth dough that doesn’t stick to your fingers when you touch it. You can also test by pulling a rough window pane.

Proofing and shaping the dough

1. Oil a large bowl with vegetable oil. Place the dough ball in the bowl and turn it to coat all sides with oil. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm location (80°F – 85°F) for 1 hour, or until the dough has tripled in size.
2. Oil 48 muffin tins for spiral rolls. You can also use cake pans or a regular baking dish if planning on making standard round rolls.
3. Roll the dough into a rectangle then then, using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips about 2 inches wide, like you would with sourdough cinnamon rolls.
4. Fold each strip in half and then roll it up tightly. Place each spiral into each greased muffin tin. Working quickly, repeat this step until all the dough has been used. Cover pans with a damp cloth and keep it to one side to rise.
5. Let the dough rise for another hour until it has doubled in size and is light to the touch.

Bake rolls

1. Oven-bake the rolls for 8 minutes at 400°F and then decrease the temperature to 350°F for the remaining 10-20 minutes. Start checking these after 10 minutes. A cake tester inserted in the center should come out clean.
2. Remove the rolls from the tins and cool them on a wire rack. If you leave them in the tin, the bread will steam itself, causing the bottoms to become soggy.

After it comes off the heat

Wait until the loaf is cool before slicing. Wrap it at room temperature, and freeze slices you will not eat in a couple of days.

If you want another plate from Dinner rolls, open Potato Rolls Baked Until the Tops Set and Pumpkin Dinner Rolls Baked Until the Tops Set.