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    🏠Home » Recipes » Bread Recipes

    Quick and Easy Honey Wheat Rolls

    Nov 22, 2021 · Modified: Oct 26, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 21 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.50 from 12 votes

    Easy and quick honey wheat rolls will become a family favorite. Make them 100% whole wheat dinner rolls, or keep them lighter. Homemade honey wheat rolls go with any meal or special holiday celebration.

    A wheat roll opened up to show the soft inside.

    Jump To:
    • 👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
    • 🌾Adjusting the amount of whole wheat flour
    • ✔️FAQs
    • 📖Bread and Roll Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    I do love bread. Any bread and the nutty flavor of these honey wheat rolls is something special.

    This is an easy recipe to adapt to your preference. Make it 25% whole wheat for a lighter wheat dinner roll or any amount up to 100% for whole wheat rolls. I'm for a 25-50% mix as my sweet spot.

    These are good size rolls and make excellent slider buns for sandwiches.

    Knead by hand or fire up that stand mixer setting on your counter—when was the last time you cracked it open and fired it up? Well, do it tonight and make these healthy dinner rolls.

    👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

    1. Melt butter with honey in the microwave and mix.
    2. Warm milk or water and add yeast. Allow to proof.
    3. Mix and knead in a stand mixer or by hand.
    4. Divide into equal parts, place in a baking pan, cover and allow to rise to double in size.
    5. Bake until golden brown.

    🌾Adjusting the amount of whole wheat flour

    For a lighter wheat roll, use a 3:1 ratio of all-purpose white flour to whole wheat flour. Most people will enjoy this lighter version. Using a 1:1 ratio will not need much accommodation other than a bit more water.

    If you want 75-100% whole wheat, you may need a few teaspoons more water, and they will not rise quite as much. Wheat flour needs more water. And doubling the butter will help the texture.

    This dough should be wet and light, so use some flour on your hands and surface. But if you touch the dough lightly, it is slightly sticky.

    ✔️FAQs

    Can I Do This Without a Mixer?

    Sure. Do some hand kneading. About 4-5 minutes should do it. But if you have the stand mixer, let it do the work.

    Should I use milk or water?

    Milk will make a somewhat silkier texture. Either will be fine, but they need to be warm, about 105°, for the yeast.

    What type of yeast to use?

    Use instant, quick, or rapid dry yeast—they are all basically the same. All dry yeast is the same organism, and the instant type has more live yeast than the old-fashioned active dry yeast.

    It is a good idea to "proof" yeast before using it. This proves it is good before proceeding with the recipe. You have no control over the supply chain storage, and even "in date" yeast may be dead. Also, a lot of yeast is still good long after the expiration date.

    My house is cold. How do I get them to rise?

    Many ovens have a setting for this. For others, turn the oven on the lowest setting for a few minutes. Turn it off and rise your dough in the still-warm oven. Ovens vary a lot, so I can't be more specific.

    How to store homemade honey wheat rolls?

    Your homemade honey wheat rolls have no preservatives, so they will only last 2-3 days sealed at room temperature. I never like to refrigerate bread, but if you want, then for up to 5 days refrigerated.

    Freezing is an option and will be good for 1-2 months only.

    📖Bread and Roll Recipes

    60-Minute Dinner Rolls

    Stand Mixer Lunch Lady Rolls

    Julia Childs French Bread; Simplified

    Cornbread Drop Biscuits

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    101's Best Recipes, Bread Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    honey and butter in a white bowl

    Place butter and honey in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Mix the melted butter and the honey.

    proofing yeast in glass bowl

    Measure ⅔ cup of warm water or milk (about 105°) and add the yeast.

    kneading dough in a stand mixer

    For Stand Mixer: Add flours and salt to the stand mixer bowl and mix. Add all ingredients to the stand mixer after the yeast mixture starts to foam (about 5 minutes).  Mix on 2 with the dough hook for about 8 minutes. After 2 minutes, stop and scrape down sides if all dry is not mixed in. The dough should be wet and a bit sticky if you work it. You may need a few teaspoons of water or flour.

    kneading dough on a mat

    For hand Kneading: Add flours and salt to a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. After the yeast mixture starts to foam (about 5 minutes), add all ingredients to the bowl and mix until everything is incorporated. Move the dough to a surface (I use a baking mat) and hand kneed for 6-8 minutes. The dough should be wet and a little sticky if you work it. You may need a few teaspoons of water or flour.

    dough in a roll on a baking mat

    Turn dough onto floured surface and roll into a 2-inch diameter roll.

    six pieces of dough on a baking mat

    Cut into six even pieces and roll into balls. Lightly dust with flour.

    six pieces of dough in a round baking pan with plastic wrap

    Place into a 9-inch cake pan sprayed with PAM and covered with plastic wrap. A 6X9 baking dish will work well, also.

    raised wheat rolls in pan covered with plastic wrap

    Place in a warm place to rise, about 30 to 40 minutes. Also, preheat the oven to 375°.

    baked wheat rolls in a pan

    Bake until golden brown. 16 to 18 minutes. Brush with butter and cool.

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    Recipe

    honey wheat dinner roll opened up in a hand

    Quick and Easy Honey Wheat Rolls

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Easy and quick honey wheat rolls will become a family favorite. Make them 100% whole wheat dinner rolls, or keep them lighter if you want. Homemade honey wheat rolls go with any meal or special holiday celebration.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.50 from 12 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 1 hour
    Cook Time: 18 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 6 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 ½ cups AP flour
    • ½ cup whole wheat flour
    • ⅔ cup water - or milk
    • 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast - one pack
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • 1 tablespoons butter
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Place butter and honey in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Mix the melted butter and the honey.
      honey and butter in a white bowl
    • Measure ⅔ cup of warm water or milk (about 105°) and add the yeast.
      proofing yeast in glass bowl
    • For Stand Mixer: Add flours and salt to the stand mixer bowl and mix. Add all ingredients to the stand mixer after the yeast mixture starts to foam (about 5 minutes).  Mix on 2 with the dough hook for about 8 minutes. After 2 minutes, stop and scrape down sides if all dry is not mixed in. The dough should be wet and a bit sticky if you work it. You may need a few teaspoons of water or flour.
      kneading dough in a stand mixer
    • For hand kneading: Add flours and salt to a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. After the yeast mixture starts to foam (about 5 minutes), add all ingredients to the bowl and mix until everything is incorporated. Move the dough to a surface (I use a baking mat) and hand kneed for 6-8 minutes. The dough should be wet and a little sticky if you work it. You may need a few teaspoons of water or flour.
      kneading dough on a mat
    • Place the dough on a floured surface and roll into a 2-inch diameter roll.
      dough in a roll on a baking mat
    • Cut into six even pieces and roll into balls. Lightly dust with flour.
      six pieces of dough on a baking mat
    • Place into a 9-inch cake pan sprayed with PAM and covered with plastic wrap. A 6X9 baking dish will work well, also.
      six pieces of dough in a round baking pan with plastic wrap
    • Place in a warm place to rise, about 30 to 40 minutes. Also, preheat the oven to 375°.
      raised wheat rolls in pan covered with plastic wrap
    • Bake until golden brown. 16 to 18 minutes. Brush with butter and cool.
      baked wheat rolls in a pan
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. I use 25 to 50 percent whole wheat flour. You can increase it to 100%.
    2. You will need more water with more whole wheat. The exact amount of liquid to the amount of flour varies some by the "hydration" of the flour. Sometimes you will need a bit more water or a bit more flour.
    3. If you go over 50% whole wheat flour, I also suggest doubling to butter for 100% whole wheat.
    4. White whole wheat flour is fine.
    5. The dough needs to be moist and a bit sticky. It is easy to have this too dry to rise well.
    6. Cold weather option: turn on over to lowest temp and heat until that temp is reached the turn-off oven.
    7. Use a 9 inch round pan or 6X9 baking pan.
    8. Double for 12 rolls and use a 9X12 cake pan.
    9. Good at room temperature for 2-3 days and can freeze for a few months but I'm not a big fan of freezing or refrigerating bread. 

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Quick and Easy Honey Wheat Rolls
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 189 Calories from Fat 27
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 3g5%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g
    Monounsaturated Fat 1g
    Cholesterol 41mg14%
    Sodium 176mg7%
    Potassium 115mg3%
    Carbohydrates 34g11%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 2g2%
    Protein 6g12%
    Vitamin A 100IU2%
    Calcium 10mg1%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Bread
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published February 8, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    1. Peter Beckles

      December 11, 2019 at 8:09 pm

      5 stars
      Second batch was superb.
      I will complain no more.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        December 11, 2019 at 8:37 pm

        Hi Peter,
        Glad it is working for you now. After your last comment, I put it on my list to review my wording and technique. I will still do that.I was going to reply after that but it has been a very busy week here.
        Thanks for the rating and have a great holiday. Don't forget to enter the cookbook giveaway.
        Dan

    2. Peter Beckles

      December 09, 2019 at 2:40 pm

      Polarpegs mentioned eggs twice; you mentioned it once but didn't say where, what or how to use it. I'll jus throw itt in to see how it goes.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        December 09, 2019 at 2:46 pm

        Hi Peter,
        It is covered in the step #3 with "all ingredients". So it goes in then.
        Dan

      • Peter Beckles

        December 10, 2019 at 4:54 pm

        According to the instructions: The dough should be sticky and wet. You may need a few teaspoons of water if the dough is dry.
        Turn dough onto floured surface and roll into a 2-inch diameter roll. Cut into six even pieces and roll into balls. Lightly dust with flour . . . "
        Why is it that this NEVER works? Its "sticky and wet" so it separates - can't say cuts - into six pieces and settles flat!
        The baked product tasted OK but was a bit crumbly.

    3. Valerie Michna

      February 03, 2018 at 1:37 pm

      What if you don't have a stand mixer, can you use a cusinart or mix by hand?

      Reply
      • DrDan

        February 03, 2018 at 1:40 pm

        Hi Valerie,
        A hand mixer just won't do it. You can mix it and hand knead it for about 10 minutes.
        Dan

    4. stacie

      February 24, 2017 at 6:03 pm

      Can I use all purpose gluten free flour instead of all purpose regular flour

      Reply
      • DrDan

        February 24, 2017 at 6:42 pm

        You can try it but like a lot of bread, some gluten is almost required for texture. Gluten free cooking is a specialty and is much more than just using a gluten free flour.

    5. Patricia Mason

      April 17, 2014 at 9:05 pm

      This is the best thing to happen in my kitchen since I retired and we became a two person family again! I may try semi-baking and then freezing half of these since my resident diabetic has a problem with just one!
      thank you so much.
      Patricia

      Reply
      • DrDan

        April 17, 2014 at 9:38 pm

        Thanks for the note. These are very nice, I just forget about them sometimes. I need to move them up on my list.
        DrDan

    6. Dan Mikesell

      April 07, 2013 at 4:48 pm

      Thanks, they are one of my favorites. I like the one pan thing also since they easy enough to make it worth doing just one pan.

      Reply
    7. Miranda

      April 06, 2013 at 6:17 pm

      These rolls were delicious! I, too, swapped the ratio of whole wheat to regular flour. They were still light and fluffy, as the lady above said. Next time, I might try coconut oil instead of butter. I love that this recipe makes just one pan of rolls.

      Reply
    8. Dan Mikesell

      March 27, 2013 at 7:24 am

      Have at it... I always say it is fine as long as you use your pictures and words in the instructions.

      Reply
    9. Fiona Evil

      March 27, 2013 at 5:18 am

      They are absolutely delicious! I'm going to post the translated (German) recipe in my blog (linked of course!) if that is ok for you? I made them 3 times already and they get better with every batch. <3 Thank you so much or this wonderful recipe.

      Reply
    10. Baker Princess

      November 17, 2011 at 5:53 pm

      What a great recipe! I just made these, switching the flour ratios, used an egg white (thanks polarpegs!), and subbed coconut butter for reg butter. They're great! light and fluffy, and nice and quick! Thanks so much!

      Reply
    11. polarpegs

      September 20, 2011 at 5:39 pm

      Just have to come back and comment one more time. I have made these buns about 4 times since I found the recipe, using the alterations I mentioned above. The last 2 times I drizzled some honey on top, right before popping them into the oven, just to sweeten it up a bit for the kids. They loved them. Today I made them with about an hour and a half to spare before supper. I can't imagine anything yummier to have with supper than fresh buns hot out of the oven. Thanks again for this recipe.

      Reply
    12. Dr Dan

      September 07, 2011 at 12:01 pm

      Great suggestions. I'll try them next time. Thanks DrDan

      Reply
    13. polarpegs

      September 02, 2011 at 3:33 pm

      I doubled this recipe and reversed the ratio of whole wheat to white flour ( 1.5(3) cups of whole wheat and .5(1) cup of white) I then added egg whites instead of whole egg. They turned out light and fluffy and very yummy. I will definitely keep this recipe and use it again. May try modifying it further to reduce the sodium and fat content. But as far as quick and easy goes, this is exactly what I was looking for. YUM

      Reply
    14. Chris

      February 13, 2011 at 3:14 pm

      I have been enjoying the fruits of our stand mixer but that is all my wife's doings. I haven't used it other than as a meat grinder.

      Reply
    15. Mary

      February 12, 2011 at 12:56 pm

      These look and sound delicious. I'm new to your blog and have spent some time today browsing through your earlier entries. I really love your concept and the food and recipes you feature here. I definitely will be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

      Reply

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