These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

Back to basics today with this whole wheat dinner rolls recipe. I first discovered this recipe back in 2014 when I wanted to make some Whole Wheat Bunny Rolls for Easter. With the holidays coming up, I thought it would be a great time to re-make and share this delicious whole wheat roll recipe with you.

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

A lot of recipes claim to be “whole wheat,” but use white whole wheat flour, or a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flours. This recipe is 100% WHOLE WHEAT, and incredibly soft and fluffy.

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

The key to light and fluffy whole wheat dinner rolls is to not use too much flour. If you do, it will dry the dough out and make the bread dense. You want a slightly wet, sticky dough. 

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

I highly recommend using a stand mixer to knead the dough so you don’t over-flour it. I prefer my Bosch Universal Plus Mixer because the hook really gets under the dough. Kneading it well to create those flexible gluten strands, which is key for a soft, fluffy dough. A Bosch is such a strong machine, which makes it perfect for bread dough.

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

How to Shape Dinner Rolls

If there’s one trick I learned while interning in a bakery and in culinary school, it’s how to shape rolls. It saves time and achy wrists from rolling the dough.

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!
  1. Flatten the dough and divide it evenly. This recipe makes 2 dozen (24) whole wheat dinner rolls.
  2. Cup your hand and push the dough through your thumb and pointer fingers.
  3. Pinch the ends and place the rolls seam-side down onto a greased baking sheet. (I use a 12×18-inch pan.)
  4. Cover and let rolls rise. Then bake until golden brown.
These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

My kids eat these whole wheat dinner rolls with no problems at all. In fact, they fight over them to make sandwiches for their school lunches. They won’t disappoint for your holidays either!

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey. Make them for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.) or any day!

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rise Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Yield: 24 dinner rolls

These 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls are so soft, light, fluffy and moist, with a hint of honey.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp yeast (quick rise or instant dry yeast)
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup milk or buttermilk, lukewarm
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 4 1/2 to 5 cups 100% whole wheat flour (stir, spoon, and level when measuring)
  • 1 Tbsp oil (canola, vegetable, olive)

Instructions

  1. Stir yeast in warm water to dissolve. Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and honey. 
  3. Add the eggs. Mix and scrape bowl. Add the milk, salt, and yeast mixture. Mix to combine.
  4. Stir, spoon, and level 4 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. Add to the wet mixture. Switch to a dough hook and knead for 5 minutes, until a soft dough is formed. Add extra whole wheat flour 1 Tbsp at a time, if needed. Dough will be sticky, but if touched with your finger, should come away clean.
  5. Pour oil into a large bowl. Scrape dough out of the mixing bowl, and into the bowl with the oil. Flip the dough over so all sides of the dough have oil on them. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. (Whole wheat or all-purpose flour works fine.) Flatten dough and divide into 24 pieces.
  7. To shape rolls: Cup your hand and push the dough through your thumb and pointer fingers. (See image in post.) Pinch the ends and place the rolls seam-side down onto a greased baking sheet about an inch apart. (I use a 12x18-inch pan.)
  8. Cover rolls with greased plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place. 
  9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  10. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush extra melted butter over the top of the hot rolls. Enjoy!

Notes

*Make buttermilk with 1 cup milk and 1 tsp of white distilled vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes before using.

Recipe lightly altered from An Oregon Cottage

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g