These slightly sweetened honey wheat rolls are made with wholesome ingredients like real honey, rolled oats, and whole wheat flour. They would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving dinner table!
In a small microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, combine milk and water and heat until warmed to 115F (45C).
¾ cup whole milk, ¼ cup water
Pour milk/water mixture into a large bowl, sprinkle yeast and sugar overtop and stir until combined. Let sit undisturbed until foamy, about 5-10 minutes.
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Once yeast is foamy, add butter, honey, eggs, salt, wheat flour, and 1 cup (125g) of bread flour and stir until well combined.
⅓ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup honey, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon table salt, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 3 - 3 ½ cups bread or all-purpose flour
Gradually add remaining flour as needed, until dough begins to cling to itself in a ball and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Knead dough either by hand or with a dough hook on your stand mixer until smooth and elastic (this should take 5-10 minutes).
Lightly grease a large bowl with oil and transfer dough to oiled bowl, turn dough to coat surface entirely with oil, cover bowl with plastic wrap or a warm, damp kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
After rising
Once dough has finished rising, generously grease the sides and bottom of a 9”x13” glass dish with butter, set aside.
Punch down dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 15 equal portions (about 65-70g each) and roll each portion into a ball. Arrange rolls in prepared baking dish, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until balls are puffed and almost touching, about 20-30 minutes. Tip: to tell that the dough is properly proofed, lightly flour your index finger and gently poke one of the rolls. If it springs back completely, it needs more time. If it springs back about halfway, the dough is properly proofed and is ready to be baked. If the dough doesn’t spring back at all, unfortunately it is over-proofed, but bake it anyway.
While dough is proofing, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare honey topping by combining honey and warm water in a small dish and whisking until thoroughly combined.
1 Tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon warm water
Once dough is finished proofing, uncover and use a pastry brush to brush tops of dough balls thoroughly with mixture, then sprinkle lightly with oats and transfer to preheated 350F (177C) oven. Bake for 30 minutes, until rolls are a light golden brown and their internal temperature is 185-190F (88C) (if you are using a metal baking dish, check the rolls earlier, at 24 minutes).
Old fashioned oats
Notes
Can I make the dinner rolls larger?
If you want larger rolls you can divide into 12 rolls, each 85-90g, and bake for 30 minutes, until inside temperature reaches 185-190F (88C).
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Reheating rolls
If you made the rolls in advance and wish to reheat them before serving with dinner, preheat your oven to 300F (150C) place the rolls in a baking dish, lightly spray with a mist of water (or sprinkle a few drops of water on top or brush with melted butter), cover with foil, and heat for 10 minutes or until warmed through. Don’t over-cook or they’ll be dry!