Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
This is the exact same recipe as my Simple Whole Wheat Bread but shaped into rolls. Before you start, make sure the egg and oil are at room temperature and always aerate your flour before measuring. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Makes: 15 - 18 rolls
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup bread flour (all-purpose flour works too)
- 2 teaspoons (1 packet / 7 grams) instant yeast (or active dry yeast)
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk (I use 1% or 2% low fat milk), heated to 120-130° F for instant yeast (or 110-120°F for active dry)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil (or any vegetable oil)
- 1 egg
- about 1/4 cup additional bread flour
Instructions:
- Place flours, yeast, sugar & salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in milk, followed by oil and egg.
- Beat on high for 2 minutes.
- Add about 1/4 cup bread flour until dough forms a mass.
- Place dough on floured surface and knead 50 turns.
- Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
- Cut dough into 15 or 18 pieces. I use a scraper, cutting the dough into thirds and then cut each third into five or six pieces.
- Shape into balls and place in a greased or parchment-lined 13 x 9-inch pan.
- Cover and let rise in a warm spot until the rolls double in size, about 45 minutes.
- Meantime preheat oven to 350° F. Bake for about 14-16 minutes.
Note: For more details and step-by-step photos, click here.
Want To Make Them Ahead? See Joslyn's comment below.
About to pop another pan into the oven. This is my fifth or sixth and each one has come out perfectly. I don’t need to look for any other way to make whole wheat bread!
Thanks, Jenny!
Thanks Jenny. Love this recipe. The rolls came out just right.
Thanks for teaching me to bake breads!
Will the bread come out the same if after mixing I switch to my dough hook? With arthritis not sure if I can do all the kneading by hand.
The recipe sounds wonderful and I’m planning to try.
Hi Jenny – can this recipe be used to make raisin bread by just adding raisins, cinnamon and allspice?
I used measuring cups for the flour… the dough was more wet than yours and I checked my measurements and ingredients. Should I use my scale to measure Grams and not use measuring cups?
I made the whole wheat rolls. I placed the dough in my cake mixer on high speed,
but it was bunching up and turning slowly,
and it started to smoke. So I removed the dough and kneaded by hand. What do you use to beat on high for 2 min?
Anyway they came out delicious. We loved them. Thanks for sharing all your delicious recipes
If anyone is interested in making the best whole wheat dinner rolls you will ever eat in your life, this is the recipe. Follow the recipe exactly as written and you will have great success. Your family will thank you. I made the white bread dinner rolls and the whole wheat dinner rolls (I’ve always had trouble getting the whole wheat breads to come out soft and yummy till now). I used them to make kolaches which is a breakfast sandwich made with pork sausage and bread dough wrapped around them. I’m a vegetarian in a household full of meat lovers so I made one bach with veggie sausage and one with pork sausage. Each made half white and half wheat using Jenny’s dinner roll recipes. Needless to say, my family loves them and gobble them up almost faster than I can bake them. This will now be my go to recipe. Thank you Jenny for making me look good. MERRY CHRISTMAS. 🙂
I made the rolls today and when the time was up in the oven, they were still white and not fully baked. I increased the heat to 400˚ for about 6-7 minutes and they came out perfect.
Great bread recipes! I do adjust flour as needed if dough is sticky. Has anyone tried freezing a pan of buns before baking? Just wondering
Hi Sharron. I have not frozen them but I did refrigerate them for a day. I pulled them out and let them return to room temperature and they rose up perfectly and tasted great. I’m pretty sure you can freeze them too. Hope that helps some.
Brushing milk on the top before baking creates a shiny top, right? I know egg wash does, but dont really want that flavor and texture on these. Thanks, to whomever knows!
Yes milk will work ,Also brushing tops with butter or margarine after baking while still warm will give you a nice sheen as well.
My dough is sticky. I followed the recipe exactly as listed with the exception of using almond milk. Would that alter the dough. Also after baking, it gets crumbly. Any suggestions.
My dough is very sticky, too. Stretchy and sticking everywhere. I added more flour just to be able to knead it, and still quite sticky. About to bake them, hope they turn out!
I made your whole wheat dinner rolls, the other day. I modified it-after separating it into portions for rolls, I rolled 3 portions at a time and braided them. I repeated the process until I had 5 braided rolls. I topped each braid with egg wash, “Everything” seasoning and sunflower seasonings. I received several compliments.
Before this, I always found yeast recipes intimidating.
Can I make this rolls in my bread machine?
Thanks
You are so awesome , Now I can make out from scratch.. love love
You are so funny. I have watched the original recipe so many times and I laugh every time I see it!!! I love this recipe, it is fantastic! And so are you♡
How can I replace milk? Need it to be non dairy.
Try water. My other bread recipes use water and are very good tasting. Good Luck
You can either use water. I use almond milk in all my bread and they all come out perfect.
I’ve always used almond milk with success.
Yay my second attempt and they turned out beautiful…Thanks
Fantastic recipe. I had never tried to make wheat bread. It’s so soft. I love it
Thank you for posting it and thanks to Joslyn for experimenting. Now these will be on our Christmas menu
More to give others a heads up, than anything else. I have made bread in my life, so I know I can do it. But this didn’t work for me. And, I suspect I know why. I used Splenda, instead of sugar. (Diabetic, so don’t have sugar.)
So, heads up — If you use Splenda, don’t expect this to work — TWICE! 😉
I experimented with sugar substitutes for bread many years ago. And then I checked on the Internet about sugar substitutes and bread and read that Splenda and many others kill the yeast so your bread won’t rise anyway. So I stick to honey or a very small amount of sugar. Or make no-knead bread which uses no sugar.
Thanks for helping out.
Hi, Jenny,
Knowing I wouldn’t have time to make your Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving, I did a little experiment. I made the dough, rested it 10 minutes, and shaped into rolls. I placed 8 rolls in each of 2 greased cake pans, covered with a towel and allowed to rest 45 minutes. I baked one pan then and covered the second pan with non-stick foil and placed in the refrigerator about 20 hours. The rolls I baked were great! The next day I placed the refrigerated rolls on the counter, loosened the foil and allowed to come to room temperature, about 2 hours, and then baked them. I’m happy to say the refrigerated rolls turned out PERFECT!!! Now Thanksgiving Day will be a little less hectic! Thanks, Jenny, your recipes are the bomb!
How nice of you to share this right before Thanksgiving. Thank you.
Your welcome, and THANK YOU for all your AWESOME recipes!
OOPS!!! I forgot to mention I used dry active yeast, not fast acting, and my milk was about 125F degrees.
Hi
You are a great baker. You could post some vegan recipes. I would be very happy.
Thank you so much
I’ve been making this bread recipe for about a year now, and have never been disappointed. I just tried the dinner buns yesterday for the first time, and found the hardest thing was the making them too big/too small but I’m sure that repetition will soon correct this problem. I even had two left that wouldn’t fit in the pan, so not wanting to waste any, I popped them into a muffin tin, and baked them. They also turned out good.
I’ve never commented on a blog or site besides social media before, but I HAD to come back by and leave one here. I’ve been making the bread from this recipe for several months, and we love it. I decided to try these rolls for Sunday dinner today and Oh. My. Goodness! They were delicious! I cannot stop eating them! I definitely need someone to come take the pan away, lol! These were so quick and easy to do. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your talent and expertise. You have taken the intimidation out of bread making for me! Thank you so much for your generosity in sharing your knowledge so freely. Many blessings to you and yours!
Just made this bread turned out excellent it’s a keeper I would like to know if I could double the recipe thank you
I double this recipie all the time and give the other batch to friends or neighbors. This recipie is perfect and so easy to follow. My favorite!
Love all your recipes. Would you have a recipe for kolachke and a sweet bread called babka which is baked around Easter time? Thank you
Watching rolls rise, but they’re rising. There was a point where I hadn’t used enough flour that it became a blobbed soggy mess. A bit more flour at a time did the trick.
Love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this. Also, love the green casserole dish you are using. Where can buy this?
Thanks much,
Megha
Hey Jenny,
Use white AP flour, add a bit of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and a couple of mashed bananas. Don’t bother letting it rise – just cook it in a waffle Iron (I used a Belgian waffle maker) . Top with a few fried banana slices and whatever else you like. Seriously.
OK, I also used 1% milk instead of water…
I hadn’t tried this recipe for rolls, but I had with wheat bead. I used 2 1/2 cups of white flour and 1/2 cup of wheat flour instead and they are perfect.
Had trouble watching the video due to looking at your fabulous colorful kitchen
utensils. Where did you get that timer? Trying the recipe today!
Just made these…so easy and so delicious!
Thanks for the recipe. Trying ciabatta next.
Your recipes are so “down to earth and normal ” and that’s why I (We) your subscribers , love them all s-oooo much ! No special trips to pricey grocery stores, etc. I really wish we were friends and lived near one another . Boy oh boy could we have some fun together ! If you ever get to Dallas/Plano , TX you have a “sister by another Mother here ” .(((HUGS))) *_* K
Thanks Jenny,
I tried your apple pie (from scratch) Amazing, it was easy, no fuss and we enjoyed it for a few days! My hubby just loves apple pie!
Have never tried bread but am hoping to get started on this one soon!
Love and God Bless.
Lillian.
Hey Jenny! decided to try the roll version of wheat bread. Got 5 guests coming for TG and I figure if I don’t get them to come out right no one will notice since we should have enough food to take some to the homeless shelter. I have become addicted to your recipes. And now I’m feeling much more comfortable making bread. I’ve done the no knead versions of different types several times since I started baking in Oct. Rye is my favorite. TY so much and I’ll let you know how the rolls turned out.
TY Jenny the rolls came out wonderfully
Can I replace the milk with soymilk or water? Looks delicious, but I need nondairy.
HI,
i have made this bread often with water instead of milk. The rise is a little slower but it turns out great. Enjoy!
I just did a double batch in one bowl. I did increase the kneading time by two. So 100 turns and 5 minutes on the dough hook just to be sure. Came out great, got 32 rolls.
Hi Jacqueline,
When you doubled the recipe, did you you double the yeast too? appreciate a quick response, as I plan to double the recipe and unsure whether I should double the yeast. appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Ranjitha
Are all yeast rolls made with whole-wheat?
My granddaughter love’s yeast rolls we used to get them at a Ryan’s Steakhouse they would bring them to the table with some honey butter or butter they had the most amazing yeast flavor. When we would leave she would take two or three with her so I was wondering do you have a recipe for something like this it was a small oblong roll and it was soft and warm but not really crunchy ( I myself like a little crunch )
Rolls can be made with whole wheat flour, bread flour, all purpose flour, and even other grains. All of my yeast recipes are posted here but you can probably find what you are looking for with an internet search.
Thanks a lot Jenny!!!
Today I baked my first bread!
I used multi grain whole wheat and added some flax seeds and crushed dry oregano.
It rose 1 inch above the pan as mentioned but did not rise much in the oven after that. But it was an awesome fluffy bread with crunchy crust.
I have a question, can this recipe be doubled in case I use two loaf pans?
Many thanks in advance for any help you may provide.
Keep on inspiring 🙂
I assume you mean the whole wheat bread but I have never doubled it so I can’t say for sure. However, I think people talk about it in the comments so please look through them below the recipe: https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/simple-whole-wheat-bread/
Hi Jenny,
Great recipe! The rolls look delicious.
I was wondering if there is an egg substitute for this recipe as I dont eat eggs.
I don’t know of a good egg substitute but there are a lot of different bread recipes that don’t use eggs.
hi many thanks am going to make this recipe tomorrow regards sue uk fan
Thank you must try
Hi Jenny,
Tried these dinner rolls. Turned out very good. Its a pity i am not able to send the picture (not computer savvy). Thanks
It’s pretty easy to send a photo using this link: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com (you can just drag the photo into the body of the email).