Homemade Hawaiian Rolls

Everybodys favorite soft, fluffy Hawaiian bread can be made at home. Deliciously sweet homemade Hawaiian rolls are the perfect addition to dinner!

Homemade Hawaiian Rolls

Many of you don’t know that I went to college in Hawaii. Yes, I did my homework on the beaches of paradise! Hawaii is everything you dream of and then some. Living in Hawaii I got to experience a whole new world of foods and cultures.

RELATED – these Hawaiian roll make awesome sliders, or mini sandwiches with our ham salad!

Most people are familiar with Hawaiian rolls – they’re soft and sweet and melt in your mouth! What most people don’t know is that they’re based on a Portuguese sweet bread called Pão Doce that immigrant workers brought to the island.

What you get are homemade Hawaiian rolls so sweet and fluffy you could eat them for breakfast with butter and coffee, but they make the best dinner rolls. They’re also wonderful when used for appetizers like Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders or Slow Cooker Parmesan Chicken Sliders and these recipes double easily if a large amount is needed.

It’s taken me several tries to get this recipe just like I remember. It’s a simple dough and no mixer is even needed, although you can use your KitchenAid if you wish. The trick to keeping these rolls tender is not to add too much flour. The dough will be a little sticky and that’s perfect.

Ingredients you will need:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cooled to about 85F
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons water

Helpful kitchen tools:

• Large mixing bowl
• Glass measuring cups
• Pastry brush
• Measuring spoons

Dissolve yeast in warm milk along with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let it set for about 10 minutes or until it begins to bloom and foam. Add the remaining sugar, salt, cooled melted butter and eggs, beating vigorously to combine. This can be done in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or by hand using a whisk.

Next, stir in the flour until a stiff dough forms. Turn out on flour surface and gently knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth. You may need to add additional flour if it’s too sticky, but kneading should do the trick.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover. Let it rise until doubled, then punch down and form into balls. I shaped them into 12 large rolls for this recipe (since I’ll be making lunch sandwiches with them).

If I was making these for a dinner party (like Christmas or New Year’s) then I would make them into 18 smaller rolls. You can also bake large round loaves in two pie pans. They make excellent bread bowls for dips!

Whatever size or shape you choose, place them in your baking tray and let rise until doubled again. Brush with an egg wash for color and shine and bake until golden. The last secret to keeping these homemade Hawaiian rolls soft is to brush them with butter after baking. Enjoy!

Looking for some dinner recipes to pair these rolls with? Try our delicious crockpot roast beef, our best meatloaf recipe ever, a savory, juicy, Roasted Chicken dinner, or this easy crockpot bbq chicken!

Homemade Hawaiian Rolls

The softest, fluffiest Hawaiian bread can be made at home! Deliciously sweet homemade Hawaiian rolls are the perfect addition to dinner.

4.50 from 8 votes

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Course: Breads

Cuisine: American

Servings: 18 rolls

2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Calories: 203

Author: Amanda Davis

Ingredients

For the dough:

• ▢ 1 cup milk
• ▢ 1 packet active dry yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, melted and cooled slightly, about 85 F
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 20 ounces all-purpose flour 4 cups, 567 g

For glazing:

• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 2 tablespoons water
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter melted

Things You'll Need

• ▢
  Mixing bowls
• ▢
  Whisk
• ▢
  13x9 baking dish
• ▢
  Kitchen scale

Before You Begin

**For a less sweet roll, reduce sugar to 1/2 cup.

**If using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/2 teaspoon.

Dough can also be mixed and kneaded in a stand mixer.

Dough can be shaped into 12 rolls for larger buns. Can also be shaped into 2 large rounds and baked in pie pans for Hawaiian bread.

Instructions

• Warm the milk to 100-110°F in the microwave or on the stovetop, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Let rest until the yeast begins to bloom and foam, about 10 minutes.
  1 cup milk, 1 packet active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Stir in the 3/4 cup sugar, salt, melted butter and eggs, whisking well to combine.
  3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 2 large eggs
• Stir in the flour until a stiff but sticky dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3-5 minutes. Try not to add additional flour; dough should be sticky.
  20 ounces all-purpose flour
• Place the dough in a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover lightly. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough and form into 18 tight balls. Place in a greased 13x9 dish and cover lightly. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a small bowl, beat egg and water together for egg wash. Gently brush rolls with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
  1 large egg, 2 tablespoons water
• Let rolls cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter and serve.
  1 tablespoon butter

Expert Tips & FAQs

• Be sure to cool the butter after melting it. If it's too hot it can increase the stickiness of the dough significantly.
• Your best best is to weigh your flour. We have found that different measuring cups don't always hold the same amount. Using a kitchen scale is much more accurate.

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 203cal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

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