Soft, buttery, skillet honey whole wheat yeast rolls are the rolls dreams are made of! This simple recipe is the roll recipe you will ever need.
Back in the days of restricting my food intake and worrying about being skinny, bread was almost always off the table. Both figuratively and literally. I was terrified of carbs.
But whyyyy oh why? Homemade bread is one of the best things in life, IMHO. But sadly, it gets shunned by so many people now, because, you know, carbs and gluten and such. But honestly, does it get any better than fresh baked bread straight from the oven? Especially fresh baked bread that you made yourself and waited patiently while it rises, and then rises again, and then finally bakes to golden perfection?
The answer is no. No it does not.
Which is why I’m very happy that bread is back in my life and always welcome at my table. Mostly homemade bread only, because that ish is amazing and nothing else compares. But it is back nonetheless.
And it took me a while to get here, so if you’re still struggling with body and food issues, it’s okay. You will get here one day, too. You won’t go from zero carbs to baking bread on a regular basis overnight.
But one of the things that helped me get over my fear of carb-y foods was making them in my own kitchen. Knowing exactly what goes into bread is not only super fun (though frustrating at times when yeast and sourdough are involved), but also a little bit freeing. When you bake bread from scratch it’s not as scary as it once seemed, and you’ll realize that bread, just like everything else, is just food. Made from ingredients. Nothing more. Eventually you will feel at ease around it. And you can enjoy a delicious roll or two whenever you feel like it without guilt, and without feeling like you have to eat 10 RIGHT NOW because you are never eating bread again after this.
On that note, here is my delicious recipe for skillet honey whole wheat yeast rolls. It’s made with just 6 simple ingredients, and is really quite easy. Although that’s relative. Once you’ve baked with sourdough, yeast bread is a breeze! But if you’ve never baked with yeast, do give it a try! It’s not as hard as it seems, I promise! The result is super tender, light and buttery rolls that have a slightly nutty, sweet taste. They are just heavenly.
Word to the wise, on the final rise, spray your plastic wrap (or whatever you are covering with) with foil. I didn’t, and as you can see, the tops aren’t as smooth and pillowy as I would like. That’s because some of the dough went into the trash with the plastic wrap it was stuck to. Live and learn!
These honey whole wheat yeast rolls are delightful fresh from the oven or reheated the next day. They go with just about anything, or perfectly on their own. They would make a lovely addition to any holiday meal, from Easter brunch or Christmas dinner. Because don’t ever make a big holiday meal without rolls. But if you want extra points, serve these honey whole wheat yeast rolls and your family will love you even more than they already do!
Soft, buttery, honey whole wheat yeast rolls are the rolls dreams are made of! This simple recipe is the roll recipe you will ever need.
Ingredients
- 0.4 oz (4 tsp) active dry yeast
- 4 oz (1/2 cup) warm (not hot) water
- 2 oz (4 tbsp) butter, softened
- 3 oz (1/4 cup) honey
- 0.2 oz (3/4 tsp) sea salt
- 12 -14 oz (about 2 1/2 to 3 cups) white whole wheat flour (or a mixture of white whole wheat and bread flour)
Instructions
- Add yeast and water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir and let rest 5 minutes.
- Add butter, honey, and salt to yeast. Stir with dough hook until combined.
- Slowly add flour (start with 2 1/2 cups) and stir with dough hook until a soft ball forms. Knead 5 minutes with dough hook, adding more flour as needed, but careful not to add to much. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky but pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover and let rest in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours. (I use my warm oven preheated to about 80°F.)
- Roll dough into 12-15 balls and place in a well-oiled cast iron skillet or caking dish. Cover and rise again in a warm place until doubled in size, about another 1-2 hours.
- Heat oven to 325°F. Bake rolls 18-22 minutes, or until golden on the top. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter (optional). Serve warm.
Notes
Adapted from the October 2107 issue of Covey Rise Magazine.
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I failed at trying to bake a similar recipe (four failed attempts in fact), and ended up sharing a failproof choc-chip cookie recipe for the Recipe ReDux feature this month instead haha. I’m excited to give your recipe a try though! Glad to have found it 🙂
I actually baked these 3 times! The first two batches rose beautifully then sank in the oven, and these still didn’t quite look how I wanted, but they still all taste amazing! 🙂
Agree. These are what my dreams are totally made of!
Thanks Serena!
Lovely photos. Your rolls look amazing! I am always looking for recipes that I can use my skillet 🙂
Thank you, Kathryn!