Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls Recipe | ChefDeHome.com (2024)

I love Hawaiian Rolls!! I am sure you do too!! Whenever we bought Hawaiian Rolls home, only one brand shines in store i.e. King's Hawaiian Sweet Roll. In-fact, I don't know if any other brand is available. I love their rolls, Perfectly moist, sweet, and certainly commercialized.

Since loongggg... I wanted to bake same moist and sweet Hawaiian Rolls, at home. But .... somehow... something else always had higher priority. Also, these rolls have eggs and in my home, we have N number of days when we don't cook with meat or eggs! when we don't cook, we don't eat eggs either. Unluckily, whenever I felt to make Hawaiian Rolls, it was an egg-free diet day... so no luck since long...

Last month, I made a note to choose days for baking, only when I can cook with eggs, just so I can work with Hawaiian Rolls Recipe a few times. And here you have it - my loving Hawaiian Dinner Rolls Recipe (finally!!).

These rolls are certainly a lavish category of dinner rolls. I mean, we don't like eating sugary-egg-y rolls for every-day breakfast/dinner. I am sure you don't either. or do you?? really?? How long do you spend on tread mill then?? j/k

See, once-in-a-while, a little bit luxury is okay! Especially for family dinners on weekend or when you can manage a good portion control, like one roll for breakfast with I-can't-believe-it-is-butter kind-a spread ;)

One thing I have to mention though... and I am not trying to spoil your diet by any means... these rolls are sinfully moist and additive! Just between you and me - no-one-can-eat-just-one (whisper....)

Since the name is "Hawaiian" Dinner Rolls, these rolls get it's moisture from tropical pineapple juice. However, I have a confession to make, I made these rolls with apple juice instead of pineapple. well... not tropical...but... 60% of the word pineapple is apple, you know! j/k..

Seriously speaking, these rolls are super moist due to addition of juice (and butter of-course) and this is season of apple juice, plus I don't keep a lot of juices around my house (you know why!). So, I never had pineapple juice. I bought a small jar of apple juice and every-time, I used almost all of it making these rolls. (even though that was not the real intent...). Trust me, apple or pineapple, in baked rolls , there was no taste or aroma of apple juice anywhere.

Conclusion?? you are good to use pineapple, apple, or guava juice if you want to. Just don't tell anyone, or otherwise how will you call'em "Hawaiian" Rolls?!?! Can't say about you, but I sure going to try these rolls with fresh orange juice next time.... because I am out of apple juice now :)

These Hawaiian Rolls are more moist than King's Hawaiian Rolls. So, I refuse to call'em copycat. However, you can be the better judge of that.... bake some hawaiian rolls this weekend and let me know!! who wins? store bought King's Hawaiian Rolls or chefdehome's homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls?

Happy Baking and Happy Weekend!

Ingredients

Hawaiian Rolls Dough

3 Cup All-Purpose Flour (plus 5 tbsp)

2 Egg(s) (well beaten, 1 tbsp (for glaze) and rest divided)

3/4 Cup Pineapple (juice unsweetend, or I often use apple juice if don't have pineapple juice)

1/2 Cup Sugar

2 tbsp Powdered Milk

1 Active Dry Yeast (1 package)

4 tbsp Unsalted Butter

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Lemon Oil

1/4 Cup Water (lukewarm)

Honey Glaze

1 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Egg(s) (leftover, about 1 tbsp)

1 tbsp Milk

Directions

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• 1.Lukewarm 1/4 cup water, add a pinch of sugar and yeast packet. Let it sit until foamy. (about 10 minutes.)

  2.In meantime, beat cold eggs in a small bowl, take out 1 tbsp to glaze later, add rest to a bowl with pineapple juice, sugar, lemon oil, and melted butter (butter should not be hot). Mix well. Additional Notes:Cover and refrigerate 1 tbsp remaining egg for glaze until last glazing step.

• 3.Now add juice and sugar mix, yeast mix, 3 cups flour, salt, and milk powder into a wide mixing bowl. Stir with spatula or in machine bowl using a paddle attachment, bring the dough together.

  4.Now, switch to dough hook and knead for 4 minutes. Or knead for 5-6 minutes with hands. Additional Notes:I added 3 cups plus 3 tbsp flour while kneading. Still, dough was very sticky. Don't get tempted to add too much flour.

• 5.Cover the bowl with a cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
• 6.After an hour, remove from the bowl, add 2-3 tbsp flour and knead with hands 10-15 times. Also, grease a parchment lined dutch oven or deep-pan with oil spray or butter. Additional Notes:This step needed two hands, so sorry, could not click a clear good picture. :(

• 7.Divide the kneaded dough into small 20 equal size rolls. Place rolls spaced apart in prepared dutch oven. Greased hands really make rolling easier. Cover and leave to rise for another 1 hour. or just until empty space between rolls is substantially filled. Additional Notes:Picture shows dough rolls risen after an hour of placing in a warm place (it is still hot during day in my apartment, so I just placed dutch oven on kitchen counter.)

  8.Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In bowl with 1 tbsp egg, whisk in milk and honey for glaze. Brush bun rolls with glaze.

• 9.Bake for 25-32 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool a little. Always serve warm!! Additional Notes:My batch almost always take between 28-30 minutes in cast-iron dutch oven. Start checking after 25 minutes mark, sweet nature of these buns make'em very easy brown

Savita's Notes:

Hawaiian Seeet Rolls taste best when served warm, out of the oven.

Dinner rolls will stay good for two days.

These rolls freeze well. To reheat, warm in microwave(covered in clean kitchen towel) at one pizza warm setting or in 350 degrees F preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until moist and warm.

Disclaimer: Recipe adapted from Food.com