Hawaiian Dinner Rolls

Soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet, Hawaiian Dinner Rolls are the perfect addition to any meal. Enjoy as a side, bun, or simply on their own!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Hawaiian

Keyword dinner rolls, Hawaiian

Prep Time 3 30

Cook Time 20

Extra 3

Total Time 6 50

Servings servings

Calories 318kcal

Ingredients

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour + more for dusting
1 tbsp instant yeast
2 tsp table salt
1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup buttermilk
6 tbsp butter - melted - unsalted
⅓ cup honey
1 large egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
⅔ cup honey butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Mix the flour, yeast, and salt using the dough hook in the bowl of a stand mixer for about 1 minute.
Combine the pineapple juice, buttermilk, melted butter, and honey in a large, microwave-safe bowl or measuring up. Blend or whisk to combine. (I like to use a small frother for this step)
Microwave the juice mixture in 30-second increments until it reaches 95-105 degrees. You can go up to 110 degrees, but anything above that will kill the yeast. I have found that 95-105 is the sweet spot for yeast.
Once the juice mixture is hot, turn the mixer on again and slowly add it to the flour mixture.
Next, add the egg and vanilla and continue mixing on low until the dough comes together. Increase the speed and mix until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. It may still stick to the very bottom of the bowl.
Working on a smooth, flat, lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and shape it into a ball. Transfer the dough ball to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel, and let it rise in a warm space for 60-90 minutes. It should double in size.
When the dough is ready, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it into 15 equal-sized portions. Roll them into balls and place them in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm space for another hour. They should double in size.
After the second rise, adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Melt half of the honey butter and brush it over the rolls.
Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking dish and bake for another 10 minutes.
If you want the tops more brown, you can broil until the rolls reach your desired color. Keep a close eye on them while broiling as burning can happen quickly.
Remove and immediately brush the tops of the rolls with more honey butter before serving.

Notes

This recipe works with instant yeast or rapid-rise yeast. Active dry yeast will not work for this recipe.

I find that the easiest way to get 15 rolls is to first divide the dough in half and then continue cutting each of those portions into halves. You end up with 16 - but inevitably you get at least a few that end up smaller than the others. So I take that one extra roll and divide it up and add it to the smaller rolls to get 15 evenly sized rolls. You can also just make 16 rolls instead of 15 if you prefer.

Make ahead - follow the recipe through step 9. When you cover the rolls for the second rise, place them in the fridge instead of in a warm area. When ready to bake - set them out at room temperature for 1-2 hours to go through the second rise step. Then bake according to the remainder of the recipe.

This dough can be frozen. To do so - work the recipe through the shaping process. Let the dough balls sit for 10 minutes. Then place them in a single layer in the freezer. When ready to use - thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then set them out at room temp for 1-2 hours for the second rise and continue with the remainder of the recipe.

The finished rolls can be frozen. I like to wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and then combine them all in several zip-top freezer bags before freezing. Thaw at room temperature overnight. For best results, you can reheat in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.

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