These soft and fluffy Salted Honey Hawaiian Rolls are sweetened with a tropical pineapple twist! Perfect as dinner rolls or slider buns, these sweet and savory rolls can be served alongside just about any meal.
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⭐ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These Salted Honey Hawaiian Rolls have a moist, soft, and fluffy center with a perfectly golden brown and lightly crisped surface. You’ll be ready to ditch average dinner rolls with one taste of the pineapple and salted honey flavor combo!
Hawaiian rolls are made just like white and whole wheat dinner rolls but are sweetened with pineapple juice, vanilla, honey, and brown sugar. Their sweet and tropical flavors make them the perfect partner to pulled pork, sliced ham, cheeseburgers, and more.
You could even slather some butter or homemade ricotta on top and call it a day! There’s no beating those sweet and savory flavors.
❓ What are Hawaiian rolls?
If you’ve never had a Hawaiian roll, you’re in for a real treat. Just like the original King’s Hawaiian rolls, this homemade version is still soft, moist, and tangy.
Hawaiian rolls started gaining popularity in the 50s and 60s thanks to Hawaiian-born Robert Taira. His family opened a bakery and his sweet rolls were a hit!
Unlike traditional dinner rolls, this Hawaiian alternative is baked with a yeast dough flavored with pineapple juice, vanilla, honey, and vinegar. The tropical, sweet, and savory flavors make these homemade hawaiian sweet rolls or sliders perfect for pairing with tangy fillings, jam, or just butter!
🍴Ingredients
You don’t need anything fancy for these sweet and tropical buns! They come together easily using pantry-staple ingredients, like:
- Active dry yeast - This acts as a leavening agent and is essential for producing the gases that make bread rise. Make sure you check the yeast’s expiration date before getting started!
- Pineapple juice - The secret to the incredible sweetness! The pineapple flavor is subtle and doesn’t overpower the rolls. It makes them tender and moist with a delightful tropical flavor.
- Brown sugar and honey - These two work together to give the buns layers of rich sweetness.
- Eggs - Both whole eggs and egg yolks are used to strengthen the dough and create fluffy cores and crisped crusts.
- Vanilla extract - To enhance the flavor. Use a quality pure vanilla extract for the best results.
- White vinegar - Vinegar bubbles up when it’s added to bread dough, helping it rise and taste slightly tangy.
- All purpose flour - You can also use bread flour if that’s what you have on hand. Your rolls will be somewhat chewier but still pleasantly soft and fluffy.
- Topping - Brush some honey, butter, and flaky sea salt on top to give these salted honey Hawaiian buns their signature flair.
📖 Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Activate the yeast. Stir the warm water and instant yeast together in a large bowl in a stand mixer fixed with a dough hook attachment. Set it aside until the liquid becomes foamy.
Step 2: Add wet ingredients. Next, add the pineapple juice, brown sugar, honey, melted butter, eggs, egg yolk, salt, vanilla, and vinegar to the bowl. Whisk well to combine.
Step 3: Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in about half of a cup of flour at a time. You want your dough to feel firm and pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
Step 4: Knead the dough. Use your hands to knead the dough until it passes the windowpane test.
Step 5: The first rise. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume.
Step 6: Divide and shape the dough. Punch the dough down and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Shape each portion into a round ball and place them on a parchment-lined baking dish
Step 7: The second rise. Cover the baking dish with a sheet of greased plastic wrap and leave them to rise in the fridge overnight. Take them out the next day and let them come down to room temperature before moving them to a warm place to rise once more.
Step 8: Bake, butter, and serve. Once they’ve doubled in volume, bake the rolls until they’re puffed and golden brown. Brush the top of the rolls with butter, honey, and flaky salt, then enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Yeast not activating? If your yeast and water mixture isn’t foaming or bubbling after 10 minutes, that means your yeast is too old. I recommend starting over with fresh yeast so the buns rise.
- Letting the dough rise - If you’re baking on a cold day, let the dough finish its first or second rises in the oven (turned off). This will speed up the process and should only take about 1 hour to double in size.
- Plan ahead - Making Hawaiian rolls is super easy but does require some planning as you’ll need to let the dough rise twice.
🍽️ How to use Hawaiian bread rolls
- Grab-and-go breakfast - Spread some butter, jelly, marmalade, jam (like this simple plum jam), or even scrambled eggs onto a bun for a quick breakfast.
- Pork BBQ sandwich buns - Pulled pork sandwiched between Hawaiian bread practically melts in your mouth.
- Hawaiian hamburger buns - Slice your roll in half, lightly grill both sides, and load it up with a juicy burger and all of the toppings.
- Hawaiian slider rolls - Whether you’re in the mood for a cheeseburger or a ham and cheese, cold cut, meatball, or pulled pork sandwich, these slider buns always add a hint of extra exciting flavors to each bite.
💭 Recipe FAQs
The pineapple juice sweetens the dough with a tropical, tangy flavor. It’s a very subtle, yet pleasant sweetness.
- Storing rolls - After cooling to room temperature, keep your rolls in an airtight container on the counter for 2 to 3 days. They’ll go stale and dry out much quicker in the fridge.
- Freezing rolls - Wrap the rolls in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil (or a freezer-safe bag). Freeze for 2 to 3 months. Allow them to defrost at room temperature.
- Reheating - They’re tasty eaten at room temperature, but if you’d like to reheat the rolls, you can pop a few in a 315ºF oven for a few minutes.
Hawaiian sweet rolls, originally crafted by Robert R. Taira, have a distinctive sweet flavor, often attributed to honey butter rolls, making them oh-so different from plain dinner rolls!
Their unique taste, avoiding high fructose corn syrup and celebrating the Taira family's recipe, has made them a popular roll serving choice and an irresistible product, especially when seeking additional inspiration for hot dog buns or mini sub rolls!
Looking for more sweet and savory bread?
If you try the recipe for these Hawaiian Rolls, please leave a 🌟 review and share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter! 📧
Salted Honey Hawaiian Rolls
Equipment
- 9x13 inch pan
- Pastry brush (optional)
Ingredients
Salted Honey Hawaiian Rolls
- 2 tablespoons Warm water
- 1 tablespoon Active dry yeast
- ¾ cup (177 g) Pineapple juice
- ½ cup (110 g) Brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup (170 g) Honey
- ¼ cup (57 g) Unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Eggs, large
- 1 Egg yolk, large
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1.5 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon White vinegar
- 4 cups (500 g) All-purpose flour, you may need a touch more or less
- Extra honey, room temperature butter and flaky sea salt to garnish
Instructions
Salted Honey Hawaiian Rolls
- Stir the warm water and yeast together in a large mixing bowl, then set aside until foamy - this should take about 10 minutes2 tablespoons Warm water, 1 tablespoon Active dry yeast
- Add the pineapple juice, brown sugar, honey, melted butter, eggs, egg yolk, salt, and vanilla and white vinegar whisking to combine.¾ cup Pineapple juice, ½ cup Brown sugar, ½ cup Honey, ¼ cup Unsalted butter, 2 Eggs, 1 Egg yolk, 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, 1.5 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 teaspoon White vinegar
- Stir in the flour, about ½ cup at a time, until a stiff dough forms and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl4 cups All-purpose flour
- Knead the dough until it passes the windowpane test (about 10 to 15 minutes by hand, 8-10 minutes if using a bread hook attachment
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume (about 1 hour)
- Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 equal portions (about 75 grams each).
- Shape the rolls and place them in a 9x13-inch greased baking dish that's been greased and lined with parchment paper
- Cover the rolls with a sheet of greased plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
- Allow the rolls to rise in a warm place (if making overnight rolls, remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature first) until doubled in volume (about 1 hour).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the Hawaiian rolls until puffed and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and brush the tops with butter, honey and flaky saltExtra honey, room temperature butter and flaky sea salt to garnish
Notes
- Yeast not activating? If your yeast and water mixture isn’t foaming or bubbling after 10 minutes, that means your yeast is too old. I recommend starting over with fresh yeast so the buns rise.
- Letting the dough rise - If you’re baking on a cold day, let the dough finish its first or second rises in the oven (turned off). This will speed up the process and should only take about 1 hour to double in size.
- Plan ahead - Making Hawaiian rolls is super easy but does require some planning as you’ll need to let the dough rise twice.
- Grab-and-go breakfast - Spread some butter, jelly, marmalade, jam (like this simple plum jam), or even scrambled eggs onto a bun for a quick breakfast.
- Pork BBQ sandwich buns - Pulled pork sandwiched between Hawaiian bread practically melts in your mouth.
- Hawaiian hamburger buns - Slice your roll in half, lightly grill both sides, and load it up with a juicy burger and all of the toppings.
- Hawaiian slider rolls - Whether you’re in the mood for a cheeseburger or a ham and cheese, cold cut, meatball, or pulled pork sandwich, these slider buns always add a hint of extra exciting flavors to each bite.
- Storing rolls - After cooling to room temperature, keep your rolls in an airtight container on the counter for 2 to 3 days. They’ll go stale and dry out much quicker in the fridge.
- Freezing rolls - Wrap the rolls in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil (or a freezer-safe bag). Freeze for 2 to 3 months. Allow them to defrost at room temperature.
- Reheating - They’re tasty eaten at room temperature, but if you’d like to reheat the rolls, you can pop a few in a 315ºF oven for about 5 to 10 minutes.
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