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These easy whole wheat dinner rolls are soft feathery buns brushed with butter and packed with the sweet tenderness of whole wheat.

When I think about dinner rolls I want two things: for them to be easy and quick to make, and I want them to have cloud like fluffiness. People, you get both in this recipe. This whole wheat dinner rolls recipe is the kind you pop into the bread basket at Thanksgiving. And then with hot steaming soft rolls you mop up your gravy and probably if I’m being honest make a sandwich with the mashed potatoes and turkey.

You can make a batch of these or multiple batches for just about any occasion. Besides Thanksgiving, they’re great for Easter, Christmas dinner, potlucks, big family suppers, picnics. I always make a batch of these for meals for new Moms or families at church who are needing a little bit of help with dinner. They’re fantastic for sliders (my family loves meatball sliders with these rolls) or brunch sandwiches.

Best of all, they take no fancy ingredients to make, and the round shape is easy for even kids to make. So if you’re a hesitant baker or just pressed for time, you can handle this recipe.

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Easy whole wheat dinner rolls

Why you’ll love this recipe

Easy shaping: making the round ball shape is easy and fun and will help you make beautiful homemade pita, krautburgers and more when you want to try a more involved recipe.
Fuss-free: You almost can’t mess these up.
Soft pull apart sides: I grew up with so many of these types of rolls, and I get a little nostalgic for them. The pillowy cottony sides that happen when you pull off a roll is the best, especially when they’re hot and you see that amazing steam. The rolls get this way because the sides are baked nestled up against each other. Because the sides aren’t hitting the hot of the oven directly, they stay soft and delicate.
Freezer-friendly: I always tell people that freezer cooking is a gift to your future self. Make up a batch or two, then follow the directions in the notes in the recipe for freezing them, and you’re that much closer to a quick dinner on a busy night. This baseball Mom approves!

Ingredients

Water: warm, to make the yeast happy.
Yeast: instant
Sugar: granulated
Milk: whole milk for tenderness.
Butter: for fat and flavor
Egg: for structure and protein; helps the rolls hold their shape and makes them easier to shape.
Flour: combination of whole wheat (I freshly mill mine from prairie gold wheat) and all-purpose flour.
Salt: for flavor

whole wheat dinner roll on plate with butter and knife

Tips for making the best whole wheat dinner rolls

Weigh the flour: I developed this recipe with my gram scale. As an American, I know we’re taught to use cups, but when you’re baking, a gram scale just helps you be more precise. That in turn helps your baked goods be consistent time after time. You’ll see the recipe written both ways, but seriously, once you realize that you may never have to wash a set of measuring cups again, I’ll make you a gram scale convert. See more reasons I love my gram scale.
Make sure the milk/butter mix isn’t too hot.: Yeast is a living thing that when happy ferments away, producing gas that lightens and raises the flour in your dough, giving bread its wonderful texture. If your liquid is too hot, it will make the rolls rise sluggishly as you can potentially kill some of the yeast. Follow my easy trick in the recipe for cooling down the milk and butter quickly.
Brush hot rolls with butter: I usually glaze all my small breads, but for these you can skip the egg wash and instead brush the hot rolls with butter. The butter adds a nice shine and keeps the tops nice and soft.
Use a deep pan if you have it: I use a springform pan here, but a deep 2″ cake pan is excellent. If you have just a 1″ round cake pan, these rolls will bake just fine too, they will just be shorter and not as soft.

Substitutions and easy additions to change up your dinner rolls

Make it dairy-free: if you want to skip the dairy ingredients, sub out water and olive oil for the milk and butter. It will change the texture but still make a delicious roll.

Add seeds: Before baking, brush the tops with water or beaten egg white and sprinkle with your favorite seeds. Everything Bagel seasoning is a favorite in our house, but poppyseeds, sesame seeds or flax are all good choices.

Add garlic butter: I love these rolls sprinkled with chopped dill before baking. Better yet, brush them with the garlic herb butter from these potato garlic knots before and after baking.

Easy Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

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Author: Elizabeth Farr
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 12 rolls

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Description

Filled with the goodness of naturally sweet whole wheat, these are the kind of feathery pull-apart rolls of potlucks gone by. Make them for Thanksgiving, Christmas or to go along side your favorite soup.

Ingredients

Scale

1/4 cup warm water (60 mL)
2 tsp instant yeast
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar (38 g)
3/4 cup whole milk (177 mL)
6 Tablespoons butter, divided (85 g)
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
1 cup plus 6 Tablespoons whole wheat flour (180 g)
1 cup plus 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (180 g)

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Instructions

Make the dough:

Sprinkle the yeast on the warm water in a small bowl with a pinch of the sugar. Set aside for about 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
Warm the milk in a small pan on the stove until you see bubbles around the edges. Cut up 4 Tablespoons of the butter and add it to the pan to melt. Add in the sugar and salt and stir to combine.
Crack your egg and use a fork to whip it into the butter and milk mixture. Pour the mixture into a shallow container like a pie plate to cool until just barely warm (100 F on an instant read thermometer is ideal).
Put the flour into a large bowl or your stand mixer bowl. Make a well in the center with your hands, then pour in the milk mixture then the yeast mixture.
Stir with a wooden spoon or the dough hook attachment to make a rough dough.
After that, with a dough hook on your stand mixer, beat the dough for about 10 minutes on low speed (2 on a Kitchen Aid) until you get an elastic dough that forms into a ball around the dough hook.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rise on the counter. If you’re working in a space with a warm room temperature, it will take the dough about 1 hour for the first rise.
The dough is ready to shape when it is about double in bulk and visibly poofy.

Shape the rolls

Butter a 10″ springform pan with a little of the leftover 2 Tablespoons of butter. Save the rest for brushing the rolls.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 pieces.
Form your hand into a dome, then turn a piece of dough inside your hand dome around clockwise and few times. This will neaten up the edges and make a nice round shape.
Set the rolls inside your prepared pan. Cover the rolls to rise for 30 minutes.

Bake the rolls

Towards the end of the 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
Using a towel to protect your hand from the heat, release the ring on the springform.
Melt the remaining butter and brush it over the tops and sides of the hot rolls.
Wrap hot rolls in a towel inside a bowl and serve immediately.

Notes

Better whole wheat flour: I usually choose to use my fresh milled wheat flour for these rolls as the flavor is much more mild and sweet. If you use whole wheat flour, get the best quality one you can find. A local health foods store is a good place to look. I find that the large 5 pound bags at the grocery store tend to have a bitter taste that put me off baking with whole wheat flour for years.

Alternative pans: If you don’t have a springform pan, use a round cake pan. A deeper pan is better as it will force the buns to rise more, but I’ve baked these in 1″ pans as well.

Freezer friendly: These rolls freeze beautifully. Let the rolls freeze completely, then freeze the whole pan of rolls in an airtight container. They will freeze for up to 1 month.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Category: Breads
Cuisine: American