The details
Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without yeasted rolls. I want rolls that are so squishy I could snuggle between them. I want them a little sweet and salty too. These Salted Honey Butter Yeast Rolls are all of the above and come together so easily given a little plan-ahead. Inspired by milk bread, they are irresistibly tender, yeast-y, and balanced due to honey butter and flaked sea salt to finish. Think King’s Hawaiian rolls but dialed back, homemade, and Thanksgiving. I think you’ll love them as much as I do!
About yeast rolls
Oh, working with yeast. I personally love it and blog about it all the time. I love the smell, the satisfaction of a fluffy dough after a rise, and the delicious result. If you are new to yeast baking or have any questions about proofing/rising your dough, you have to check out my post on How to Proof Dough Like a Pro. It’s got all your answers.
For this recipe, plan to bloom your yeast before mixing dough (that’s mix it with warm milk and sugar and wait for it to get foamy and fragrant), allow the dough to rise at room temp for 1-2 hours, and then complete a second rise for at least 1 hour post-shaping and prior to baking. That being said, the whole mixing/blooming/proofing process will take about 4 hours altogether. It’s a great somewhat passive baking activity for Thanksgiving morning, and you can bake the rolls about an hour before dinner is on the table.
I love honey butter + flaked salt.
Yes, a little paragraph to talk about honey butter. It’s optional for this recipe (if you choose to omit honey, you still need to baste your rolls in butter after baking) but adds so much. This honey butter is not too heavy on the honey, so you won’t get a sugary-sweet glaze, but rather a balanced sweet and salty topping that amplifies the flavors in the pillowy and mellow dough. If you like salty (like we do in our fam) topping with flaked sea salt (we like Maldon, not sponsored) is a must.
More pillowy-soft breads to love:
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Salted Honey Butter Yeast Rolls
These milk bread-inspired Salted Honey Butter Yeast Rolls are squishy, soft, a little sweet, and a little salty. They are the perfect balanced and delicious addition to your Thanksgiving spread!
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
Ingredients
For the roll dough:
- 1 cup whole milk, gently warmed
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
For the egg wash:
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2–3 tbsp water
For the salted honey butter topping:
- 1 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp honey
- flaked sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Make your roll dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine warmed milk, sugar, and active dry yeast. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow the yeast to bloom for 10-15 minutes. At this point, the mixture should become foamy and smell yeast-y.
- Add bread flour and salt to yeast mixture and mix by hand with a dough hook attachment (or spatula) until it forms a shaggy mass. Hook up your mixing bowl to a stand mixer and knead on low with the dough hook for a minute or two. You can also knead by hand. Add softened unsalted butter in 2 1-tbsp chunks and continue to knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is a shiny ball and bounces back when poked.
- Turn out dough into a large, clean mixing bowl coated in neutral oil. Cover well with plastic wrap and allow the dough to proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours, until at least doubled in size.
- Punch down proofed dough and turn it out onto a floured work surface. Using a dough cutter, cut the dough into 12 roughly equal sized pieces. I eye ball the size of my dough pieces but you can use a kitchen scale for precision. Shape each dough piece into a ball by pinching the bottom and rounding. Place 12 dough balls into a buttered 9 x 13 pan.
- Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours, until dough balls are nice and puffy/pillowy.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Make an egg wash by beating 1 egg + water in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the surface of all your proofed rolls with egg wash.
- Bake rolls at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and make honey butter topping by whisking melted butter with honey. Brush on honey butter mixture and sprinkle with flaked sea salt while the rolls are warm.
- Rolls are best served warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- These rolls can be made the day before–simply make dough through Step 4 and do the second proof overnight in the fridge. Place unbaked rolls on the counter while the oven preheats to come to room temp, and baked as instructed.
- All purpose flour can be substituted for bread flour in a pinch, but will result in a less squishy/chewy roll.
- Rolls freeze well, fully baked, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
- Category: bread, rolls
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