Whole Wheat Honey Dinner Rolls

The first Thanksgiving I spent with my husband's family everyone talked about his aunt's homemade rolls; they were a staple at holiday meals. It was the first time I had ever had pull apart rolls and they were amazing! I remember the first holiday where she did not have time to make them and store bought rolls were served - it did not go over well. At my bridal shower I was given the recipe, a giant mixing bowl, and kitchen towels to learn how to make them myself. The family tradition had been passed on to me... no pressure or anything. My husband however joined the Marine Corps and we no longer live near his family so I have not had to bring them to a holiday dinner yet but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy them. I have changed the recipe a bit and made them into whole wheat honey rolls and they are delicious. 

These rolls are a little time consuming; although most of the time they are just sitting and rising. They also make quite a large batch, typically about 32 rolls so it's something you could do on a Sunday afternoon and then have yummy homemade rolls to go with dinner all week long. There is something truly magically about homemade rolls - they pretty much go with everything and they make any meal tastier. 

One trick in baking bread that will make it turn out better is to have all ingredients at room temperature. This is true when making cookies and cakes as well. There is a whole scientific explanation behind it involving fats and air bubbles which you can research if you are truly fascinated by the whole thing - or you can take my word for it that using room temperature ingredients will result in lighter, better tasting bread. If you have planned your baking ahead of time you can let the egg sit on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour or if you are a spur of the moment baker just let the eggs sit in a bowl of warm water (not hot!) for about 5 minutes. 

I made these rolls using my stand mixer which has a metal bowl, so to help keep the ingredients all at room temperature I rinsed the metal bowl out with hot water to warm the bowl up. 

The first thing to do is dissolve 1 packet of dry active yeast in 1 cup of warm water. If you only have a jar of dry active yeast 1 packet is equal to 2 1/2 teaspoons. You'll know it's done when it starts to foam up, this takes about 5 minutes or so. 

 Add in 1/2 cup of honey, 1 egg (beaten and at room temperature), 2 teaspoons salt, 1 cup warm milk (I microwaved it for about a minute then let it cool a little), and 1 stick of butter that is melted and mix slowly with the dough hook or by hand if you don't have a mixer. 

  Slowly add in 5 - 5 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 cup at a time. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula as it mixes. The dough will end up coming together in a ball. It should be soft and pliable but not too sticky. Take the ball out and knead it for about 5 minutes on a floured surface. If the dough is really sticking to your hands add in a little more flour and knead it in. You want the dough to not stick to you as you knead it but you don't want to add too much flour and dry it out. 

 Form the dough into a ball and place in a buttered bowl. Cover the bowl and let it rise for about an hour. Now you can wash the dishes, do some laundry, or take a nap :) 

 Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and fold it into itself a few times. 

 Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pinch off a 1 inch piece and roll it into a ball. Place 3 balls in 1 cup of the muffin tin. This can be a little tedious and time consuming. If you have children totally get them involved and have them help you do this. Kids love helping out in the kitchen and it makes this go by faster. However, try and get them to make the balls roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Once the muffin tins have been filled and there is no more dough cover them again and let them rise for another 30 minutes. When they are done rising you can brush them will melted butter and sprinkle with a little salt if you like, or you can skip this step. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and bake them for 8-10 minutes.

Once they are done you should have beautiful golden brown homemade rolls. You can enjoy them immediately (who doesn't love fresh warm rolls right out of the over) or they can be kept in an airtight container for about 5 days. 

Cost Break Down!!

A 5 lb. of flour cost me $2.99, which is $0.56 a cup, considering the flour I used for dusting and the rolls it was probably close to 6 cups of flour which would be $3.36. 5 lb. of honey cost me $12.96 so 1/2 cup cost about $0.95. A 4 oz jar of yeast costs $3.49, so 2 1/4 teaspoon would cost about $0.35. A dozen eggs costs me $1.50 so 1 egg cost $0.13. I believe a package of butter cost about $2.00 so 1 stick would be $0.50. A gallon of milk cost me $3.30 so 1 cup would be $0.20. 2 teaspoons of salt is actually less than a penny so I don't usually add it in. 

All of these ingredients together cost me $5.49 and it made 32 rolls which is equal to $0.17 a roll.

A roll of 10 Pillsbury biscuits costs about $1.50-$2.00 which equals to about $0.15-$0.20 a roll. 

Price wise they are pretty comparable so it won't cost you more to make them from scratch but they will be whole wheat with no refined sugars, preservatives, or additives and that, to me, is delicious :)