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Brian Sunter

Hawaiian Rolls

Pillowy-soft, lightly sweet rolls with pineapple juice and brown sugar. Inspired by King's Hawaiian rolls born at a bakery on the Big Island in the 1950s.

25 minutes cook 30 minutes prep 4 hours 15 minutes total 16 servings
bread rolls baking sweet dough
Scale
Units

Ingredients

  • 0.25 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp instant yeast
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 0.50 cup pineapple juice
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 0.33 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • — egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2.75 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp potato flour
  • 1.25 tsp salt
  • — 9x13 pan
  • 16 rolls
  • 1 tbsp cold water

Equipment

  • stand mixer
  • mixing bowl
  • measuring cup
  • oven
  • cooling rack

Instructions

Sponge

1

Weigh your flour or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In the bowl of your stand mixer or the bucket of your bread machine, combine 0.25 cup all-purpose flour , 1 tbsp instant yeast , and 2 tbsp water . Allow the sponge to rest for 15 minutes .

Dough

2

To the sponge, add 0.50 cup pineapple juice (canned), 4 tbsp unsalted butter (softened), 0.33 cup brown sugar (packed), 2 eggs plus egg yolk (reserve the white), and 1 tsp vanilla extract . Mix until well combined.

3

Whisk together 2.75 cups all-purpose flour , 2 tbsp potato flour , and 1.25 tsp salt before adding to the liquid ingredients.

4

Mix and knead until the dough is cohesive and smooth. It will be very sticky at first. If using a stand mixer, beat with the flat beater for 3 minutes at medium-high speed, then scrape the dough into the center of the bowl, switch to the dough hook, and knead for 5 minutes at medium speed. The dough may have formed a very soft ball but will probably still be sticking to the bottom of the bowl. If using a bread machine, simply let it go through its entire cycle. If the dough is not coming together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour.

First Rise

5

Lightly grease the mixing bowl or a large 8-cup measuring cup . Round the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. Cover and let rise until very puffy, 1.5-2 hours .

Shape and Second Rise

6

Lightly grease a 9x13 pan .

7

Gently deflate the dough. Divide it into 16 rolls equal pieces by dividing in half, then in half again, etc. Round each piece into a smooth ball. Space the buns evenly in the pan.

8

Tent the dough gently with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let rise in the pan for 1 hour , until nicely puffy. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake

9

Mix the reserved egg white with 1 tbsp cold water and brush some onto the surface of the rolls for a satiny crust.

10

Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes , or until the internal temperature reads 190 F on a digital thermometer.

11

Remove the rolls from the oven, and after a few minutes, turn them out onto a cooling rack . Serve warm.

View Cooklang Source
recipe.cook 
---
title: Hawaiian Rolls
description: "Pillowy-soft, lightly sweet rolls with pineapple juice and brown sugar. Inspired by King's Hawaiian rolls born at a bakery on the Big Island in the 1950s."
servings: 16
total time: 4 hours 15 minutes
prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes
tags: [rolls, bread, baking, sweet dough]
cuisine: Hawaiian
difficulty: intermediate
---

== Sponge ==

Weigh your flour or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In the bowl of your #stand mixer{} or the bucket of your bread machine, combine @all-purpose flour{1/4 cup}, @instant yeast{1 tbsp}, and @water{2 tbsp}. Allow the sponge to rest for ~{15%minutes}.

> Use SAF Gold instant yeast for best results with sweet dough.

== Dough ==

To the sponge, add @pineapple juice{1/2 cup} (canned), @unsalted butter{4 tbsp} (softened), @brown sugar{1/3 cup} (packed), @eggs{2} plus @egg yolk{1} (reserve the white), and @vanilla extract{1 tsp}. Mix until well combined.

> To use fresh pineapple juice: microwave the juice for 2 minutes until it reaches 200F and allow to cool to lukewarm before using. Heating kills enzymes in the juice that would otherwise destroy the gluten.

Whisk together @all-purpose flour{2 3/4 cups}, @potato flour{2 tbsp}, and @salt{1 1/4 tsp} before adding to the liquid ingredients.

Mix and knead until the dough is cohesive and smooth. It will be very sticky at first. If using a stand mixer, beat with the flat beater for ~{3%minutes} at medium-high speed, then scrape the dough into the center of the bowl, switch to the dough hook, and knead for ~{5%minutes} at medium speed. The dough may have formed a very soft ball but will probably still be sticking to the bottom of the bowl. If using a bread machine, simply let it go through its entire cycle. If the dough is not coming together, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour.

== First Rise ==

Lightly grease the #mixing bowl{} or a large 8-cup #measuring cup{}. Round the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. Cover and let rise until very puffy, ~{1.5-2%hours}.

> Sweet dough rises slower because sugar attracts water away from yeast. If using regular yeast instead of instant yeast formulated for sweet dough, rising time may be 30 minutes or more longer for each rise.

== Shape and Second Rise ==

Lightly grease a @9x13 pan{1}.

Gently deflate the dough. Divide it into @rolls{16} equal pieces by dividing in half, then in half again, etc. Round each piece into a smooth ball. Space the buns evenly in the pan.

> This is a very wet dough and can be tricky to handle. Lightly oil your hands and counter before rolling out the buns.

Tent the dough gently with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let rise in the pan for ~{1%hour}, until nicely puffy. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the #oven{} to 350F.

== Bake ==

Mix the reserved egg white with @cold water{1 tbsp} and brush some onto the surface of the rolls for a satiny crust.

Bake the rolls for ~{20-25%minutes}, or until the internal temperature reads 190F on a digital thermometer.

Remove the rolls from the oven, and after a few minutes, turn them out onto a #cooling rack{}. Serve warm.

> Store leftovers, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

> To make hamburger-sized buns: after the first rise, divide dough into 6 equal pieces instead of 16. Round each into a smooth ball, place into a lightly greased hamburger bun pan, flattening gently. Let rise for 1 hour, brush with egg wash, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until deep golden brown.