100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls - How-to Video Included!
Get ready to experience these fluffy, tasty, melt-in-your-mouth 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls. They'll become your favorite!
Who's to say 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls can't be soft, fluffy and delicious?
I realize whole wheat has sort of a bad rep when compared to dinner rolls made with white flour.
And even though I know there are some great recipes out there for melt-in-your-mouth white flour dinner rolls, these delicious rolls have nothing to envy its white counterpart. Seriously!
Even if you have a favorite recipe for dinner rolls, you should give this one a try.
What's so special about this 100 % Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls recipe?
First of all, the type of whole wheat used for this recipe is very important. I use freshly ground white whole wheat kernels.
There are two kinds of whole wheat kernels readily available: white and red.
Red whole-wheat flour has been around since long before any of us were baking. However, white whole-wheat flour, milled from the whole white-wheat kernel, is a relatively new variety. White hard wheat has all the nutrition and characteristics of red hard wheat, but with a milder, less tannic flavor. It is too lighter in color than traditional red hard wheat. It is my preferred wheat for bread baking. Both types of hard wheat are high in protein/gluten.
Both types of wheat flour are great for baking bread, but if you want a milder and less overpowering wheat flavor, whole white wheat flour is the way to go.
I use this type of freshly ground flour when I bake my 100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls and my signature 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread. If you've never worked with white whole wheat flour before, you're in for a treat!
Also, an ingredient that makes these rolls so special is vital wheat gluten.
Vital wheat gluten is like a super-powered flour. It's made from wheat flour that has been hydrated to activate the gluten and then processed to remove everything but that gluten. It's then dried and ground back into a powder. In the end, it is just pure gluten with the other flour components removed.
Quite the process, right?
I'm just excited someone thought to do this as whole wheat flour has a hard time rising without a bit of gluten added help!
When I'm trying new recipes and want to replace the white flour with whole wheat flour, I use about 1-2 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten per cup of whole wheat flour. That gives whole wheat flour the necessary boost to be able to rise properly and not turn into a brick (talking from experience here!). It can also be used when baking bread with other whole components (like raisins, nuts, etc.) to help it rise better.
So, there you have it--white wheat kernels and vital wheat gluten. Those are the two ingredients that will make your 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls the talk of the town!
Now, remember, just like with any recipe that calls for whole wheat flour, water, and yeast, the flour amounts are just an estimate. There are sooo many reasons as to why this is--water temperature, room temperature, water measurements, etc. So, make sure you go by feel when adding the flour. Once your dough starts to come off the sides of the bowl and a bit from the bottom, it is time to stop adding flour and start your kneading time.
If you need a bit of help to learn how to shape these awesome rolls, don't worry. I've got you covered! Here's my How-to video!
Are you ready to try this recipe? Let's do it!
Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water
- 1 TBSP SAF instant yeast
- 1/4 cup oil (olive or canola)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 TBSP salt
- 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
- 6-8 cups of freshly ground whole white wheat flour
Instructions
- In the Bosch Universal mixer, combine the warm water, oil, honey, and two cups of the flour. Mix for about 10 seconds until combined.
- Add the yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten. Mix until incorporated.
- While mixing, add the rest of the flour gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) until the sides of the bowl come clean (watch my How to video on how to do this step).
- Knead about 5 minutes for gluten development. (To know if your dough is ready, take a piece of the dough and stretch it in your hands. If it feels soft and elastic, your gluten has already developed! If it breaks apart while trying to stretch it, knead for another minute or two).
- Transfer dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to double in size (about 1 hour).
- Punch down the dough and place on a greased countertop or silicone mat.
- Use your scale to weigh your dough and end up with perfectly smooth and even rolls (watch my How to video for this step). You will end up with about 2 dozen rolls.
- Line your pans with parchment paper and spray the sides of the inside of the pan with nonstick spray.
- At this point, you can brush your rolls with an egg/water mixture and add a topping (optional).
- Cover and let them rise until double in size (about an hour).
- Bake at 400 F for about 14-16 minutes until lightly brown and cooked through. Enjoy!