Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 1/2 cup canned pineapple juice (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup warm milk (100 – 110°F)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
- 4 1/2 cups (20 ounces) bread flour, approximately
For baking:
- 1 large egg
Directions
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Combine the pineapple juice, milk, melted butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 2 cups of the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a rough, shaggy mass. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and turn to medium-low speed. Gradually add the remaining flour JUST until the dough comes together. You may not need all the flour depending on your kitchen environment and brand of flour. Continue kneading on medium-high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until a soft and smooth ball of dough forms.
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Place the dough in a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until puffy and doubled in size, about 1 hour.
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Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Gently deflate the dough. Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place in the prepared pan.
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In a small bowl combine the egg with 2 tablespoons of water. Brush all over the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F.
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Bake the rolls for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from JW Food and Design and here
These look amazing!
Just follow the recipe! These came out perfect! Thanks a million!
These look so soft and fluffy, mmm 🙂
I swear those little sweet rolls get me every time. I find myself not able to stop eating them if I have them around, but if I made them myself, I couldn’t feel bad about snarfing them down since I’d never waste anything I actually made. 🙂
I know what I’m making this weekend. These would be amazing with pulled pork.
I literally had these with pulled pork for dinner on Tuesday night!
Just made the dough. I wish I would’ve sprayed the bowl I placed the dough in as it was very sticky. Hope it comes out easily.
It turned out great!!!
That texture looks PERFECT! And that golden top, to die for!
So soft and with just a hint of sweetness, these would be irresistible!
Can you do this in a bread maker as a loaf?
I don’t own a bread maker but I don’t see why not… it wouldn’t exactly be a copycat recipe at that point though!
Wow, these look great, and I imagine taste even better! I love these with pork, and coleslaw.
Can’t wait to try this! Have always loved those King Hawaiian Bread Rolls. Quick question, can the recipe be halved? Otherwise would you instead recommend using some AP flour since I won’t have enough bread flour? I prob have around 3 cups of bread flour left but can’t wait to make this soon!
You should be just fine using up all the bread flour you have then substituting AP flour for the remaining amount.
I made these yesterday and they turned out harder then i’m sure there supposed to be rather than light and fluffy. I’m wondering if that is the result of not letting it rise long enough? Thanks!
Good day ma’am Tessa that was another amazing bread recipe…it’s a big help to me because here in our country philippines culinary school is so expensive ..so I’m very thankful to find your website…thank you so much…more power and Godbless…
These look great and will be the first recipe I make with my new stand mixer. Thanks so much
This was sooooo fantastic tasting and easy. I’ve turned into a Carb-Monster…. I ate two in a row !!!
I am curious. My dough has been sitting in the bowl for about 45 minutes now and it hasn’t risen at all. First time making any kind of bread.
It sounds like you didn’t use instant yeast or your yeast might be dead (or your kitchen is really cold).
Not all the flour is not being incorporated. I have followed the recipe to a T. Now what do I do? Too much money to waste.
Not all the flour is not being incorporated? I really have no idea what the means! 🙁
Hi Tessa,
I just took these rolls out of the oven and ate 2! They are wonderful! My girls really liked them too. Very easy to do. Will be making regularly. Thank you! Will be trying more of your recipes.
Yay! So glad to hear that, thanks for sharing.
What’s your recommendation for storage? I’ll need to bake this weekend for Thanksgiving. Fridge or counter?
Hi! Please see the “make ahead” advice in the post. I would not recommend baking 4-5 days ahead of time, they will go stale unless you freeze.
How did you keep the milk and pineapple from curdling when mixed? This would seem to be a possible problem with recipe
I made these rolls with my brand new Kitchenaid mixer (1st thing I made with the KA mixer). Filled them with Mojo style pulled pork, topped with pan seared pineapples.
Very delicious!
Better than the Store bought Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.
♡♡♡♡♡♡
Will make again!
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hello. The recipe states “4 1/2 cups (20 ounces) bread flour” but 4.5 cups is not 20 ounces. Which is correct for the recipe, 4.5 cups (36 ounces) or 2.5 cups (20 ounces)?
Hi! If you’re not familiar with weighing ingredients it can be a bit tricky to wrap your head around at first but think of it this way – 1 cup of feathers will not weigh the same amount as 1 cup of lead. 1 cup does not always equal 8 ounces. Please see my Ultimate Guide to Measuring for more help: https://www.handletheheat.com/ultimate-guide-measuring/
I just made these, and I don’t think they came out right. The dough didn’t double in size before I formed them for baking. Does the pineapple juice have to be warm? Mine was cold, but I had the milk warmed to the appropriate temperature. I baked them. They rose, but I think it was because of the eggs. I also kneaded by hand because I do not have a have kitchen aid, will that make a difference?
Chelsea, I had issues of whether the pineapple juice’s temperature was crucial for this recipe to come out right. I researched two other Hawaiin roll recipes and BOTH said to use ROOM temperature pineapple juice. It makes sense because of the yeast. Thanks for bringing this to light in this recipe.
I will be using Active Dry Yeast and read your instructions on how to substitute; however, I am wondering if I need to adjust the measurement you stated for the instant yeast and if so what would the new amount be for the Active Dry Yeast? Thank you and great video btw!
Active dry yeast and instant yeast can be substituted for each other 1:1. Happy baking!
Olá vou experimentar sua receita e fazer,espero acertar o que é farinha de pão para vocês aqui no Brasil eu conheço farinha de trigo .
Alexandra
Oi magiasbook.
Se vc nao achar a farinha propria para pao. Use uma farinha de boa qualidade.E so isso.
@Lola, since the OP seems confused: if all of your flour does not incorporate, it is probably due to your house/where you love being much drier. In more humid climates, you need more flour to compensate for the moisture in the air. I’ve noticed that for some bread recipes the flour requirements can fluctuate by +/- 1.5 cups from winter to summer here in the humid South.
I had to let you know that my family LOVES these rolls, thank you so much for posting your recipe!! I make them at least twice a week. I hate buying mass-produced, chemical filled bread so I always make my own and this is my kids’ favorite for their school lunches. They are delicious!
These turned out perfect! I cut the sugar in half to make less sweet rolls for the particular dinner I was making. I’ll definitely try out the original soon too!
I don’t have a stand up mixer. Can I fold in the flour by hand and how long should I knead it?
She addresses that in the post.
I used instant yeast, turn out terrible. The dough became very dry and falling apart. Oh and the yeasty smell is super awful even though I followed the recipe to a T. So I switch to active dry yeast and everything come out perfect. I’m so glad I didn’t get discourage after the first fail. Also, the second time I use only 3 2/3 cup bread flour. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe.
I’m guessing your experiences have less to do with the yeast and way more to do with the amount of flour used! Use a scale to weigh your flour for the most accurate results or be sure to use the spoon and level method of measuring flour with measuring cups. More info here: https://www.handletheheat.com/2014/07/ultimate-guide-measuring.html
I made these rolls this weekend and they turned out great! They’re not quite as sweet as regular Hawaiian rolls, which is nice. Thanks for the recipe!
I have the packets of Fleischmann’s RapidRISE HIGHLY ACTIVE YEAST. can I use it in this recipe? If so, how many packs. Should I use?
Hi, I just made these and they looked great but were really dense 🙁 . I used active yeast w 1/4 cup of water and bread flour. I also baked them in a glass dish so I lowered the temp to 350 and baked till golden brown. So bumbed. Any suggestions to make them turn out fluffier?
S
A little late, but mine also came out denser than I would have liked. I accidentally had the oven set at 350. So I’m wondering if that’s the issue.
I made your recipe today. Well attempted to.
The dough was really wet and sticky…..until I realized that I added 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of juice instead of a half cup of each, lol.
Once I added twice as many of the other ingredients, it came together nicely. I cooked half of the recipe and froze the other half.
Sometimes mistakes are good, I’m glad that I had enough ingredients.
It turned out really good. 🙂
Just made these…. ABSOLUTELY delish! So easy to make. Thanks Tessa!
I have tried many copy cat Hawaiian bread recipes. This is the only one that is SPOT ON!!! These will become a regular on my “Breads To Bake List”. Thanks so much. I am a hit with my granddaughter. Hawaiian rolls are her favorite!
Just made these using the dough setting on my bread machine. I used bread machine yeast, and, OMG, they are amazing. Thank you for the best Hawaiian roll recipe ever.
Wonderful Lenore, thanks for sharing about the bread machine!
I make this recipe in my bread machine on the sweet dough cycle all the time. You will find that a sweet dough will take longer the rise once they are formed into buns. I find that if I turn on the light in my oven when I start the dough that the oven is warm enough to make an ideal environment for the dough to rise. I also put a 4 cup glass measuring cup with 3 cups of water that I have boiled in the microwave in the oven during the proofing time. The steam prevents a crust to form on the dough and the buns will rise higher. Remove the buns and the water before you preheat the oven.
Are you sure that your flour to liquid ratios are right, as the liquid seems high. When I followed your recipe, I could not achieve a soft ball using 20 oz of bread flour. I added and additional approx 6 oz and still did not have a soft ball. I had stopped at this point because the dough seemed very heavy. Current RH is 84%. Please advise.
Can I use all purpose flour?
do they freeze well ?
I’ve just made these twice in the last week. The first batch was to test the recipe and it was great. I did it exactly as the recipe called for and it came out perfect each time.
I didn’t have a mixer, or a bread maker, so I did it by hand with a fork and a bowl, then some elbow grease to knead. Each time it was delicious.
The flavor was great, not too sweet at all, and the pineapple juice really put them over the top. I don’t even like pineapple.
I wanted to give my two cents and hopefully help others feel confident about this recipe. Go ahead and make it your family will love you.
Forgot to mention I used all purpose flour.
Just a note to anyone in the same boat as I was just in. I didn’t have any pineapple juice, but had a fresh pineapple so I blended and strained 1/2 c. of the juice instead. Unfortunately, the enzymes in the fresh pineapple break down and destroy the gluten you are trying to form when kneading, leaving you with a stick, mushy dough that will not recover…baker beware!
Omg! Thank you! Happened to me just now! #PineappleEnzymes
I had the same problem – Very sad and a waste of flour. Tessa, I suggest the recipe is annotated to ensure the baker uses only canned pineapple juice and NOT juice from fresh pineapple.
Hi Eileen – it does say that already, it’s how the pineapple juice ingredient is listed. Both in the recipe and in the notes in the blog post.
Absolutely delicious! I followed your recipe exactly. We live in the UK and I am from the USA. Lately we’ve been craving the Hawaiian Rolls. So glad I made these! Thank you for the recipe and helpful tips!
Cant wait to try.
Need to get bread flour and my on it!!!
Tessa,
Thank you so much for this recipe I make it all the time and my family loves it . I make them hamburger bun size then make pulled pork sandwiches and cheese burgers they’re so good.
Fantastic! That sounds absolutely delicious.
These are not only delicious but they look great and easy to make.
Wonderful! Glad to hear it.
This is so much better than another recipe I tried from a different site. Your rolls rose twice as fast! The only thing I added was a half tsp. of ground ginger, which was something the other recipe called for that I really liked.
Thank you so much for posting!
Hi Tessa
The recipe look very tasty, but I was wondering if I can convert the butter with something else? We can’t it butter because of cholesterol. Thanks
I haven’t tried using a butter substitute so I can’t say for sure. If you give it a try let us know how they turn out!
My dough is not soft it’s hard and not raising much after 45 mins What did I do wrong?
Great recipe! Im uk based so i had a real struggle converting everything precisely and the mixture was extremely goey. I was concerned so i took a gamble and added more flour to half of the mixture. They both turned out great although the one with more flour was denser. The method is a quite a struggle due to the goey dough but I wouldn’t mind trying it again!!!
I made the dough for these in a bread machine. This is a great recipe ! Light and fluffy so the bread machine did the hard part. are not s sweet as the store brand. I will make these for Thanksgiving!
If I wanted to reduce the amount of rolls by half, do I just halve the ingredients? Thank you!
Wish i would have read these comments before making them. Not sure if using fresh vs canned pineapple juice made the difference but the juice kept destroying the gluten and the dough turned into a soupy, sticky mess. Adding additional flour did not make a difference as after a few minute, my nice, firm ball of dough reverted back to slime. What a waste of ingredients.
Can’t wait to try them!
I’ve learned so much from from you! As a former teacher, I’d like to give you an A+ on your instructions. Well done!!!!!
Wow, thank you so much! 🙂
This was an absolute wonderful dough to work with, I however only did one thing different, I put all my dry ingredients into the mixing bowl, then made a huge well in the center down to the bottom of the bowl, pulling the dry ingredients up the sides of the bowl, then poured the premixed dry ingredients into the center, then with a wooden spoon quickly pulled all the ingredients together, therefor the wettest in the center, then added the dough hook, and let it knead for 5 min. Perfect dough! This may help the one that said the flour didn’t incorporate into the dough, my Granny taught me that, and it helps with bread dough to incorporate the ingredients evenly.Thank you Tessa and Hope that helps Lola. May the smell of fresh bread fill your house and surround you and your loved ones with warm hugs! ^_^
Thanks for leaving your feedback, Lisa! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. Your Granny sounds like she was a great baker 🙂
Hello there. Is there any way I can make these into loaves of bread instead of buns?
I’ve never tried so I’m not sure. If you do try let me know how it works out!
Question, love the Hawaiian rolls but don’t always want a sweet roll for sliders. Could I just use milk in place of pineapple juice so they would not be sweet?
Sure! Let us know how they turn out.
I tried making rolls with the fresh pineapple juice. Agreed the flour just wouldn’t stiffen up and form a ball, no matter how much I added. Does the enzyme in the fresh juice also kill the yeast?
I’ve never used fresh juice for this recipe, only canned. It would appear from other commenters that fresh juice does have a negative effect on the yeast :/
Fantastic rolls! I mixed them in my bread machine on the dough cycle (it enables me to do other things for an hour and a half while the bread machine does the mixing, kneading and proofing). I put my rolls in 2 8″ round cake pans since I was giving some to a friend if they turned out well. They turned out perfect! I’m planning to use this same recipe for hamburger buns this weekend – give the brioche recipe a rest. As another reviewer mentioned, I make all my own bread so I’m not paying big bucks for a lot of things I can barely pronounce in my food. These are going to become a firm favorite for rolls, hamburger buns and sandwich rolls for pulled pork. YUM!
Afternoon,
I haven’t made these yet. Can’t wait to make. Can I use regular flour instead of bread flour or does it have to be bread flour? I’ve enjoyed your website. Thank you Thank you
Bread flour works best to make really nice and tall, round, and slightly chewy rolls but you should be able to get away without it.
Thank you sooooo much for this easy delicious rolls. I just made with all purpose flour instead of bread flour because i didn’t havit on hand so i just used 4 cups and they turned out so yummy. My husband and son liked very much.
I was lucky enough to visit Hawii and fell in love with the rolls. Your recipe was the 5th one I tried was about to give up Your’s was the last I was trying ! So glad I tried yours !!! Excellent ! Thank you
Hi, Tessa. Could I substitute orange juice for the pineapple juice, or the syrup from a can of pineapple rings? Thanks so much.
Delicious!
@Lola the flour not being incorporated means there is too much flour (measure using spoon to fill cup, then level off lightly; do not pack the flour in or you would use too much, ending in dry, tough baked goods).
Wow these were really easy! I’m making them for the 5th time and my third variation. I do find I get up to 24 rolls per batch though. I’ve also made it into bread as well. This batch I’m using fifty percent wheat flour plus 4 tsp wheat gluten.
These were amaaaazing .. when I tried them right out of the oven I died and went to heavean .. they are like pillows soooo soft and buttery and delicious .. thank you sooo much for the recipe
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the recipe xo
I am noticing that all recipes for Hawaiian rolls call for “pineapple juice” yet original recipe there is none added. So why add?
Well, sometimes when you’re recreating a food that’s processed and packaged in the grocery store, it’s nearly impossible to use the same ingredients since we’re not in a manufacturing plant. The pineapple juice truly does give the same sweet and tropical flavor that the packaged ones have. I hope you’ll give it a try 🙂
Bravo on the Hawaiian buns recipe! I got great rise and texture. I tried to mold them into 8 big hamburger buns, worked out pretty well and they were very dark brown at 15 minutes. Not burnt and the bottoms were only lightly browned on a silpat. I am very pleased with the results, thank you.
Glad to hear it!
I made this on the dough cycle of a bread machine and used in dough to make hot dog buns in a New England hot dog bun pan! There was enough dough for the buns and 6 rolls. Taste great. I did make one small change-I subtracted a quarter cup of bread flour and added a quarter cup of potato flour, cause I find it makes the texture softer and moister. But, boy, these are great!
That’s great!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I made these exactly as written, and they turned out fantastic! They tasted identical to the original Hawaiian rolls! I will be making these again and again! Made sliders and they were wonderful. Thanks, Tessa!
Glad to hear that, Valerie! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I just baked these today. They came out perfect! I had to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour because the dough was too sticky. It was a little hot and humid today. Wonderful recipe. Thank you!
I’m glad you made the recipe work for you!! Those humid days can really affect your dough! Enjoy xo
Can you taste the pinepple juice?
It ends up just tasting tropical 🙂
I made these twice and both times they came out flat and heavy like hockey pucks. I was so excited to make them also. Used the right yeast. Used the right flour. Leveled the flour. They never really rose thou when I let them sit. Used a Kitchen Aide to mix. Bread/Rolls skills I do not have. Bummed.
Hi Varina, it sounds like your yeast may have been dead and that’s why they didn’t rise. There’s instructions for checking for freshness here: https://www.handletheheat.com/ultimate-guide-measuring/
Also, it’s really important that the other liquids (even the melted butter) aren’t too hot. Anything beyond 120°F and the yeast will begin to die.
A friend of mine made her own Chinese style roast pork. I suggested she use Hawaiian dinner rolls in order to create char siu (baked pork buns). I am making these for her. Maybe she can recreate the buns! Very happy I found your site. Your community is very active. They have offered so many tips! Thank you one and all!.
How do you keep the milk and pineapple juice from curdling? I’m trying to use active dry yeast instead of instant. I warm the milk and then add the pineapple juice and it becomes a cheese. Please help
I made two batches of these so we would have enough for visiting my family AND have some for leftover turkey sandwiches since I was in charge of rolls. The first batch rose so nicely it FILLED the 9×11 baking pan with 16 rolls. Even so, these were a bit too much bread for us, so when I got home this afternoon I halved the other batch and put them into the pan I brought home from mom’s. These are the PERFECT size for small turkey snack sandwiches and I got 30 rolls instead of 15 (one pan had 15, the other had 16).
Also, in case anyone else uses it instead of traditional flour from the USA, I used caputo tipo 00 pizzeria flour with 4 tsp. king arthur gluten and they turned out like a dream! I’m able to eat this flour without any side effects so long as I eat it in moderation, but it’s from Italy and doesn’t have any junk added to it. Maybe that’s why.
LOVE the recipe – shared it with all my friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving!
RE: Not all the flour is not being incorporated. I have followed the recipe to a T. Now what do I do? Too much money to waste.
Tessa — November 3, 2014 at 9:30 am
Not all the flour is not being incorporated? I really have no idea what the means!
Only 2 1/2 cups of flour. Tessa obviously don’t know measurements. Please state weight instead of cups next time.
I’m not sure what you’re referring to, Kenny. The weight for the flour is listed in the recipe.
I tried making this twice, both came out the same. I have a kitchen aid, i used warm milk and room temp pineapple juice, I used instant yeast. Realized the first one didn’t rise because the yeast wasn’t fresh so we tried it again using instant yeast. It also baked longer than 25 minutes and both came out as hard as hockey puck. They were still good but not as buttery, soft or fluffy… what could have gone wrong? I live in Ca (Belmont), i’m thinking it’s because the weather has been cold? Should I have heated the pineapple juice… wanna keep trying until i get this right. Love Hawaiian bread! Thank you!!!
Hi Alex, the pineapple juice should be at room temperature. It sounds like you may not need all of the flour the recipe calls for, or you may be over-measuring the flour which is really easy to do if measuring by volume with measuring cups. I would suggest using a kitchen scale to weigh the flour instead, or try to reduce the flour slightly. Bread baking usually needs some tweaking since every kitchen environment is a little different (temperature, climate, elevation, ingredients, equipment, etc.) If it’s cold then try adding 30 min to 1 hour to the rise time so you get a more fluffy texture. Good luck!
I just made this and it’s delicious! I used 3/4 c pineapple juice instead of 1/2. It was really soft! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
One question – I’m assuming I use a 3rd egg for egg wash??? Thank you
I made these with a slight change I 1/2 USED HEAVY CREAM instead of milk 8tsp sugar…. I divided the dough using half for cinnamon buns and the other half into kaiser knots/ rolls i boiled ea knot 1 min in a water (2 cups) 1 tbs baking soda, 1tbs brwn sugar, brushed ea w egg wash topped a few w a sesame/poppy seed dried onion mix before baking. Made the perfect grilled chicken sandwiches and they made great breakfast rolls filled w sausage….mmmm delicious
Wow! These came out *fantastically*!!! So light and so fluffy! Great flavor! Definitely, this is now my go-to recipe for Hawaiian Sweet Rolls! Thank you so much for sharing! I am keeping this recipe!
Tessa,
Oh my goodness! Thank you for this timeless recipe.They are delicious!
Iris
I attempted this and my kithenaid wouldn’t mix the dough. I just got the mixer and am so disappointed, my dough didn’t raise and I ended up pitching it. Any suggestions what I did wrong or why my mixer won’t kneed the dough?
These came out beautiful my family loved them
These were delicious! They required about 5 extra minutes in the oven to get golden brown. The texture was more dense than the store bought Hawaiian sweet rolls, but they were yummy nonetheless.
Can you make these into hoggie rolls? I still there a difference between hoggie recipes and rolls? I’m wanting a Hawaiian hoggie a small a hot dog bun
I like weighing dough so get the rolls to bake the same size. How may ounces does each of these Hawaiian Roll weigh? One Ounce?
I don’t know off the top of my head, but what you can always do is weigh the entire batch of dough then divide that number by 15. That’ll be the amount each ball should be 🙂
Hello!
I’m 15yrs old and I love Hawaiian bread and would love to try out this recipe
But I don’t have any bread flour; Is it ok if I use All-purpose flour?
Hi! May I know what kind of milk (e.g. whole milk, 2% milk, skim milk, etc.) this recipe needs? If it’s whole milk, can this be substituted with something else because it’s hard to find whole milk where I live. Thank you!
Whole milk works best for baking! You may be able to get away with using 2%.
I live in S. Texas and I had to add an additional 1-2 cups of flour to a doubled recipe so it wouldn’t be so sticky and it would pull away from the bowl. I used AP flour. The flavor was really good but they were pretty dense, heavy. Was it because AP flour instead of bread flour? We wanted them soft and fluffy on the inside. I ended up with 36 rolls. New to baking with yeast. Any pointers greatly appreciated.
Hi Paul! It was definitely how much additional flour you added that created the dense texture. Even though you may need more flour since it’s humid where you live, it shouldn’t be that much. Probably 1/2 cup more at most. It’s better for the dough to be sticky then the final product to be dense. The dough will also lose a good amount of the stickiness as it rises. Hope that helps!
Is it ok to use all purpose flour for bread making? I don’t have bread flour. Thanks.
These were delicious and very soft, which I love. However, the flavor and texture were a bit off for my taste. The recipe is a bit complicated with ginger, vanilla and coconut extracts, and I’m not sure if the large quantity of acid from pineapple juice and buttermilk are what may have affected the overall flavor and texture. I guess I prefer the basic Hawaiian roll recipe. The outcome wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t a favorite of our staff and clientele.
I followed the instructions exactly, but after one hour, it hadn’t risen much at all. So, I gave my oven about two minutes of preheat at 350 degrees, turned the oven off, turned on the oven light, and put in the covered bowl. Within a few minutes, the yeast woke up and it rose just fine over the next hour. Sometimes the yeast needs a little warm-up jolt!! Great recipe. Thanks.
I used my bread machine on the dough cycle to make these rolls and they turned out fantastic!
hello! im making these right now, i let it rise the first time only to find out that it really didnt rise much at all :/ the only thing i did different is instead of covering it with plastic, i covered with a damp cloth like ive seen done in many other bread recipes. would that make a difference? i just didnt have plastic wrap handy. i formed them in balls anyways and have them covered not TOO tightly with press n seal.
In the middle of making these now. I prefer to bake by weight but I must be missing where the weight measurements are? Do I need to click a button? Thanks!
My first time making rolls. The recipe and instructions were perfect. Wonderful soft rolls and just a hint of sweetness! I will be making these often. Thanks
I’ve made these rolls twice and they came out fantastic each time. I want to try and make them and freeze the dough before I bake them next time, is this ok.
I read somewhere else : If you want to use fresh pineapple juice: microwave the juice for 2 minutes until it reaches 200°F and allow to cool to lukewarm before using. The process of heating will kill any enzymes in the juice, which would otherwise destroy the gluten.
When putting the rolls into the fridge to bake the next day, should I put the egg/water wash on first before putting them in the fridge? Or put the wash on after taking them out of the fridge the next day?
I made these just now, according to the recipe, and they are delicious! The only adjustment I made was that my rising time was longer for the last rise. I used my bread machine for the dough, and that worked fine. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’ve made this recipe twice and you couldn’t taste the pineapple or sugar at all. They taste fine but they just taste like a plain dinner roll. They also came out really heavy for a Hawaiian roll. That part might be my fault. I was wondering if you have any nutrition information for the recipe.
Fantastic – Fantastic – Fantastic! I followed the ingredient list exactly and the results were amazing! Shared with my neighbors since I tripled the recipe and got all 5 star reviews from them. The only thing I did different was to prepare the dough as instructed and then I chilled it overnight in the refrigerator.
I was so excited to make my own rolls as I love the Hawaiian rolls… but mine taste nothing like the originals and are very very dense, they did not seem to rise at all and are terrible
Yet another version of these rolls that does not work for me. For some reason. I never get this dough to get even a first rise. It’s very perplexing.
Hi Tessa
I am going to make this recipe with active dry yeast ? Do the liquids have to be warm . How the yeast will rise if I use active dry yeast
I made these yesterday, it I my wondering if I kneaded them too long. I had a nice ball that pulled away from the sides of the bowl, but I was trying to follow the time in the instructions, and my dough ball started falling apart and sticking to the bowl again. The rolls were good but a bit heavier than I thought they should be. Can’t you knead the dough too long?
These rolls were amazing! The texture was perfect, nice and chewy. Mixed the dough in my bread machine and took it out to rise. The dough was perfect not sticky or dry at all. They could have been a little sweeter so so will probably add a little more sugar and add more pineapple juice and less milk. I also brushed on melted butter as soon as the rolls came out and it made the tops nice and soft. Definitely will be keeping this as a favorite recipe.
These have become a staple on my side and husbands side. All of them love this recipe! Thank you!
I was so happy when I stumbled across this easy-read recipe. The past 3 friendsgivings ive hosted ive done a copy cat Texas Rd House bread and butter but the bread never came out right. Cant wait to try these tonight for friendsgiving tomorrow!
OMGoodness! After a failed attempt with another recipe, I have found the perfect roll! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us and I look forward to many more pans full of deliciousness. Soft and light, with the perfect texture. Even using AP flour, they turned out divine.
I’m making these roll for Christmas dinner I’ll let you know then
I’ve made four batches now and have to say I love this recipe! The dough definitely felt really sticky and didn’t seem done after I mixed the amount from the instructions, but once I let it rise the first time and pulled it out to shape, it wasn’t sticky anymore so don’t be too concerned! Like some other reviewers, I really wasn’t getting a good rise just on my counter, so I turned on the oven for a minute until it was maybe 100F, then turned it off and put my bread to rise in there. Definitely made a big difference!
This tastes fresher than the store ones and is a lot cheaper and healthier (as long as we don’t consider all the butter I spread on top when I’m eating it!)
I’m making these right now! I didn’t have enough room for 15 so I smushed 3 together into one big one. Lets see what happens. Lol
I’ve made 15 pieces and its yummy. I really like the taste and texture. I even put chocolate in the middle and huh it melted and love everything about it
This dough is way to dry. I see lots of people saying they are hard or not light and fluffy or they didn’t rise. It’s because there is not enough liquid for this amount of flour. My mixer started to bog down the dough was so thick. I had to turn it off before it burned up. I checked all my ingredients and they were right. Trying to stir with a spatula was basically impossible.
I imagine this is why people had ones that didn’t rise and were not light and fluffy. Probably cause and effect. So I added another half cup each of milk and pineapple juice and then it seemed fine, consistency wise. It rose in the bowl fine. The rolls themselves are rising right now. I have no idea what this will do as far as lightness, fluffiness or taste. I have no idea how others say it turned out fine.
Can you make hot dog buns with this recipe
I used the right ingredients, measure to exactly, but didn’t rise, why should I do? And why?
Do you let the yeast sit to have bubbles rise first to make sure it’s active before adding all the rest of the ingredients? In your video I noticed you just added it all at same time.
This recipe uses instant yeast which doesn’t require proofing!
I made these for our 4th of July dinner and they were a big hit with my family. I think my husband ate 7 of them lol. Your recipes never let me down. Thanks so much!
They came out PERFECT! I made the rolls, and my husband smoked a pork butt for pulled pork. They could not have been more delicious
I’m an a big fan of the kings Hawaiian sweet rolls. Are these like those? Does pineapple juice just add sweetness or does it give it a pineapple taste?
I love this recipe, I eat one of these rolls every day, I also take some to work and everybody loves them.
Hi Tessa
I gave this a run today – The dough came out super sticky out of the mixer bowl, it is currently sitting rising now before i try to bake.
Just wondering what would make it sticky compared to yours in the video ?
I did exactly what I was supposed to do it turned out to be a sticky mess that wouldn’t even raise smelled way too sweet it was more like cake icing then though even after I put an extra cup of flour in it where did it go wrong
CAN YOU MAKE THIS USING THE NO KNEAD METHOD?
Came out with amazing rolls. But not Hawaiian rolls . Not nearly as sweet
If I would like to make a larger batch. Approximately 3 times the amount. Would I triple all ingrediants including yeast?
Hi Tessa! The rolls turned out amazing. This was my first time making bread, and I was so happy with how simple the recipe was and how they turned out. My mixture was slightly sticky at first, and I read the comments that if you live in a humid area (hello South Florida!) you may have to add in slightly more flour. Once I did that, everything else was exactly as you said. I am planning on making these rolls again to bring to a thanksgiving dinner and I will need to double the recipe. Should I make the dough in two separate batches or can I mix it all together? Thank you for the delicious recipe and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Abby! I’m so pleased to hear that. It’s so crucial to use as much flour as your kitchen environment requires!! If you have a high powered stand mixer then you can do it altogether, otherwise it may be too much volume for your mixer to knead effectively. Happy Thanksgiving!
Made this for the tribe for Thanksgiving today. I don’t have a stand mixer. Made by hand. No sweat! Turned out great! And for those asking, never double a baking recipe! Baking is exact, and doubling will create a disaster. Happy Thanksgiving!
I have made this recipe many times and it never fails to get rave reviews. I have some proofing right this minute. It is straight forward and easy. Thank you so much for sharing.
You are the sweet one young lady. Thank you for sharing your recipes. I do have a question; can any of the sweet breads be made in a bread machine?
My daughter can not have anything with emulsifiers so that means slim pickings for store bought breads and rolls. I just made these to use on Christmas eve as the bread for Kentucky Hot Brown sliders. That recipe calls for King’s Hawaiin rolls. Out of the oven they look fantastic! Both proofs took 1.5 times the recipe suggestion but I was patient and waited until the dough looked right. I made 17 rolls rather than the 15 even though I weighed each roll as formed them. Just tasted one of the extra. Definitely not as tender as store bought, but I taste the sweetness and a hint of the pineapple juice. I think they will be perfect for my purposes. If I could figure out how to include a picture I would add one.
Can I substitute for canned pineapple juice?
Just made these they didn’t really taste like Hawaiian rolls but they were ok maybe Add more pineapple juice
I halved the recipe and made 8 buns … Perfect
These rolls are absolutely divine.
I just made these and they are super delicious, light and fluffy. But they don’t taste like Hawaiian rolls from the store.
I too noticed the comments too late, and made this recipe with REAL PINEAPPLE JUICE. It’s a BAD IDEA.
But, if you find yourself in the same boat, your heavy, cake like dough is Not wasted.
I made dense but delicious mini muffins out of my dough.
Oil the mini muffin tin, spoon on batter and bake for 12-15 minutes at 325.
Opps. I added both eggs to the mix. Will it still be okay?
How did they turn out?
I made them yesterday they are exactly like the read ones they look smell fell and taste like the real thing it’s another of my favorite bread recipes to make
What if I can’t find bread flour, can I use all AP?
These are amazing. So fluffy and delicious. Definitely making these again. Thank you for a great recipe.
OI am highly allergic to pineapple and do not keep any in the house. Can I substitute orange juice with this recipe?
you totally can!
Could this recipe be made as a loaf, rather than rolls? What might that change about the instructions?
I made these for Easter and they turned out fantastic!! This recipe is a keeper!
Just follow the recipe! These came out perfect! Thanks a million!
Great rolls!!
The bottom was a little crispier than I wanted but I think it was my pan.
Hi Tessa-
How long do these usualy take to make?
How long do these usualy take to make?
Hi Tessa
What if I don’t have a standard mixer – what do you recommend using besides the dough hook?
Hi Tessa
What if I don’t have a standard mixer – what do you recommend using besides the dough hook?
(For the sweet rolls recipe)
This was my first time making bread and it definitely turned out and was very tasty but there were definitely some things I would note (keep in mind my environment is a little cold and dry):
– Not quite as sweet as I expected, maybe add more sugar and pineapple juice
– I didn’t need as much flour as the recipe called for (though it was mentioned in the recipe that that might be the case!!). I used about 3 and a half cups of all purpose flour and kneaded by hand
– Lastly, maybe because of my environment or the sugar, it took way longer to rise! First pass was about 2½ hours and the second was still 30 minutes but it could’ve stood to be a bit longer
Overall very yummy, soft, and fluffy but needs to be sweeter :-))
could i make this into a loaf instead of rolls
These came out awesome! This was the first time i ever made bread successfully. My only complaint would be if they were a tad sweeter. You can always add honey butter though! Thank you!
These are amazing! My kids want me to make them every week,but this is the second time in 3 weeks we are baking them. So nice and sweet. Thanks for the great recipe
This recipe made the most dense rolls. Although they tasted pretty good the structure was way off. I am fairly experienced as a baker so this was a bit of a letdown.
To start I’ll say I did use fresh yeast because that is what I had available. Everything seemed to be going fine, the dough was behaving perfectly just like the video. They baked with a pretty soft texture, not perfectly pillow-y, but not dense either. But I can’t get over the taste. It isn’t ANYTHING like Kings Hawaiian Bread, in fact the predominant taste is Yeast. YUCK… I think I’ll have to trash this batch and that breaks my heart.
Could fresh yeast vs dry active have made that much difference?
They ended up rising for 2-3 hours instead of just one prior to being put into the oven because I had to leave my house for a bit. Right out of the oven, while still warm, they tasted great. However the next day they were a bit dry. Did I do something wrong? Shouldn’t they still have been soft since I sealed it in a bag overnight? Thanks!
Just made them. Absolutely love them.
They look so good! If i have active yeast instead, the one that has to be diluted in water, can i still do it?
I’m rating it only on the video I watched. I do intend to make them in the near future and can only hope they come out as good as hers looked.
when calls for half a can of pineapple juice what size, kind can did you use? I can get pure pineapple juice cans in 6 oz or 12 oz size cans
Can this recipe be used in a bread machine?
Is the dough supposed to be pretty sticky? I’m about to let it rise and it just seems too wet.
I’ve made this recipe several times and every time the come out perfect. Soft and chewy. Today I made them using Kiefer milk instead of regular milk and they were so moist and soft. Delicious.
These taste amazing and were easy to make. My only regret is that I didn’t double the recipe!
In the ingredients it says fine salt. Is that table salt or kosher fine salt?
The dough is sticky, is it true? I am using fresh pineapple juice. Since it is easy to find in Indonesia.
Followed the recipe verbatim, got dry, crumbly biscuits I wouldn’t feed to a duck. The dough never formed a ‘shaggy mass/ as described in the first step, stayed like soggy batter. Moved to the next step and using the mixer, dough never came together as a single ball (or anything resembling one). Added approximately 4-1/2 cups of bread flour as described. Again, followed directions verbatim. This isn’t my first time trying to make bread, nor am I incompetent in the kitchen.
I don’t know what went wrong, but this was far more than any slight variation in my kitchen environment could produce. I feel it has more to do with the method of bringing the dough together in the beginning. I won’t be trying this one again for fear of wasting more ingredients.
I was worried because the dough was stickier than I anticipated and came nowhere near doubling. However, after baking they looked great and had risen well. I recommend taking them out a tad early if you’re not serving right way, or removing them from the pan because mine got a tad burned on the bottom when I let them cool in the pan. I give it four stars just because I felt like they were a bit dense and not as soft as I would prefer, but warm and with butter/honey they taste great!
Love this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it! We use a bread maker to make the dough and substitute coconut oil for the butter and almond milk for the milk, and it’s turned out perfectly every time. Thanks again for the great recipe!
Added a little fresh ginger. They were delightful. They were all gone day two! Thank you for your recipe.
just made these using oatmilk in place of regular milk and AP flour with great success! my dough didn’t double in the first stage, but rose quickly after being rolled into buns on a preheating stove. baked them for slightly shorter amount of time (around 20m) and they’re perfect – best Hawaiian bread recipe I’ve used!
I have made this recipe twice now. It came out fantastic the second time around after I followed the instructions to the t (rooms temp pineapple juice, warm milk and melted butter to name a few). I also let the dough rise a little more than an hour for the first rise and 15 – 20 minutes more for the second rise. These came out perfect!
I also used only 4 cups of flour, so the dough was wet and had just stared to come together. Kneading for 4-7 minutes really got the dough together and it was not too sticky. Letting it rise for almost 30 mins longer the first time and 45-59 minutes after forming the balls really made the difference for me.
Just made these and they were a hit at my loosely-themed luau Labor Day party.
I live in New Mexico (dry weather) in the Santa Fe area (high elevation), so I made a couple of changes I thought I would post in case anyone’s in a similar situation and would benefit. One of the biggest issues with elevation over 3k or so is that the dough will tend to rise way too quickly, so I used active dry yeast and all cold ingredients, except the melted butter, to slow things down a bit. The dough started out soft and a little sticky and it took about 2 hours to double in mass, which is exactly what I wanted. I weighed the flour, as I always do, and used all of it plus a heaping spoonful since it was going to proof a little longer. I ended up not changing the wet ingredients at all with the exception of a small splash of extra pineapple juice.
Once shaped, I let them proof again for about 45 minutes and until I thought they looked like they had regained their puffiness.
The experiment worked! They baked up very well and were delicious.
I just used this recipe and it’s amazing, thanks so much! I made it with plain flour (in the UK, same as all purpose) and didn’t use a stand mixer but they still turned out really well. They’re a little rustic-looking, probably because of the flour, but they taste perfect! I’ve been craving Hawaiian rolls for ages and with no trip to visit my family in the States in sight, these fill the gap perfectly. Thanks!
I accidentally used cake flour instead of bread flour so that was on me but I took a chance and added some regular flour to group it better and baked it and it actually tasted pretty good even though I messed up! I’ll have to use this recipe again but next time using the right type of flour.
Perfect! First try and it came out perfect. We had no left overs; will be making another batch later today.
Officially a fan.
Oh my! I made them-they were delish!
Thanks for the recipe. The dough came out very hard. I added half cup milk and 1/4 cup pineapple juice. Then the roll came out nicely.
Super easy recipe. The rolls turn out great and delicious! My family loved it!
i did not have can pineapple juice so I substituted Tropicana orange pineapple juice. But first I microwaved the juice for 2 minutes to kill the enzymes so it would not kill the yeast. It rise beautifully. Also I use only 4 tablespoon of sugar and it’s sweet enough to eat by itself.
Thank you Tessa for sharing this easy wonderful reciepe.
Super easy recipe! My Hawaiian rolls turned out beautiful and delicious. My family loved it.
I did not have can pineapple juice. I replaced it with Tropicana orange pineapple juice. But first I microwaved it to kill the enzymes so it would not kill the yeast. The rolls rise beautifully.
Thanks Tessa for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Yay! So happy you tried these rolls out 🙂
These are just yummy! I have made them twice in the last 2 weeks. Thanks for a great recipe!
So thrilled to hear that, Mary!
I made these with my teenage granddaughter and they smelled so good coming out of the oven she couldn’t wait for them to cool down. Absolutely will make again.
So glad to hear this, Mary!
I made these rolls and followed the recipe 100% These rolls were the worst. Hard as rocks and not very suite tasting. I used all fresh ingredients – including the yeast. And all temps for the liquids were at temps specified I would not make these again! There’s got to be a better way to make these!
I’m sorry to hear this! Usually hard rolls are due to too much flour being used, over-kneading the dough, or baking for too long. Be sure to check out my posts for how to measure flour and Oven 101. This is one of my most popular recipes, so I hope you give this recipe another try!
I just wanted to say that I’m making these for the third time today at the request of my son. He is nine years old and I love that the recipe is so easy that he can follow it pretty much on his own with just a little guidance so he doesn’t overwork the dough.
They are delicious. The only change I have made is that I oil the bowl I’m proving in slightly so that the dough comes out easily as it’s a rather wet dough.
So amazing you have a little helper with you in the kitchen! So glad you love these rolls.
So I don’t have instant yeast but I do have regular yeast. So I should just let yeast rise in the warm milk and add to the other wet ingredients. It should still work the same way, right?
Never mind I just read the notes at top. My bad and thank you!
Glad you found what you were looking for! I hope you love these rolls!
I love these rolls.
I’m making them the day before. So I’m wondering if I can just put the rolls in the fridge overnight for the second rise. Will they over-rise? Since it’s just overnight I hated to put them in the freezer – since you suggest and overnight thaw.
You can refrigerate the dough after it has risen for the first time for up to 24 hours! More detailed instructions included in my Make Ahead Baking Guide. Hope that helps!
I’ve made these several times now and they never disappoint! I’m always asked to make the rolls for any gatherings now.
This makes me so happy, Cassie!
The rolls really ARE good. I substituted NOTHING, even buying bread flour for the first time ever. One can of pineapple in its own juice provided just the right amount for the recipe. My rolls did not look as pretty as the picture here. Someone asked about using a bread machine. The answer is YES, IT WORKS! I selected the ‘dough only’ cycle. After the dough rose in the machine I took it out. It were pretty sticky so I kneaded it a bit and shaped the rolls using extra flour. I will see what the dinner guests tomorrow think of the rolls.
I’m so happy you tried this recipe out! I hope it was enjoyed on Thanksgiving!
Easy to make love it. Will make it again
So glad to hear that!
Don’t know what happened, but these weren’t the slightest bit sweet for me. Don’t get me wrong, a good roll recipe, but they didn’t come sweet like hawaiian rolls for me. Thanks for the recipe, though!
Wow, these turned out horrible, followed the directions to the “T” and these were god awful. I am a seasoned baker as well and do at least 3 loafs of sourdough, french or flavored breads per week, make my own yeast etc. even the dog turned his nose to them…nope
SOOOO happy to report these came out delicious and were so easy to make by hand. I don’t have a stand mixer. I used Tessa’s hand kneading dough method she discussed in another post. P.S Also my first time using bread flour. It was fun! 🙂
I’m so glad these rolls were a success for you! YAY!
Absolutely delicious. I may have added a bit more than half a cup of pineapple juice to make sure the bread was sweet but no more than a cup. Thanks a bunch 😉 yummy
I’m so glad you enjoyed these bread rolls!
Good flavor. i increased the sugar to 8 Tbsp because we like our rolls sweeter. I would say that the only downside to these rules is that they are very tall. About twice the height of store-bought Hawaiian rolls. So your ratio of bread to filling will be different. It could be that my rolls end up being taller because I use active dry yeast, and not instant yeast as the recipe calls for.
Hi, I tried to make the dough twice and for whatever reason it is super sticky. We live in Colorado so not sure if I need to do something different due to altitude. If so, I appreciate any guidance. Thanks.
Most recipes call for Buttermilk, what’s the baking difference between these milk vs Buttermilk
Hi Donald, check out my Buttermilk 101 article!
I tried this recipe and it is a keeper ! It has great taste and beautiful soft texture
So glad you enjoyed these rolls!
I’ve made this twice now and love how easy it is to much together. I also love how soft the dough is when I take it out of the mixer.
The second time I used Lakanto Monk fruit sweetener rather than sugar. Slight after taste but still delicious.
Definitely a family favorite