Homemade Hawaiian Rolls

Everybodys favorite soft, fluffy Hawaiian bread can be made at home. Deliciously sweet homemade Hawaiian rolls are the perfect addition to dinner!

Homemade Hawaiian Rolls

Many of you don’t know that I went to college in Hawaii. Yes, I did my homework on the beaches of paradise! Hawaii is everything you dream of and then some. Living in Hawaii I got to experience a whole new world of foods and cultures.

RELATED – these Hawaiian roll make awesome sliders, or mini sandwiches with our ham salad!

Most people are familiar with Hawaiian rolls – they’re soft and sweet and melt in your mouth! What most people don’t know is that they’re based on a Portuguese sweet bread called Pão Doce that immigrant workers brought to the island.

What you get are homemade Hawaiian rolls so sweet and fluffy you could eat them for breakfast with butter and coffee, but they make the best dinner rolls. They’re also wonderful when used for appetizers like Hawaiian roll ham and cheese sliders – and these recipes double easily if a large amount is needed.

It’s taken me several tries to get this recipe just like I remember. It’s a simple dough and no mixer is even needed, although you can use your KitchenAid if you wish. The trick to keeping these rolls tender is not to add too much flour. The dough will be a little sticky and that’s perfect.

Ingredients you will need:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cooled to about 85F or less
• 2 large eggs
• 19.4 ounces all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling surface
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons water

Helpful kitchen tools:

• Large mixing bowl
• Glass measuring cups
• Pastry brush
• Measuring spoons

Dissolve yeast in warm milk along with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let it set for about 10 minutes or until it begins to bloom and foam. Add the remaining sugar, salt, cooled melted butter and eggs, beating vigorously to combine. This can be done in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or by hand using a whisk.

Next, stir in the flour until a stiff dough forms. Turn out on flour surface and gently knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth. You may need to add additional flour if it’s too sticky, but kneading should do the trick.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover. Let it rise until doubled, then punch down and form into balls. I shaped them into 12 large rolls for this recipe (since I’ll be making lunch sandwiches with them).

If I was making these for a dinner party (like Christmas or New Year’s) then I would make them into 18 smaller rolls. You can also bake large round loaves in two pie pans. They make excellent bread bowls for dips!

Whatever size or shape you choose, place them in your baking tray and let rise until doubled again. Brush with an egg wash for color and shine and bake until golden. The last secret to keeping these homemade Hawaiian rolls soft is to brush them with butter after baking. Enjoy!

RELATED: Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders or Slow Cooker Parmesan Chicken Sliders

Looking for some dinner recipes to pair these rolls with? Try our delicious crockpot roast beef, our best meatloaf recipe ever, a savory, juicy, Roasted Chicken dinner, or this easy crockpot bbq chicken!