Original Soft 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
This dinner rolls recipe proves that soft, tender, bakery-style rolls can be made with 100% whole wheat flour, and they’re easier than you think! With hundreds of five-star reviews, these wholesome yeast rolls have become many family’s favorite for weeknights and holidays alike. With updated tips, questions answered, and a step-by-step tutorial you’ll be able to make the perfectly fluffy, slightly sweet dinner rolls you’ve been dreaming of – everyone will rave about these, I promise!
✩ What readers are saying…
“I have been looking forever for a whole wheat dinner roll that would not disappoint. Most are heavy, dry and have a tougher “chewy” feel to them, etc. This roll is THE WHEAT ROLL to end all wheat rolls! Lightly crisp on the outside, SO SOFT and FLUFFY inside. Fragrant and wonderfully wholesome!” -Tanie
This is the best dinner roll recipe – truly. Originally published in the first year of the site (2009), this incredible all-whole-wheat dinner roll recipe remains one of my most popular recipes, which it deserves – I’ve actually had a friend tell me she dreamed about these rolls!
You’ll find both a picture tutorial and a video showing you all the steps below, so there are a couple of ways to learn how to make these soft dinner rolls even if you’ve never made bread before. And you’ll want to – they really are amazing! Be sure to check out the “your questions answered” section after the recipe card – it’s full of great information.
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My family loves, like really loves this whole wheat dinner rolls recipe. Along with my 100% whole wheat sandwich bread, these sweetened-with-honey whole wheat rolls are what finally made me believe that “soft” and “whole wheat” could actually coexist in a bread.
Can you really have fluffy and soft dinner rolls that are 100% whole wheat?
Believe it or not – yes! Though, after tasting these rolls, many people have told me they don’t believe they are 100% whole wheat (and just plain old regular whole wheat at that). They think I’ve added at least some all-purpose flour.
But it’s true that these soft and fluffy dinner rolls are made with only regular “hard red” whole wheat (I’ve also made them with all spelt flour, and all whole hard white wheat too, with good results). It’s the eggs, butter, and honey that make these a so-good-you-can’t-eat-just-one type of roll. They are light and fluffy and almost don’t need any butter – but go ahead anyway.
If you bring (or serve) these rolls to any dinner, holiday or otherwise, everyone will be begging asking you for the recipe. And they’re easy, too, once you get the hang of working with a slightly wetter dough.
Don’t believe me? Follow along and I’ll show you all the steps, including what the dough should look like so you can see that it’s all true.
Be like the thousands of other people who’ve made these rolls and been the star of the party! (New for 2025: I’ve gone through all of the 1000+ comments and included lots of reader tips, variations, and questions answered below!)
Recipe Ingredient Notes
Over the years I’ve gotten a number of questions and comments about the ingredients and what has worked as far a substitutions. At various times I’ve said this recipe shouldn’t be cut in half (apparently it can!) and that I didn’t think you could substitute ingredients and still get the soft and tender roll (you can!). Here is what I’ve used and learned:
- Yeast: I’ve used both active dry (the bulk yeast I mostly use) and instant yeast through the years without any changes to the recipe and it’s worked just the same. Many have questioned the amount, either wondering about how many packets (use 2) or that it’s too much (no mistake – it’s 2 tablespoons). You are free to experiment with the amount, but I can’t guarantee the results if you do.
- Warm water: I’m listing this as an ingredient to mention that by “warm” I mean 90 to 110 degrees, usually what I get out of my tap. Some people don’t want to use warm tap water and that’s okay, you can heat up cold water, but do not go over 120 degrees as the yeast will be killed at that temperature.
- Butter: I’ve recommended pure, salted butter which is what I’ve always used for flavor. However, there are many who can’t have dairy and who have successfully made them with oil in place of the butter.
- Honey: Again, this is what I’ve always used and I enjoy the flavor of whole wheat with honey. There are some who don’t want to use honey for various reasons and have successfully substituted with maple syrup or regular cane sugar. You can also decrease the amount of any sweetener, but I’d always use at least 1 tablespoon to provide immediate food for the yeast to get a better rise.
- Eggs: The recipe uses standard large eggs. Quite a few comments have said they’ve used the flax egg substitution with great success for those with egg allergies.
- Lukewarm milk/buttermilk: I mostly use regular milk (1%, 2% and whole variously) and “lukewarm” should be slightly less than warm, about 95-100 degrees. Many commenters have used milk substitutes (coconut and almond) successfully which combined with oil instead of butter work for dairy free diets (and using these substitutions with flax eggs and sugar would make the rolls vegan). Some have just used water, too, and they liked the outcome.
- Flour: The recipe uses regular “hard red” whole wheat which is usually the standard whole wheat found in stores. This is the whole wheat flour I use most often, and this is a lighter whole wheat flour that produces an even lighter roll. Readers have said it works well with sprouted wheat flour as well as freshly milled flour (see more on this in the FAQs). Note: I can’t recommend using whole wheat pastry flour – that is milled from soft red or white wheat and doesn’t contain as much protein (which is needed to help form gluten in yeast and sourdough breads).
- Salt: The recipe measurement is for regular salt or sea salt, not for kosher or other coarse ground salt (you’d need more if using larger ground salt).
TIP: Using white (also called golden) whole wheat flour may help with texture if you find it’s “cornmeal like” as some comments have said with 100% whole wheat (this hasn’t been my experience with regular whole wheat, but everyone’s taste is unique).
Whole Wheat Rolls Video
Video Notes:
- Water. For some reason the video makes it look like I’m using 1 cup of water – you only use 1/2 cup as listed in the recipe card (I do not remember why I had more water in the video – sorry for the confusion).
- Half Recipe. Also, I mention that the recipe isn’t one to cut in half because of the three eggs and I always just freeze the rolls we don’t need for later. However, MANY people have successfully cut the recipe in half, though, either by using 2 small eggs or using 1 egg, beating another egg and then using just half of it, or using only 1 egg.
- Substitutions. I say “this isn’t the time for substitutions” which in hindsight isn’t very thoughtful to people with allergies or health issues who don’t have a choice. Again, that wasn’t my intention, I was really only alluding to the butter vs. margarine debate (I don’t see margarine as real food so would only recommend an oil replacement for the butter now, if needed). I’m grateful for grace and that many people have tried other substitutions and found that lots more people are able to enjoy the recipe now!
Make Soft 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls Step-by-Step
Note: This is a picture tutorial – for the full printable recipe, scroll to the bottom of the page.
Step 1: Dissolve the yeast in a 1/2 cup of warm, not hot, water. Just measure out the water in a glass measuring cup using warm tap water, add the yeast and stir it in with a whisk, and set it aside.
Step 2: Add softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the honey and cream them together with the paddle attachment. (No mixer? You can use a hand-held mixer or mix by hand – see FAQs for more.)
Step 3: Add the eggs and beat, scraping the butter from the sides. Pour in your warmed buttermilk (or milk) and the yeast mixture. Note: It will not be smooth, as this picture above shows- it’s OK to see lumps of butter floating around.
Step 4: Mix in 4-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt (trust me, you don’t want to leave the salt out- I speak from experience), and mix well.
Step 5: Change to the dough hook and knead for only a minute or two – we’re just trying to lose the extreme stickiness here, not really to develop gluten. Add only a couple more tablespoons of flour, if needed.
TIP: If you add flour and keep kneading, the flour will absorb and the dough will stick to the bowl again. You should knead only a minute or so, adding a small amount of flour and scraping the sides, just until it’s not tacky when touched.
Step 5b: This was hard to photograph, but a finger touched on the surface should not come away with any dough on it, even though the dough looks sticky. In the photo above, the dough is still sticking to the bowl (good), but not to my finger, so it’s ready to rise.
Step 6: Leave it in the mixing bowl, cover it with a towel and let sit at room temperature for an hour. Above is the dough after the first rise. As you can see, it has risen some, but is not really “doubled.” It’s OK, they will rise more in the pan.
NOTE: This is where the video may really help explain better if you’re wondering what the dough should be like (the #1 problem people have is adding too much flour and coming out with dense, heavy rolls).
From what the dough should look like, to equipment, to adding too much flour – I try to address the most often asked questions and comments in this video. (Again, even though it looks like 1 cup of water in the video, it’s only 1/2 cup like in the printable recipe ingredients below.)
Step 7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead with hands a few times, then cover it with a towel and let rest for 3 minutes.
Step 8. While the dough is resting, pull out a 13×9-inch pan and butter (or oil) it generously on the bottom and sides.
TIP: If you don’t have a counter to use for rolling out breads, try a lightly floured, clean tea towel for easy clean-up, plus it helps use less flour.
Step 9. Cut the dough into 24 even (or as close as you can get) pieces. Flatten it out into a rectangle shape and use a knife to cut it into 24 pieces. As you can see above, the middle pieces are bigger than the corner ones, so I just cut some off the middle pieces and add them to the corners.
Step 10. Shape the dough pieces into balls. To get nicely rounded rolls you need to create a bit of tension. I like to push a dough piece through my thumb and fingers up through the middle, turn the newly created dough ball over and pinch the ends together. You can also roll the dough into balls on an non-floured marble-like surface, pulling them towards you to shape and create tension.
Step 11. Place the balls seam side down in the buttered dish (four balls across and six down). They should be touching in the pan in order to make all the soft sides everyone loves (the center ones are my favorites…).
Step 12. Cover the pan (shake off the towel if you used one to cover or use a reuseable cover), and let rise for another hour. Above is what they will look like after 1 hour of rising. They are not spilling over the pan, but all the sides are touching now.
TIP: Set the timer for 45 minutes to remind you to turn the oven to 350 degrees to preheat and then set it again for the last 15 minutes of the rising time.
Step 13. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. I rotate them after 10 minutes for even browning.
TIP: Brush the tops with softened butter when they come out of the oven (just do it – you’ll be glad you did). Some have also brushed with an egg wash before baking (sometimes sprinkling with sesame seeds, too).
As soon as they are cooled a bit, pull them out of the pan and separate the rolls to serve.
Look at that texture- no heavy whole wheat rolls here. These are so good I hope you give them a try!
To Make Ahead
1. My preferred method is to bake fully first (I did test freezing before baking but could tell a difference in the texture, and a bit with refrigerating before baking):
- Bake these up to 4 months in advance, let the cool in the pan, remove them as one piece, separate into 2 sections of 12 rolls and place each section of rolls into a gallon sized freezer baggie. Freeze until needed.
- When ready to serve, take them out in the morning to thaw, wrap the 12-roll section in tin foil and heat in a 300-350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until warm.
2. Overnight refrigeration technique (from Aiden Hutchinson, NFL Lion’s defensive end!): “I ‘blast-chilled’ the full case of biscuit-soft babies in the chest freezer for seven minutes prior to overnight refrigeration. I figure that they will need an extra 30 minutes to rise from 40 degrees F.”
Storage
- Counter: Store at room temperature, covered, for 1-2 days.
- Refrigerator: Keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days (bread notoriously goes stale faster with refrigeration).
- Freezer: Wrap airtight and freeze up to 4 months. Thaw and reheat as explained above.
Reader Raves
“Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. It was not only a hit with my entire family, but it was easy to make (this is a big deal for someone who never has success with anything involving yeast)! I would have to say that these are the best rolls I have ever had!” -Katie
“My family loves these rolls, I have been making them for a couple of years. The best whole wheat rolls ever and I have tried a lot of recipes.” -Joyce
“Great recipe!!! After several years of trying to find a 100% whole wheat yeast rolls, I found a keeper. I stumbled across this recipe 2-2 1/2 years ago. I made it for Thanksgiving and now everyone ask me to make them at all of our family gatherings. Thank you.” -Shellie
UPDATE: The recipe below now includes grams (measured when making the rolls last) in addition to volume measurements. Please still use the visual cues I give you, since there is so much variation in weather, flour, and temperatures for each of our kitchens. Also note that the automatic increase buttons will not double or triple the gram amounts, only the volume measurements.
I hope you love this whole wheat dinner roll recipe as much as we do – be sure to leave a comment and rating to let me know!
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Soft 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls Recipe
Equipment
- stand mixer or a hand-held mixer with dough hook or by hand
- 1 13×9 inch baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (20g) active dry yeast* (instant works, too) OR 2 packets of yeast
- 1/2 cup (120g) warm water (90 to 110 degrees)
- 1/2 cup (113g) butter, softened (can use oil)
- 1/4 cup (88g) honey (can use cane sugar or maple syrup)
- 3 large eggs (comments have said flax eggs work for those with allergies)
- 1 cup (245g) lukewarm buttermilk or milk (or milk substitute), 95-100 degrees
- 4½ to 5 cups (630g) whole wheat flour** (regular red hard wheat – hard white or golden wheat works, as well as spelt)
- 1 ½ teaspoons (10g) sea salt (regular grain salt, not kosher or coarse grind)
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup warm water in a glass measure and set aside.
- Cream the butter and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or with a wooden spoon by hand). Add the eggs and mix, scraping the sides. Add the warmed milk along with the yeast mixture.
- Add 4½ cups of flour and the salt, mixing until combined. Change to dough hook and knead about 2 minutes only, just until no longer tacky, adding a tablespoon or two of flour at a time, if needed. (Do not add too much – KEY.) Alternately by hand: Knead a minute or two on a lightly floured surface just until smoother and still a bit tacky. Just be very careful not to add too much flour.
- Let sit in bowl, covered, to rise for one hour. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a couple of times, then let rest 3 minutes.
- Divide into 24 equal pieces, shaping each into a ball and placing in a buttered or oiled 13×9-inch baking dish with the pieces touching.
- Let rise, covered for 1 hour, until the rolls have filled in a are up to the top of the pan to about an 1/2 above the pan (if it's warm, you may need less time – do not let them overproof).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. TIP: Set timer for 45 minutes to start oven preheating and then set for the last 15 minutes.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- Freeze: Make these up to 4 months in advance, let the cool in the pan, remove them as one piece, separate into 2 sections of 12 rolls and place each section of rolls into a gallon sized freezer baggie. Freeze until needed.
- Reheat: When ready to serve, take them out in the morning to thaw, then wrap the 12-roll section in tin foil and heat in a 300-350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until warm.
Nutrition
Your Questions Answered
Yes, it works with fresh ground wheat as written. Tip from a comment: Fresh milled flour is very thirsty so you have to work extra hard to not put too much flour. It’s very sticky after the 3 min with dough hook but absorbs water as it sits. I put a little oil on my hands when I form the rolls.
Two packets will work for the recipe.
Yes, I’ve used both the active dry and instant without any changes and they come out the same.
You can use less honey, down to 1 tablespoon but I don’t suggest leaving it out completely for two reasons – the sweetener feeds the yeast immediately so you get that good rise and also honey really helps compliment the whole wheat flour.
Yes, you can use sugar or maple syrup in place of the honey.
I’ve had many people tell me this works. I would just watch the rise time – you may need less time when including the lighter all-purpose flour.
I never have (since it takes the same amount of time, why not have some waiting in your freezer for another time?), but a number of commenters have said they’ve successfully halved the recipe. Some have used 2 small eggs, but it seems most use 1.5 eggs by whisking the second egg and then just using half of it (an egg is generally 1/4 cup whisked, so 2 TB would be half).
Some people have made 1/3 of the recipe to make 8 rolls baked in a loaf pan, too.
Yes, many have left comments that they let the bread machine knead the dough for 10 minutes, let it rise for an hour before shaping into rolls, and then let it rise again in the pan before baking. Some specifics from readers:
“I added all the “wet” ingredients to the bread machine then added the flour and finally I put the salt and yeast on top (I don’t ever “proof” yeast). The dough was beautiful!”
“[I used the] dough setting on the bread machine and two packets of quick rise yeast and it worked perfect” for the first rise.
I haven’t tried that – I use this recipe for a soft whole wheat sandwich bread. However, some people have left comments that they have and they like it. One said the dough was too soft, though, to work like traditional sandwich bread.
Knead by hand a minute or two on a lightly floured surface just until smoother and still a bit tacky. Just be very careful not to add too much flour.
You can also use the dough hook on a hand mixer if you have one.
Yes, there are comments that say this works and they rise “beautifully.” One person shaped the dough into 10, half burger buns and half sub rolls. You’ll want to adjust the cook time to make sure they are cooked through. You can use an instant read thermometer and bake until the internal temperature is 200 degrees and then make a note of how long it took to reach that for the next time.
I’ve always used volume measurements and a visual of what the dough should look and feel like (which is why I’ve included all the process photos). To measure cups of flour, I scoop and level with the back of a knife.
Use an instant read thermometer and insert it into one of the center buns to see the temp and bake until it’s about 200 degrees. Let the rolls cook until you get the right reading – if the outside rolls are browning too much, cover just the outside rows of buns with foil.
I’m not sure why this has happened to some – it may have to do with humidity or the type of flour. Maybe the size of eggs? One reader said they were getting this too-wet dough, similar to a few other comments, and they tried this: In a bowl add 2 tablespoons of yeast and 1 1/2 tablespoon of organic sugar along with 2 cups of warm water – stir and cover it until the yeast raised (usually a few minutes). “And, that’s it… we followed the other steps in this amazing recipe” and they turned out.
More Ways to Use This Dough
- I made a fun variation on this incredible roll which is nice for larger gatherings: Soft 100% Whole Wheat Crescent Shaped Rolls!
- These make terrific whole wheat slider rolls, too – think of all the sliders you can make healthier now!
- A number of commenters have used the dough to make whole wheat cinnamon rolls. If I was to try, my first guess would be to divide in 2 after 1st rise, roll out, apply filling, roll up filling, place in buttered baking pan, and repeat for 2nd half of dough.
- They’ve also to made 12 larger rolls/buns by shaping into 12 buns and lay in a pan or cookie sheet 3 across and 4 down. Bake for about 23 minutes.
- Alternate shaping: One person made the rolls a larger size and cut them with scissors on the top before baking to make it easier to open and butter later.
- Alternate baking: Another person divided the rolls between two cast iron pans for baking at 375F.
More easy, never-buy-bread-again recipes
- Whole Wheat, Soft & Easy Sandwich Bread
- Easy Artisan Bread (yeast)
- Quick & Tender Homemade Hamburger Buns (or Breadsticks)
- Tutorial: Simple French Baguettes Recipe (or The Bread You Can’t Stop Eating)
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe (Ready in 1 Day)
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2009, updated in 2018 and 2025.
Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.
Can I freeze the dough after the first rise, then let them thaw and do the second rise before baking?
I haven’t tried this so I can’t tell you for sure that it will work. If you test it, I’d love it if you let me know!
My phone screen broke so I didn’t have access to my other bun recipe I usually make. I found this one and gave it a try with some yummy soft wheat flour from Europe. SO GOOD! They were much better than I expected. Having grown up on buns, I know a good one when I taste one:) And what’s really neat is my daughter is now almost 15 months and I never let her have buns before, until her system was more ready. Now I give her a bit of these ones and she carries it around, nibbling on it and breaking pieces off and throwing them on the ground and feeding me also. She is having a very good experience with her first buns:) Thank you for making this recipe available.
I’m so glad you tried them and you all like them!!
Hello, I’m really looking forward to trying this recipe! Would this still work out if I made the dough in a bread machine?
I haven’t done that, but there are comments that have and say it works!
I’m 65 years old and this is the first time I have made Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls. My family and I love these rolls. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
It’s never too late. 🙂 I’m so glad you all loved this recipe!
Any chance you can do whole wheat flour and all purpose flour? Not enough whole wheat flour on hand!
Excited to try this!
Sure, I’ve had many people tell me they do this. Just watch the rise time – you may need less with the lighter flour.
Can I just leave the honey out?
You can try that, Crystal. I never have, though I have used less before. Sugar in bread also gives yeast more to feast on right away (in addition to adding flavor), so the rise is often better in whole wheat breads with a bit of sweetener.
I tried this recipe and absolutely love it! I was wondering if I could use this recipe and bake as a loaf instead of rolls? because I love it so much!
Glad you like this! Some readers have told me they have done that, Brianna, though I haven’t (I use this recipe that’s a little less rich)
I used coconut milk and they turned out perfect! Thank you for the recipe!
Oh, this is good to know, Sharon – thanks!
Hi, can I use coconut milk instead of regular milk or butter milk? Thanks in advance.
I’ve never tried that, Sharon – give it a go and see if it works!
I’m goin to try coconut milk today and will let you know how they turn out🥰
Amazing!!!
Thank you!
This is one weird recipe. So in the recipe it waits to add 4 1/2 cups of flour and then 2 TBS at a time but not to add to much flour. Well that’s stupid. Because the dough never gets to wear it’s workable. It’s very sticky and wet. Even when I do the right amount of flour??????
As per the recipe: Add 4½ cups of flour and the salt, mixing until combined. Change to dough hook and knead for 2-3 minutes only, just until no longer tacky, adding a tablespoon or two of flour at a time, if needed.
SO, add ALL the 4.5 cups of flour and mix. THEN add flour as needed when kneading for 2 minutes, a couple of tablespoons at a time (don’t go beyond 3 minutes or it will just absorb the flour and be sticky again). I go into details with photos to show the process and stages.
Im very confused… your recipe calls for 1/2 cup of warm water for your 2 tbs of yeast but in your video you used a whole cup of hot water… does this matter? Which one is correct?
I do mention that somewhere – I can’t remember if I was doubling the recipe in the video or what? But follow the printed recipe in the recipe card!
What if I knead by hand? Please guide
You can knead a minute or two on a lightly floured surface just until smoother and still a bit tacky. Just be careful not to add too much flour.
Yes Raisins and pineapple juice work
My family loves these rolls, I have been making them for a couple of years. The best whole wheat rolls ever and I have tried a lot of recipes.
So glad to know this, Joyce – thank you for the review!
The best 100% whole wheat dinner rolls I’ve ever made! Thank you
You’re so welcome – thank you for the review!
Hi I was wondering could I put half wheat and half unbleached white flour, if so would it affect the yeast rolls?
Yes, you can do that – keep an eye on them, though, as they make need less time to rise without the full whole wheat (it’s heavier).
These buns were amazing so delicious Thank-you for sharing your recipes
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Tina!
Do you think I could use sugar instead of honey? I don’t have any honey available at the moment, but I really want to try this recipe! In my other bread recipes, I’ve always used either a quarter cup of sugar or a quarter cup of honey!
Yes, you can use sugar!
Do you think I could shape these into sandwich rolls and they would hold up? Like maybe do 12 pieces and shape them into boules?
I’ve made them bigger in the past, but have still baked them next to each other in a pan – I haven’t tried them separated enough to make a boule shape. That would probably work, though they may turn out flatter.
So it worked beautifully. It makes about 10 and I did half burger buns and half sub rolls! They raised beautifully! I would share a pic but I’m not sure how to.
Oh, this is good to know – thanks for following up on that!!