Before I was born, Dad began the tradition of baking bred on Thanksgiving morning. He developed his whole wheat rolls recipe while in grad school, but that sweet moist bread quickly became every person’s favorite dish on the holiday table.
As I grew, I started following Dad into the kitchen, asking to help measure flour or shape the dough. A year or two later, Dad allowed me to stir and knead the dough—no easy task for a seven-year-old girl’s tiny muscles!
The last two years, Dad named himself the Thanksgiving sous chef and handed me the title of head chef and breadmaker. While he chopped and cooked just as many ingredients and dishes as I did, it meant a lot that he would put me in charge of his recipe.
Although I don’t feel right sharing the official Thanksgiving rolls recipe we’ll make tomorrow morning (it is my dad’s, after all!), I will give you my second favorite. They turn out just as moist, and they disappear just as quickly!
modified from this recipe
These taste delicious warm out of the oven, or even at room temperature as a post-feast snack before bed! Store in an airtight container on the counter for 4-5 days.
- Mix the yeast and warm water together in a small bowl, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1½ cups of flour and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the yeast mixture and remaining ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon, adding more flour as necessary, until a dough forms and is only slightly tacky.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured dry surface, and flour your hands. Knead in more of the remaining flour until the dough is no longer sticky. It should bounce back when you press your finger into it.
- Shape the dough into a ball. Coat a bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and place the dough inside, rolling it around to coat all of the sides with the oil. Cover the top with a clean towel, and set in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes until doubled in size.
- Lightly coat a 9” round baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. On a clean, floured surface, punch the dough down until it’s approximately the same size as before it rose. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls, and place in the prepared pan. Cover the top with the towel, and let the rolls rise in a warm place for 30 min or until doubled in size.
- While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350°. Uncover the rolls, and bake at 350° for 25-30 min or until the tops are golden and the rolls sound hollow when tapped. Cool in the pan for 5 min before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.
I did make them. I really did like them 8 think mine came out a tad dense but I really did like them.
That makes me so happy to hear Paul! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe I made them last week and I have four left now so today on my day off I will be making them again because every day I love them with a salad they are almost the best rolls I ever had I warm them up and put butter and honey they are delicious thank you so much.
Wow!! That’s a huge compliment Renee — I’m so glad you love these that much! I’m honored! 🙂
wow, these are the best whole wheat rolls ever! thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Adina! 🙂
Soooo…..this is such an odd story but still have to share! I wanted to make whole wheat rolls for a lentil soup recipe I found. Have looked in three large stores and couldn’t find 100% whole wheat rolls. So disappointed as my husband was just diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and wanted to have them on hand. Now enters your wonderful recipe!! I was in such a hurry trying to make the soup AND the rolls that I totally skipped adding the honey, molasses and olive oil!!!! I had the dough all tucked in the sprayed bowl for the first rise when I realized I still had three bottles on the counter….unused!!! Well, I took the dough out of the bowl, added the three ingredients….kneading them in gently. Long story short….rolls came out perfectly and deeeeelish!! You just can’t mess these up….GREAT recipe Amy…thank you!!
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed these rolls Bonnie! That means a lot to me! 🙂 I’ve had that happen with other recipes too… It happened just the other day with vanilla in banana bread, and it happened quite a few years ago with baking powder and cookies. Oops! So you aren’t the only one! 😉
Hi! Can I use regular white genaated sugar instead of the honey and molasses?
Yes, that’s fine! I can’t wait to hear what you think of these rolls Ashley! 🙂
Can oil be left out?
I don’t recommend completely omitting it for texture reasons, but you can reduce it to 1 teaspoon instead! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these rolls Maria!
Is whole wheat flour just plain old regular wholemeal flour you buy next to plain and self raising at the store? Or is it a special bread flour?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Nikky! Here in the US, our whole wheat flour is what you’d call regular wholemeal flour (not self-rising!). It’s not a special bread flour! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these rolls!
Hi, can I replace the molasses with anything if I don’t have it?
Thanks!
Honey or maple syrup would be the two best substitutes! The rolls won’t have quite the same flavor, but they’ll still have the same texture. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making them Kate!
They tasted AMAZING!! Thank you so much for sharing????
I’m so glad you loved these rolls Kate! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Hi, I was wondering if I could cut down on the amount of sugar and if I can, what’s the least amount I could add?
I really appreciate your interest in this recipe Hailey! You can replace the honey with water or milk, if you prefer, but I recommend not substituting for the molasses. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these rolls if you try making them!
Do these end up tasting sweet because of the molasses? Is it possible to make these savoury and add seeds to it?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Tahira! With this little molasses and honey, these rolls really don’t taste that sweet at all. I find they taste savory exactly as written! 🙂 However, if you want zero sweetness whatsoever, then you can always replace both the honey and molasses with water, but the yeast might not turn frothy in Step 1 if you do so. And yes, you can definitely add seeds to this recipe!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these rolls if you make them!