Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Soft and fluffy, these homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls are going to be your family’s favorite. Served up as a side dish, for sandwiches, or just to snack on on their own, you’ll love how sweet and delicious these are, especially fresh from the oven.

If you’ve ever had a Haiwaiian bread roll then you’ll know that they’re absolutely pillowy soft and fluffy with a lightly sweet taste to it. Whenever these sweet bread rolls are in the oven and the kid’s can smell it baking, they are excited for dinner time. While the flavor is subtle, these Hawaiian rolls are sweeter than regular dinner rolls but making them is just as easy as a regular roll.

Want more bread recipes? Try my No Knead Artisan Bread or my Easy Challah Bread.

Why You’ll Love These Sweet Dinner Rolls

They’re easy. Making these Hawaiian rolls for dinner has never been easier! Everything goes into the mixing bowl and there’s no fancy or difficult technique to follow.
They’re fast. Unlike baking regular bread, these Hawaiian sweet rolls can be made in an afternoon.
They’re tasty. Thanks to the pineapple juice, it gives the rolls a sweet tangy flavor to it.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make Hawaiian Rolls.

Bread flour
Instant yeast
Unsalted butter — melted, but not hot.
Eggs — plus an extra egg as an egg wash for your rolls
Lukewarm water
Pineapple juice
Whole milk
Honey
Salt

How to Make Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Bloom your yeast: In a small bowl, bloom the instant yeast with warm water. Set aside until it’s foamy
Combine the wet ingredients: In a mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment, add in butter, egg, milk, pineapple juice, honey, salt and give it a quick mix. Then add in the yeast mixture and mix it on low speed until well combined.
Mix the flour: At the lowest speed of the mixture, gradually add in the bread flour. Once all flour has been incorporated, increase the speed to the medium speed and continue kneading until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Keep in mind that it is a very wet dough.

Hawaiian sweet roll dough proofing in a tray.

Let the dough rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a tea towel and place it in a warm place and let it rise until it’s double in size, about 1 hour.
Divide up the dough: After first rise, place the dough on a floured surface and divide the dough into 9 equal sizes. Shape the dough into individual balls. Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper, place the individual rolls into the pan. Cover it with a tea towel and let them rise again at a warm place for about 45 minutes.
Prepare the oven and egg wash: Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the rolls with some egg wash and bake for about 20-22 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Bake: Remove the Hawaiian sweet rolls from the oven and let the rolls cool down for about 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Tips

You can turn these Hawaiian rolls into hamburger buns and give them extra space between them while baking. Just like that, you’ll have some sweet and tangy burger buns!
Use room temperature pineapple juice for the best results.
You can knead the dough by hand if you do not have a stand mixer. It can take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to knead the dough by hand.
Be sure to check the expiry date of your yeast. Whenever there is an issue with the dough rising, it’s usually an issue with the yeast.

Hawaiian Rolls FAQs

What does it mean to bloom the yeast?

Blooming the yeast means to activate the yeast. Add the yeast to a little bit of lukewarm water, enough to cover yeast allowing it to float until it’s foamy.

What is lukewarm water?

Lukewarm water to between 110F and 115F. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast, and if the water is too cold, it will not activate it.

Difference between bread flour and regular flour?

The main difference between bread flour and all purpose flour is the amount of protein that the flour contains. Bread flour has a higher amount of protein to help it form gluten. You can substitute with all purpose flour if you’re out of bread flour, your Hawaiian sweet rolls will just be a little less chewy than if you had used bread flour.

Can I make these rolls ahead of time?

You can make these rolls ahead of time by letting the shaped rolls rise overnight in the fridge. The next day, let the rolls sit at room temperature for about an hour, until it’s puffy and bake as directed.

You can also bake these rolls ahead of time and then stored at room temperature on your counters, covered in plastic wrap for 3 to 4 days.

Can the Hawaiian rolls be frozen?

Yes you can freeze these rolls! You can freeze these rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw the Hawaiian rolls at room temperature before warming them in the oven.

The inside of a soft and fluffy dinner roll.

More Bread Recipes You’ll Love

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