Honey Pull-Apart Rolls

These rolls are a great addition to any meal (they may even steal the show)!

Honey Pull-Apart Rolls

Yields: 16 rolls

Total Time:  6 hrs.

Prep Time:  35 min

Rise Time:  5 hrs.

Cook Time:  25 min

 

Roll Ingredients

• 2 oz. unsalted butter
• 8 oz. milk
• 1 tsp instant dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 17 oz. bread flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3 oz. honey (approximately ¼ cup)

 

Honey Butter Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• Pinch of ground cinnamon

 

Directions

1. Heat the milk and butter to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.  Stir in the yeast and let sit until it begins foaming, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the flour, honey, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment.  Mix briefly for 30 seconds.
3. Add the milk mixture and egg and beat until combined on low speed.
4. Knead for 3 minutes on medium speed or until dough forms a smooth ball and no longer clings to the side of the bowl.
5. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes.
6. Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, then a tea towel.  Place in a warm place, free of drafts and let it double in size (about 3 hours).
7. Place the dough on a breadboard (no additional flour needed) and divide into 16 pieces, approximately 1.95 oz. each.  Form each of the pieces into rolls:  Gather the edges and tuck into the center to form a sphere.  Place the roll seam side down and cup your hand on top of it.  Roll the dough in small circles, pressing down slightly.  This will seal the seam on the bottom and tighten the top of the dough.
8. Place the rolls in a 9 x 13-inch pan (either greased with butter/non-stick cooking spray or lined with parchment paper).  Rolls should be evenly spaced, not touching.
9. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
10. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
11. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Once done, brush the tops with melted butter if desired.
12. Meanwhile make the honey butter.  Combine the honey, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 min.  Serve on the side
13. Store rolls in a sealed container at room temperature.  Store leftover honey butter in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.

These rolls are made of the usual suspects – bread flour, milk, an egg, unsalted butter, honey, yeast, and kosher salt.

Heat the milk and butter to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.  This temperature is warm enough to wake up the yeast, but not hot enough to kill it (happens > 120 degrees).  I usually do this in the microwave, but you can also do this on the stove.

Then add the yeast and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.  It should start to foam, if it does not start again (the yeast may be dead and the dough will not rise).  I’m using instant dry yeast today, but you can also use active dry.

While the yeast is working, we can move on to the rest of the ingredients.  Combine the flour, honey, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Mix together with the hook attachment on low for about 30 seconds.

Then add the egg and milk/yeast mixture.

Mix this on low speed until combined – the dough will look like this:

Switch the speed up to medium and allow it to knead for about 3 minutes.  The dough will go from this…

To this…

That kneading time will bring the dough together and smooth it out.  It will also clean up any dough bits on the side of the bowl.  At this point, I like to move the dough to a lightly floured surface.

Knead the dough by hand for a couple of minutes.

Then form into a ball.

Place the dough into an oiled bowl – I used a touch of vegetable oil, but non-stick spray also works.  Roll the dough around in the oil, then cover with plastic wrap.

I just put the dough back into my stand mixer bowl (one less bowl to clean!).  Cover with a tea towel and place in the warmest place of your house.

Let rise until doubled in size, about 3 hours.  If you used active dry yeast, it may take a little longer.

Bam!  All done and ready to be turned into rolls.

Place the dough on a cutting board – no additional flour needed!

Divide the dough into 16 pieces.  You can do this by eye or use a scale to make sure they are even.  Just weigh the dough first and divide that weight by 16 – mine came out to 1.95 oz.

Here they are!  Ready to get rolled into rolls 🙂

To form into a roll, gather the edges and pull into the center to form a sphere.

Place the roll seam side down and cup your hand on top of it.  Roll the dough in small, tight circles while pressing down slightly.

This tension will seal the seam on the bottom

and tighten the top of the dough.

Place the rolls in a 9 x 13-inch pan.  I sprayed mine with non-stick spray, but you can also grease it with butter or line it with parchment paper.

Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and allow to rise until they have doubled in size (about 2 hours).

As they rise, the rolls will grow and begin to touch each other… the beginnings of pull-apart rolls!

Bake these in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.  If desired brush the tops with melted butter.

What really takes these rolls over the top is the honey butter accompaniment.

Combine the honey, butter, and cinnamon in a bowl.

Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

How can you go wrong with freshly baked rolls and honey butter?

Sooooo good 😀