Hawaiian rolls are soft and tender, with a hint of sweetness from the pineapple juice, brown sugar, and honey. These sweet rolls are yeast-leavened until they double in size, then watch them bake into golden pull-part rounds.

Table of Contents

1. Yeast selection
2. Flavoring the Hawaiian bread
3. Don’t kill the yeast!
4. Best way to portion the rolls
5. Cutting down the rise time
6. Storing, freezing, and reheating
7. Serve these with
8. Hawaiian Rolls Recipe

This homemade Hawaiian rolls recipe is an irresistible treat at the dinner table or for making ham and cheese sliders. Most people don’t have the time to bake from scratch, so I cut the preparation time in half by using dried instant yeast when developing this easy recipe. After shaping them into rounds is the only time needed to ferment.

This bread recipe is an enriched sweet dough that calls for more butter, eggs, and sweetener than lean doughs like my classic dinner rolls. The result is a more tender interior with a nice golden brown, buttery crust.

Yeast selection

There are a few different types of yeast that help bread rise. Dry instant yeast, also called “fast-rising” or “fast-acting,” reduces the fermentation time, where live organisms produce carbon dioxide and create air pockets.

It requires no initial proofing step and can be added directly to the dry ingredients and then rehydrated with the warm liquid in the recipe.

Flavoring the Hawaiian bread

What makes these rolls addicting and gives them an island twist is the addition of pineapple juice, honey, brown sugar, milk, and butter. This combination adds a hint of sweetness and helps to make the bread more tender, but it also makes it stickier to work with.

Add some additional all-purpose flour when kneading, but not too much, or they’ll become too dense. It’s okay for the dough to be slightly tacky.

Don’t kill the yeast!

The yeast used in baking is called Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is dormant when dried but activates in warm and wet conditions that contain carbohydrates like bread dough. It’s imperative to add liquids between 120 to 130ºF (49 to 54ºC) so that the dough rises.

This temperature range wakes them up and keeps them alive. Too low, and they don’t activate. Any higher and they will die. If the dough does not rise, it’s a strong indicator that the yeast was killed.

Best way to portion the rolls

The most accurate way to portion the dough is to weigh them on a digital scale. This formula makes between 2.5 to 2.75 ounce (71 to 78 grams) dough balls, so target that weight.

Otherwise, do your best eyeballing the dough, pinching off pieces to bulk up others if needed. Since they’re all baked together, it’s okay to be close but not exact.

Cutting down the rise time

Instant yeast is highly active. Therefore, it only needs to rise for about 30 to 60 minutes after rolling into balls. After mixing with a dough hook, give 10 minutes to allow the gluten to rest so it’s easier to cut and shape.

Typically dough needs two rise steps, one right after mixing for 1 hour, but the instant yeast cuts the time in half. I recommend making a simple oven proofing box to create the optimal warm, humid environment for the dough to rise correctly.

Storing, freezing, and reheating

These Hawaiian rolls taste best served warm the same day, but they can be stored in a resealable bag or airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

• Room temperature rolls: Reheat in the microwave on high power for 30 to 60 seconds or in the oven at 300ºF (149ºC) for 10 to 15 minutes on a sheet pan.
• Frozen rolls: Reheat in the microwave on high power for 60 to 75 seconds or in the oven at 300ºF (149ºC) for 15 to 20 minutes on a sheet pan.

Serve these with