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Soft Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls. Moist and soft Whole wheat Rolls 100% Whole grain rolls with Tangzhong starter. Use as Wheat Buns for Burgers or Sliders. Vegan Whole Grain Dinner Rolls. Soy-free Palm Oil-free Recipe
These rolls are 100% Whole grain and so soft and do not taste like cardboard or dirt! Based off my 100% Whole wheat bread, the rolls have additional help in moisture from the tangzhong (roux), Tangzong starter breads or milk breads are often the softest breads. Tangzhong along with the sponge are the secret to perfectly moist Whole Grain Rolls.
The flavor of these rolls is very dependent on the whole grain flour used. Often the flour goes rancid or is starting to go rancid depending on when the grains were processed. Breads with combination of whole and all purpose/white flour have a milder flavor. In all whole grain baked goods that are sweet or savory, the flavors take over the whole grain flavor and work well. In a bread that is just whole grain flour, water and yeast, the grain flavor comes through very strong. It is the least strong in freshly baked bread and gets stronger (bitter or rancid) as it sits. You can also use aquafaba for additional moisture in these. These rolls are best served fresh and warm.
These rolls can be made ahead (refrigerated or frozen, then thawed and baked). For soft Gluten-free dinner rolls, see these.
I generally use some whole grain spelt with the wheat or a combination of regular whole wheat which is red wheat flour, and white whole wheat which is flour of winter white wheat. Combination flours help with the flavor and texture. It looks like a long process, but its mostly rest and rise time and bake time with just 15- 20 mins active.
More breads from the blog
- Multigrain Dinner Rolls. Yeasted
- Fluffy White Dinner Rolls or Burger Buns Yeasted
- Steamed Bao buns Yeasted
- Garlic Scallion Jalapeno Buns Yeasted
- Rye almond Burger Buns Yeasted
- Yeast-free Dinner Rolls.
These rolls can be made into garlic rolls like these . These rolls make a great side with chili or Soups.
So soft!
Also note that some active or instant yeasts have emulsifiers added to them such as Sorbitan Monostearate which are derived from palm oil. Some other emulsifiers might be derived from animal ingredients. You can use fresh yeast or use active yeast which does not contain additives. Red Star Yeast packets of 1/4 oz do not contain this emulsifier.
Step pictures below: Or Jump to Recipe
Make the sponge batter and let it sit for an hour. 
Add the tangzong, flour, salt, oil and knead into a smooth soft dough. Let the dough sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Divide into 12 equal parts. Roll each part into an oval and roll the oval into a jelly roll. Place seam side down on greased baking pan.
Sprinkle sesame or oats. Cover and let rise for 35 to 45 mins or until doubled.
Bake until golden. Brush oil or vegan butter on top.
Gorgeous!
Eat some with olive oil, hummus or vegan butter.
Soft Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls with Tangzhong Starter
Ingredients
Tangzhong:
- 1/4 scant cup whole wheat flour, a bit less than 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cup water
Sponge:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 2.5 tbsp maple syrup or other sweetener of choice, i like to use 1.5 tbs mapel and 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp active yeast, 1 tablespoon = 3 tsp
Bread:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour, or 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup whole spelt flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp almond extract, optional, adds nice bakery like smell
- olive oil or vegan butter for brushing
Instructions
- In a small saucepan combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup water over medium heat. mix well and cook until gel like, smooth and starting to get shiny, stirring frequently. Set this tangzhong starter lump aside.
- Mix the ingredients under Sponge in a bowl. Mix with a large spoon for 2 minutes until the batter is very smooth and starting to get gluten-ny.
- Let the bowl sit covered for 1 hour in a warm place. (Use a large bowl as the sponge will triple).
- In a stand mixer, add the sponge, tangzhong. Mix the salt into the 2 cups flour and add the flour to the stand mixer. Start kneading. Add in the oil, lemon juice and continue to knead for 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 2 minutes. Check the dough to see if it needs more flour or water (it should be soft and smooth. not stiff and not sticky). Add more flour 1 tbsp at a time if needed. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky, but not overly sticky or not too stiff.
- Knead for another 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should not break immediately when a small portion is pulled out. (I knead at setting 2 on my kitchen aid). You can let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes at this point.
- Divide the dough in 12 equal balls. flatten each ball into an oval then roll it up like a jelly roll. Place seam side down in the baking pan. Repeat for all rolls. Spray oil on top. Sprinkle sesame seeds or oats. * See Notes for refrigeration or freezing instructions.
- Cover the pan with a towel and let rise for 25 to 40 minutes or until the rolls double in size.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F/ 190ºc. Bake the bread for 20 to 22 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and brush oil or vegan butter on top. Remove the bread from the pan after 10 minutes. Wait for another 5 before serving the warm rolls with olive oil or vegan butter or as a side with anything.
- Store in a bread container on the counter for upto 2 days or refrigerate for upto a week.
Notes
Follow the recipe to Step 6. To refrigerate, cover the pan with plastic wrap or other and refrigerate overnight. Let the pan sit on the counter for an hour before baking.
To freeze, let the rolls rise for 15 mins before freezing the pan. Freeze the pan in ziplock or wrapped in wrap. Thaw and rise for 1 to 1,5 hours before baking. Use Aquafaba: Use a 1/4 cup aquafaba + 3/4 cup water in the sponge instead of 1 cup water. You can use aquafaba instead of oil, i havent tried these without oil. To make burger buns: Shape the rolls and place on parchment lined baking sheet atleast 2 inches apart. Follow the rest of the instructions to bake. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I accidentally put 2 cups of flour in the sponge portion. Will that screw the whole thing up? Or is there a chance these will still turn out?
it will be fine. You will need 1 cup less flour inthe later step to make a dough, thats all
Made these this weekend. They were very tasty. I made one pan of 12 for that day and put a second pan in the freezer for later. My kitchen was extra warm so I reduced the first rise time a bit. My particular whole wheat flour (King Arthur) seemed not to be absorbing the moisture as well as expected, so I ended up putting a bit more in than I thought should be needed to get it to quit sticking so bad (in the stand mixer it left a ring of dough around the bowl). My first pan ended up to be like little loaves of sandwich bread–firm and sliceable as opposed to airy and squishable. They were not super sweet–I used a blonde granulated sugar. Family devoured the pan very quickly.
I am curious about the purpose of the lemon juice here. Does the acid serve a purpose other than to give the bread a very slight twang?
The tangzhong is an interesting technique. I wasn’t sure if I’d cooked mine enough or too much or whatever. I would have been grateful for more photos of that part of the process to confirm whether I was doing it right. Of course, I didn’t think to google it to see if anyone else had pictures online…
hmm, i think the extra flour might need more rise time. Let them rise until double and when you press the bread with a finger, the dent springs back but not entirely. if the dent doesnt spring back at all, then it needs more rise time. The tangzhong becomes a thick custard and that is a good enough state. the dough also might start releasing moisture after a point of kneading. So once the dough is well formed, smooth and just slightly tacky, it is ready. You want to keep the dough slightly sticky. The tangzhong will release moisture and make it stickier after a point. After the rise though, the dough will not be that sticky. Breads are dependent on many factors, so keep adjusting till you find the right setting for you in terms of measurement, kneading time, rise time etc.
After writing the previous comment, I went looking for Tangzhong on the internet, and found some other photos of white pudding-like stuff. Mine was a good deal stiffer than that, I guess I cooked it longer than necessary. Mine was more of a blob that would slump but not spread. However, that sorta begs the question of how wet that dough would have been if the Tangzhong had yet more water in it.
When I had everything mixed up with your measurements and kneading away in the kitchenaid, I was setting the timer and having the mixer do the kneading and stuff to make sure I wasn’t getting impatient or lazy.. and when I stopped the mixer to let everything rest and touched the dough, dough came away on me. I call that level ‘too sticky’ whereas I would call ‘tacky’ a thing where I can feel the stickiness but I don’t come away coated with dough. Not sure if your definitions would be the same.
Ultimately I was afraid to keep adding flour to the dough so I just coated my hands and surface well with flour and kept going, even though it was still a bit ‘too sticky’ in my opinion. The layer of extra flour made it manageable in hand.
I agree the rolls needed more rise time after shaping. It was difficult to tell ‘doubling’ when they were spreading out as well as up. The springing back is a test I hadn’t used before, I will try that with the second pan and see what I learn from that.
Thank you for your reply and guidance, and your fantastic recipes. I have been so pleased with everything of yours I have made, it all ‘just works’ and I know that represents a huge investment of time and effort on your part to make these as foolproof as possible.
whole grain flours can vary significantly in terms of moisture absorption and under heat as here to make tangzhong etc. Sometimes the measurements can change quite significantly. For eg, if I use atta- Indian whole ground wheat flour, the rolls will need a whole lot more moisture. I am guessing with this flour, you do need more flour.
If the rolls are spreading too much on the side, then they had enough moisture. The softer more moist dough will spread more sideways than up. So that also points to needing more flour. A bit stiffer tangzhong is ok if the final dough consistency gets adjusted to just tacky(dough shouldnt come away on your hand).
Good luck!!
Would it work with only whole meal spelt flour?
it should. Keep the dough soft, moist and smooth. Add less flour to begin with when kneading as spelt absorbs more moisture.
Would the directions be the same if using instant yeast?
yes
I made these for our holiday dinner yesterday and they went down quickly! Many people were surprised that they were whole grain. I brushed with garlic butter(vegan) and herbs, so good.
Hi Richa! I made this today and it came out really nice and soft! I can’t believe it’s 100% whole wheat and I used my hands to knead it. The texture was great but it wasn’t as soft as store bought bakery bread.. Just a couple things: 1) the rolls turned hard the next day, how should I make it soft again? 2) the rolls had a taste of bitterness, do you know why that is? Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Hi Ashley, how did you store the rolls? If they were refrigerated, then warming them in the oven covered will soften them up. If they were stored open on the counter, then they dried out which is difficult to fix. You can convert them into croutons. Make small pieces, bake at 300 degrees F until crisp.
The bitterness is most likely from the flour. Whole grain flour has strong flavors, which a- feels slightly bitter if one isnt used to 100% whole grain baked goods, or b- the flour has become rancid or is on its way to being rancid and it is adding the bitter rancid flavor. Spelt generally has a slightly better flavor (if not rancid) compared to whole wheat. Some of the types or brands of whole wheat are pretty strong flavors. You can add herbs and garlic to the rolls to mask the flavor or brush with herbs and garlic and oil.
Thank you for the fast reply! I think the taste his comes from the whole wheat flour itself so it’s fine 🙂 as for the rolls, I stored them on a counter but I found reheating then in a microwave for 22 secs makes them soft again!
Just one last thing, is it normal if the bread didn’t turn out as soft like store bought breads? Your recipe is really nice but I was just wondering because my bread wasn’t as soft as bakery breads (which I’m fine with) and I don’t know if it’s just that the bakeries add dough softener..?
Anyways thank you for the response and the recipe!! 😀
yes dough softener, also vital wheat gluten would add the additional softness. These are very soft rolls. Maybe let them rise a bit longer and then bake. Brush with vegan butter immediately after they are baked.
To be honest these were actually on a bit of the denser and thicker side but still soft but not very soft.
Anyways I’m you posted a couple pictures, I would really hope you can make a detailed and thorough video on it so maybe I can be more successful next time! Thanks again!
hmm, maybe they needed a bit more kneading then, or a longer rise time or something. i’ll make a video eventually. You want the rolls to also be airy along with soft for the best result.
These turned out great! I made a half batch and then shaped the dough to make 12 bunny rolls! Very soft and tasty with pumpkin butter and almond butter
awesome
Can I refrigerate the dough before rolling into balls a night before ? Instead of Putting the entire pan in the refrigerator
Made these with your Grillable Burgers. Everyone loved them! Spelt tastes so much better than plain whole wheat.
Hi.made these the other day…the dough was so sticky and I ended up adding 6-7 tablespoon of flour.I don’t have a stand mixer and I kneaded by hand.the rolls were not as fluffy as they should,which I think is because I added too much flour.but they tasted good.and also they smell so yeasty! don’t know what I did wrong.anyway Im happy I tried it,Thanks
Yes, all of the above will cause that. If you are kneading by hand, you will need to knead for atleast 10 minutes continuously or 15 mins with breaks. Whole grain breads need the gluten to rise and stay airy else they end up baking up dense.
If they are smelling yeasty, the rolls probably needed to be baked a few minutes longer.
Try my white bread recipe with hald wheat flour, that one doesnt use tangzhong. Tangzhong and sponge add a lot of moisture which makes it harder to knead by hand as it is sticky for the first few minutes. https://fettabbau-trim.today/2013/07/white-sandwich-bread-vegan-recipe.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Thank you for the explanations.I’ll definitely try your other bread recipes soon.