Delicious homemade 30 minute honey wheat rolls that are made from scratch in about half an hour. Easy recipe for busy weeknights or holidays!
One of my favorite (and one of the most popular) recipes on i heart eating is my 60 Minute Dinner Rolls. Sometimes, though, one hour is still too long wait for fresh, hot rolls.
These 30 Minute Honey Wheat Rolls are ready – start to finish – in about 30 minutes. So, they’re perfect for those nights when you want some fresh bread but don’t have a lot of time.
Unlike a lot of whole wheat rolls, these rolls are soft – thanks to the mixture of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour.
The rolls also have a mild honey flavor which works really nicely with the nutty whole wheat flour.
How to Make 30 Minute Honey Wheat Rolls
Can I use active dry yeast?
Yes! You can use an equal amount of active dry yeast.
Just wait for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to foam up after step 5. Then continue with the recipe as written.
Can I use low-fat milk?
You can! Anything from skim milk to whole milk will work in these whole wheat rolls.
More quick roll recipes!
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30 Minute Honey Wheat Rolls
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter plus extra for brushing on
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 Lightly grease a half sheet pan or a 9x13-inch rimmed cookie sheet.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter.
- When butter is mostly melted, stir in milk, and heat mixture to 100-110 F.
- Meanwhile, add yeast and honey to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if mixing by hand).
- When milk mixture is at temperature, add to yeast and honey; stir to combine.
- Add salt and egg, and stir until combined.
- Stir in all-purpose flour.
- Add 1 cup whole wheat flour, and stir in.
- Add remaining whole wheat flour until dough clings to paddle and cleans the sides of the bowl. Dough will still be pretty sticky.
- With lightly floured hands, shape dough into 12 rolls, and place dough on prepared baking sheet.
- Cover, and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Recipe published 7/29/13. Recipe updated with new photos and information 7/5/18.
Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Naurael says
I have made these a couple of times now – most recently because we were out of bread and my husband asked for them because they were so good! ^^
I have to confess that I made small adjustments. We like bread to be on the chewier, non-cakey side in this household, so to achieve that, I used bread flour (basically remove one tablespoon of the all-purpose flour and replace it with wheat gluten) and added a tablespoon more of the whole wheat flour. This allows me to knead the dough for a couple of minutes, and the end result (if you use a bit of water sprinkled onto the baking tray when going into the oven) is slightly chewy, but still fluffy rolls. :)
Also, I added half a cup of mixed seeds and nuts (walnut and cashew broken into smaller pieces, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds) to the dough and rolled the rolls in a mix of oats and seeds (instant oats, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds). This of course adds some calories, but they are good ones, and who can say no to the aroma of toasted nuttiness? ^^
TL;DR: Thank you, Kate, this recipe is great and adaptable to your own taste, and the rolls still taste awesome toasted the next day!
Kate says
Glad you liked the rolls and were able to make them your own!
Amy Dufek says
Tastes great as well as being light and fluffy. I was nervous about cooking rolls at 400 degrees but it proved to work out well. I will definitely be using this recipe as a go to.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that the rolls worked out well for you!
Tina Skaggs says
can I just use all whet flour?
Kate says
Wheat flour tends to make for heavier, drier rolls, so you may find that you need to make other adjustments if you’re using all whole wheat flour.
AnnaLee says
These rolls turned out very well. I did not need to flour my hands before rolling into balls, as the dough handled perfectly. I let rise a bit longer (forgot to check at the 10 minute mark) but they baked up beautifully and had a delicious taste. Thanks for sharing.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that they worked out well for you!
Nicole'skitchen says
I’m from Kenya, I used 1.5 cups of Exe whole meal flour and sugar and that made my dough not sticky as you had said which had me worried but I went ahead to bake. It turned out fluffy and amazing! Have made it like 3 times so far in less than a month. Finally a recipe that works well!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad that the rolls turned out well for you!
Delizabeth says
When does the butter get brushed on? Before or after baking? And how much should the dough rise before baking? Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Kate says
Hi! You can brush the baked rolls with butter after taking them out of the oven. In step 11, you’ll let the rolls rise for 10 minutes. Hope you enjoy!
Jean says
I absolutely love this recipe!! It is also my brother in law’s favorite so I will make them for him and my sister. Thank you for sharing this recipe. 🥰🙏🏼🥰
Kate says
Thank you! I’m glad your family likes them!
Amie says
Oops, also meant to ask…Would using bread flour instead of all purpose make the rolls softer? I have both… Thank you!
Kate says
Using bread flour would give you a little more chew to the rolls. Otherwise, either will work!
Amie says
Hello! Can this recipe be doubled?
Kate says
Yes, you can double the recipe.
Isabelle says
Hello! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe. These rolls don’t last a day in my house. I’ve tried the rolls twice so far. The first time I substituted milk with oat milk and they turned out great. The second time I used oat milk again, substituted the egg for a flax egg, and cut the honey by half. I sprinkled sunflower seeds and rolled oats on top of each roll before baking. They turned out even better this batch! I’m hoping to find a good vegan sub for the butter next time and give it a try. Thank you again! 🧡
Kate says
Thank you for sharing your notes!
ADERONKE AJIDAGBA says
I accidentally used half the yeast, will I be able to make this for my family on time? Within an hour?
Kate says
With less yeast, the rolls will take longer to rise. Unfortunately, I’m not certain how long it will take.
Michelle says
I made these yesterday and they were super easy and taste wonderful. Will be making these on a regular basis.
Kate says
Thank you so much!!
Diane says
Hello, for health reasons we grind our own flour and do not use all purpose flour. I tried using 1 cup hard red wheat and 1 cup soft white white to replace the all purpose flour, but they came out with a more biscuit characteristic than fluffy roll texture. Do you know if there is any way to get the “fluffy” without using all purpose flour? I also have spelt, rye, oats, and hard white wheat. Thank you.
Kate says
Hi! I use soft wheat for fluffier, softer wheat bread and rolls. Also, I make an oatmeal cake with whole wheat and oatmeal, and that cake is fluffy. It might help to try a blend of oatmeal and soft wheat. Best of luck!
Jayne Kellogg says
These are great! They’ve become a regular addition to our menu. We also formed them a little differently when we made sloppy Joe’s. They held their shape well and made great hamburger buns for the sloppy Joe meat. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Jk
Kate says
Thank you so much!
EZ says
Two tablespoons of yeast is a huge amount, like a mountain. Is this correct?
Kate says
It is. Adjusting the amount of yeast in a recipe lets you increase or decrease the rising time. You can use less yeast if you’d like, but you’ll need to increase the rising time.