Hawaiian Rolls with a Little Help from Your Bread Machine
Sneak Peek: Prepare to wow your loved ones with Hawaiian Rolls made with the help of your bread machine that rival store-bought Hawaiian bread in flavor, texture, and appearance. Ingredients include pineapple juice, honey, ginger, all-purpose flour, and cake-batter extract (the secret ingredient).
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Looking for a Hawaiian Bread recipe that tastes just like the store-bought favorite? This is the one! Use your bread machine for easy prep, or make it by hand or with a stand mixer—delicious either way.
Happy Bakers Speak Up
“I just made these, and they are wonderful! Thank you so much for this recipe! I looked all over town for butternut extract, (no luck there), so I used 1/4 tsp of almond extract, and 1/4 tsp of Butter extract, and it hit the nail on the head! They taste even better than the store bought King’s rolls! Thank you again for sharing this recipe!“–SHEALEIGH
Ingredients and Substitutions
- PINEAPPLE JUICE: (Pineapple juice is not listed on the mysterious label of King’s Hawaiian bread.)
- Adds a sweet and tart flavor
- Substitute water or milk
- No need to warm the milk when using a bread machine,
- DRIED MILK:
- Powdered milk
- Swap fresh or canned milk for powdered milk and pineapple juice
- EGG AND EGG YOLK:
- Adds yellow color and tenderness
- Freeze the leftover egg whites for this Homemade Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Ganache.
- MASHED POTATOES:
- Use leftovers, fresh-cooked, or instant potatoes (prepared)
- Alternatively, cook a medium-size unpeeled potato for 3-4 minutes. Pull the skin off and chop. Add to the bread machine pan.
- HEAVY CREAM:
- Key ingredient
- Substitute half and half or milk
- SUGAR:
- Use granulated sugar
- Adjust the amount to suit your sweet tooth
- HONEY:
- Enhances the sweetness and texture
- BUTTER:
- Chop into pieces instead of warming or melting for best results
- GINGER:
- Powdered ginger from the spice aisle
- CAKE BATTER EXTRACT:
- Cake batter extract imparts a specific enigmatic flavor to sweet yeast bread and a yellow color characteristic of Hawaiian-style bread.
- Substitute vanilla-butter-nut extract
- Vanilla extract –third choice
- FLOUR:
- Unbleached all-purpose flour.
- Second choice is bleached, all-purpose flour.
- Bread flour not recommended
- INSTANT YEAST:
- Use bread-machine yeast or instant yeast
- Substitute active dry yeast (see the recipe notes)
- LEMON JUICE (optional):
- Subtle flavor boost and dough conditioner
- Note: When I don’t have pineapple juice in my pantry, I use milk instead. Adding 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice adds subtle flavor to this bread. It works like the lemon juice in my basic white bread machine loaf recipe by helping the yeast rise and acting as a dough conditioner. You won’t taste it.
How To Make Sweet Hawaiian Rolls with a Bread Machine
I divided the dough into 12 rolls–six per pan in the picture above. This is a good size for slider buns. I normally make 16 rolls for dinner rolls and place them in two 8-inch round pans.
Questions and Answers
Q: Why does the dough take so long to rise?
- The rich ingredients (butter, cream, and sugar) slow down the yeast.
- Let the dough double in size after the DOUGH cycle, even if it takes longer.
- For the second rise, bake rolls when they’re 1½ times their original size for better texture.
Q: How can I get a soft but nicely browned crust?
- Use light-colored metal pans (gold finishes or USA pans work well).
- Egg glaze creates a shiny, soft, and darker top crust.
Q: Why didn’t the bottom of my bread brown in foil pans?
- Place foil pans on a cookie sheet to help the bottoms brown evenly.
- Position pans lower in the oven to balance browning.
Q: Do these Hawaiian Sweet Rolls require a glaze?
- No, the glaze is optional. Store-bought rolls are typically unglazed, but round loaves often have a glaze. Instructions for glazing are included.
Q: Can I make this bread into a loaf?
- Yes, you can form it into round loaves or a standard loaf. Use about ⅔ of the dough for a loaf and the rest for slider buns.
Q: Can I bake this bread in my bread machine?
- Not recommended. Bread machine baking often produces a subpar crust, crumbly texture, and less appealing appearance. Try baking in the oven instead.
Parting thoughts: If you try these rolls, I can’t wait to hear from you. What do you think? Did you use the recipe exactly as written, or did you have to use a substitute? Let me know.
Recipe Help at Your Fingertips: For questions or suggestions, email Paula at saladinajar.com. If you need help, I’m happy to troubleshoot via email (faster than leaving a comment). Attach pictures and as many details as possible for the best advice.
Hawaiian Rolls Bread Machine Recipe
A sweet and soft bread in the same style as my favorite Hawaiian bread at the grocery store. The instructions are for mixing and kneading in a bread machine, then shaping by hand and baking in a conventional oven.
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (76 g) pineapple juice (can substitute water or milk)
- ½ cup (125 g) mashed potatoes
- 2 tablespoons nonfat dried milk powder (or use milk instead of pineapple juice and leave the milk powder out)
- 1 large (50 g) egg
- 1 (18 g) egg yolk
- 3 tablespoons (36 g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (76 g) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (58 g) unsalted butter chopped
- 1 tablespoon (21 g) honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon cake batter-extract
- 3 cups (360 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons bread machine or instant yeast
Glaze
- 1 (18 g) egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) milk
Instructions
Making the dough:
- Combine 1/3 cup (76 g) pineapple juice, 1/2 cup (125 g) mashed potatoes, 2 tablespoons nonfat dried milk powder, 1 large (50 g) egg, 1 (18 g) egg yolk, 3 tablespoons (36 g) sugar, 1/3 cup (76 g) heavy cream, 1/4 cup (58 g) unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon (21 g) honey, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cake batter-extract, 3 cups (360 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, and 2 teaspoons bread machine or instant yeast into the bread machine pan in the order given. Select the DOUGH cycle and push the START button.
- Recheck your dough again after 15-18 minutes. The dough should stick to the sides, then pull away cleanly. See the video to watch this in action. Note how shiny and elastic the dough is.If you aren’t sure if your dough looks right, read more about this surprising secret that will help you make fabulous bread every time.
- When the dough cycle completes and the dough has risen to double, remove dough from the bread machine pan to a floured surface. (I use a silicone mat so I can throw it in the dishwasher.)
Shaping the dough for rolls:
- Spray two 8-inch, round pans with an aerosol oil/flour mixture like Baker’s Joy.
- Form dough into a large ball. Divide in half. Divide each half into 8 portions and form each portion into a ball.
- Place 8 balls into each pan. Cover pans with a tea towel and find a warm place for the rolls to rise again.
- About 15 minutes before rolls are ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 °F
- Let dough balls rise until about half again their original size. If you let them get too big during this rising, they will be dry.
Glaze
- Whisk 1 (18 g) egg yolk and 1 tablespoon (14 g) milk together in a small bowl. Use a silicone brush to carefully coat unbaked rolls (don’t let it drip) before you place them into the oven.
Baking Rolls
- Place rack in a low position in your oven. Bake rolls at 375 °F (190˚C) for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190˚F (88˚C). You don’t want them to be doughy, but if you bake them too long, they will be dry and lose the soft texture you expect in Hawaiian bread.
- After cooling an hour or two, place rolls into a plastic bag to keep the crust soft.
Notes
Variation:
1. Knead a cup of raisins or other dried fruit into the bread dough after removing it from the bread machine for a fabulous variation.
2. If you want a round loaf, divide the dough into three parts. Use two parts to make a round loaf. The remaining dough is good for rolls. In case you’re wondering why not make a bigger loaf with all the dough: My experience says it’s difficult to get a whole loaf of that size to bake all the way through without drying out the loaf on the edges.
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Using a Stand Mixer:
- Add the ingredients to the bowl in the specified order in a heavy-duty stand mixer.
- Begin mixing on low speed until all the ingredients are moistened.
- Switch to a dough hook attachment and increase the speed to 2 or 3.
- Continue beating/kneading until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, typically about 5-10 minutes.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place.
- Once risen, gently deflate the dough and shape it as the recipe directs.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl until they form a shaggy ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Knead the dough with your hands until it becomes smooth and elastic. Depending on your experience, this may take 10-20 minutes.
- Place the dough ball in a greased bowl.
- Cover the bowl and allow the dough to double in size.
- After rising, gently deflate the dough and shape it according to the recipe’s instructions.
Equipment
Nutrition
Serving: 1roll | Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
All images and text ©️ Paula Rhodes for Salad in a Jar.com
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Paula Rhodes, owner
As a retired home economist, I created Saladinajar.com to share my belief that you don’t have to be a chef to find joy in creating homemade food worth sharing. Bread machines (used in an unconventional way), homemade yogurt, and quick microwave recipes are my specialty.