I found this recipe in a Quick Cooking magazine some years back. It was actually part of a bread machine feature, and I don’t own a bread machine (I am the bread machine!). Happily, it’s pretty easy to modify this type of recipe for non-bread-machine use. You can find the original recipe on Taste of Home’s site, though, if you happen to be a bread machine person.
I wouldn’t consider these to be highly nutritious fare, although they are certainly no worse for you than rolls from a can (and I think these taste better!). They’re really soft and fluffy, and the honey glaze is delicious. My family likes these almost as much as they like my Garlic Pull-Apart bread, which is a high compliment indeed.
If you happen to be making rolls for next week’s Thanksgiving celebration, you might consider giving these a try. Though they’re not as traditional as my Basic Dinner Rolls, they are far less time-consuming to form, something you might appreciate if you have to make 4 dozen.
Here’s how to make these pillowy balls of goodness.
Combine 2 cups flour and the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. (are you getting tired of seeing pictures of flour and yeast in my mixer bowl yet??)
Combine milk, oil, honey, and salt, and heat to 115-120 degrees.
Add warm liquids to flour mixture, and beat until combined. Add egg and egg yolk (save the white for the glaze), and beat for 2 minutes. Add enough flour to make a kneadable dough, and turn out onto a floured surface.
Knead 3-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in bowl, cover with a wet tea towel, and let rise 1 hour.
Punch dough down and divide into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place into pans. You can use two 8×8 inch square pans…
or two round 9-inch pans.
Or one of each, like I did. 
Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Combine the glaze ingredients…
and gently brush over the risen rolls.
Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. They’re really the best served warm from the oven, although they are certainly edible after they’ve cooled off.
See how lovely and fluffy they are on the inside?
Delicious.
You should probably go make a pan of these sometime soon.
Glazed Honey Pan Rolls
Ingredients
3-1/2 cups all purpose flour (my favorite is Gold Medal Unbleached)
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Glaze
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1 egg white
1. Combine 2 cups flour and the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Combine milk, oil, honey, and salt, and heat to 115-120 degrees.
3. Add warm liquids to flour mixture, and beat until combined. Add egg and egg yolk (save the white for the glaze), and beat for 2 minutes.
4. Add enough flour to make a kneadable dough, and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead 3-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in bowl, cover with a wet tea towel, and let rise 1 hour.
5. Punch dough down and divide into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and place balls in two greased 8×8 inch pans or 9 inch round cake pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes.
6. Combine glaze ingredients and gently brush over risen rolls. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
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Why the wet tea towel? Is this to save plastic wrap? Does the towel have to be wet, does it affect the rising somehow? Thanks, those are all of my burning tea towel questions.
The wet tea towel does save on plastic wrap, to be sure! The moisture also keeps the outside of the dough from drying out and becoming hard…that would impede the rising for sure. You don’t want to let dry air hit your dough while it’s rising.
Newbie baker question!!! What’s a tea towel? I guess I could google it ~but your expertise would be better~
Oh, nothing fancy. It’s just a fuzz-less towel! lol You could use a towel with fuzz, but it might leave bits on your rolls.
“are you getting tired of seeing pictures of flour and yeast in my mixer bowl yet??”
No, but it did occur to me that you could reuse the pix of flour+yeast, and of kneaded bread dough, many many times and still be accurate.
Another county heard from: I put my pan of bread into a plastic produce bag for the rising period.
“are you getting tired of seeing pictures of flour and yeast in my mixer bowl yet??”
No not at all.
I tired once to make balls, but they lost some softness. And also I heard that too much punching will also make the bread loose its softness. Is that true?
If possible, can you show some pictures of how you punch down and how you make them in to balls. Thanks
Need to get honey. Need to make these tomorrow. I love your baking posts. You’ve never steered me wrong and I think I’m a much better baker after following your blog.
Another fine roll recipe that I tried with dinner last night. A big hit with our family. Thanks!
Rolls from a can??!! That sounds disgusting! I’m sure such a thing will never sell in New Zealand! In any case, *I* wouldn’t buy them!
Here’s something for you to laugh about: I looked at your blog post with these amazing looking rolls just before going to bed last night, and then I dreamed a very happy dream in which I consumed them.
when you say cover with wet towel – does the towel ever touch the doug? Or is the wet towel covering the bowel? sorry if this is a silly question, but i really really want to try this recipe for my first real thanksgiving dinner that i will be hosting – yikes =)
I would like your opinion on making bread that will not become dry and crumbling after a day. My homemade bread is delicious and yet it becomes dry in about one day. I freeze it after it is no longer warm, but it still is crumbely when I slice it after it is thawed out. I use potato water and potato, eggs, brown flour, white flour, sugar and butter in my bread. It is very dry after only one day. Any suggestions?
Linda Walmer
I don’t own a stand mixer, could this be done by hand or with a hand mixer?
I’m a new follower of your blog and these rolls jumped off the page!! Wow, do they look good! I haven’t attempted making my own bread yet–controlling yeast is an intimidating thought!! I will give this recipe a try, though.
Any reason why you can’t use a 9×13 pan to make the rolls? Just curious, it seems like it would be easier.
You can…it’s just not quite the same dimensions, so your roll will be a little differently shaped.
I just found your site yesterday and I’m planning on making my very own homemade yogurt tomorrow! I’ve never made bread before, but these sound amazing. Here’s the problem though…I don’t think we would eat 24 rolls at a time, since there’s only me, my husband, and our 10 mo. I know I could half the recipe pretty easily. But do you think I could freeze unrisen dough balls? Or would that totally ruin the yeast? I’m such a newbie at bread making.
I love reading everyone’s comments. Thank you!
I live in Brazil. The milk we use is purchased in a box that is on the shelf. It does not require refrigeration until opened. It is UHT milk, meaning that it was heated to a very high heat in order to keep it useable for long periods of time.
I am not sure of its worth, but that is what we use.
Do you think I could use this type of milk to make the yogurt that you make in your home?
Thanks for providing a grand site. I love recieving it daily.
Linda walmer