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Best Sweet Dinner Rolls With Fresh Milled Flour

These heavenly sweet dinner rolls are made with fresh milled flour and yeast, coming together in just a couple of hours. They are the perfect compliment to any meal, and a wonderful staple recipe to have in your kitchen. Just one bite into these fluffy, sweet rolls and you will be hooked! 

Close up view of a bowl full of fresh milled flour fluffy dinner rolls.

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Fall means soup season in my house, and I’m so glad I started making these fresh milled sweet rolls to go along with all of my homemade soup recipes. There really isn’t anything quite like a hot sweet roll, smothered in butter and dipped in your favorite soup. If you need some soup recipes to try alongside these rolls, you have to try some of my favorites:

One of my favorite things about baking with fresh milled wheat is that it tastes SO much better than anything you have tried with store-bought whole wheat, I promise. These rolls have amazing flavor, aren’t overly dense, and have incredible health benefits. Since wheat berries start to lose their nutrition after being exposed to oxygen, baking with flour right away is so important for maximum nutrients. 

Reasons To Love This Recipe

There are so many reasons to love this easy fresh milled flour roll recipe. Here are a few:

Ready For Dinner: Unlike sourdough bread, these rolls are made with yeast and are easy to throw together and have ready by dinnertime. You can mix them together, and let them rise while you make the rest of your meal. 

If you like sourdough rolls though, you have to try this recipe!

Maximum Nutrients: If you bake bread with store-bought flour, unfortunately the result is bread with empty calories. There aren’t many real nutrients in store-bought flour, and most of them are synthetically added back in. Fresh milled flour on the other hand, has all of the vitamins and nutrients that God intended for us to eat when we enjoy bread. Baking with flour that has been milled right away is the best way to serve your family a nutrient dense food. 

Fluffy & Perfectly Sweet: This recipe uses raw honey to add a slight touch of sweetness, and they are so light and fluffy. The perfect texture for a dinner roll. 

100% Whole Wheat: These rolls use 100% whole wheat, but they are still incredibly light and fluffy. The whole grains provide such a rich and hearty flavor I know you will love. 

Ingredients in Fresh Milled Flour Sweet Rolls

Freshly milled flour – The star ingredient in these fluffy rolls! I have found hard white wheat to work the best in this recipe to achieve the best rise. For maximum nutrients mill your flour right before (using it within 24 hours of milling is best). If you don’t have fresh flour, regular whole wheat from the store will work too.

Butter – My favorite butter to keep on hand in my home is grass-fed butter. I like the Kerrygold brand

Milk – I use whole, raw milk when I make these rolls. The next best option would be grass-fed whole milk from the store. You can also use water in a pinch! 

Salt – I love redmonds real salt because it is unrefined (unlike highly processed table salt) and has trace minerals that are really beneficial for you to include in your diet.

Pastured Eggs

Raw Honey – Did you know that honey is a very corrupt industry? Raw honey has all kinds of health benefits, but unfortunately it is not regulated by the FDA. To ensure that you are using pure, raw honey, buy from a small local source that you trust.

Instant Yeast

Other Kitchen Tools You Will Need

  • Grain Mill: If you are going to bake with fresh milled flour, one of these is essential for your kitchen. I can’t believe how much use I have gotten out of my Mockmill 100. It’s the baseline model from Mockmill and it’s held up really well for me. If you don’t have a grain mill and you want to use this recipe, you could also use a high powered blender equipped for grain (vitamix etc).
  • Kitchen Aid or other stand mixer
  • Small saucepan
  • 9 x 13 baking pan
  • Plastic Wrap
  • Tea Towel
A bowl full of fresh and golden brown whole wheat dinner rolls

How To Make Fresh Milled Flour Sweet Rolls

These rolls come together really easily! You will want to plan ahead a little bit if you want them ready with dinner. Start them maybe 2 hours before dinnertime and everything will be ready at the perfect time.

Step 1: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the milk and the butter together until the butter is mostly melted and the mixture is warm to the touch but not hot. 

Step 2: While the butter and milk are warming up, mill your wheat berries. 

Step 3: Combine the melted butter and milk with the honey, eggs, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix until everything is combined. 

Step 4: Add the flour and mix until fully incorporated. This is a sticky dough, so resist the urge to add more flour.

Fresh milled dinner roll dough in a kitchen aid mixer

Step 5: Let the dough sit and rest for about 15 minutes. This helps the fresh flour to fully absorb all of the liquids. 

Step 6: When the 15 minutes is up, add the instant yeast and mix it in. 

Step 7: Switch to the dough hook and knead until you have a smooth dough that starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. You should be able to stretch the dough without it breaking, then you know it’s done. 

Step 8: Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it to rise for 1-2 hours, or until roughly doubled in size. Rise times will vary based on the temperature of your kitchen, my dough is usually ready to go in one hour. 

Step 9: Use a little bit of olive oil to oil your work surface. I like to use oil instead of flour for these rolls because it keeps them nice and moist without drying them out too much.

Step 10: Use some butter to grease the 9 x 13 pan.

Step 11: Shape the dough into 12 equal (ish) pieces, by folding all sides inward, then rolling it gently to create a ball. Place the shaped rolls into the prepared baking dish with the smooth side up. 

hands shaping several dough balls into dinner rolls

Step 12: Cover the rolls with a damp tea towel and let them rise for about 45 minutes or until they appear puffy. 

Step 13: Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they are turning golden brown and are cooked all the way through. Brush with additional melted butter, if desired.

Step 14: Enjoy these rolls warm! 

Storing Leftover Sweet Dinner Rolls

Store the leftover rolls in an airtight container. At room temperature, they will last a few days. For longer storage, freeze rolls individually in a freezer-safe container or a few months. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can swap store-bought whole wheat flour if you don’t have access to fresh milled flour. Keep in mind the flavor and texture won’t be quite the same! 

Dense rolls usually mean the dough wasn’t kneaded enough, didn’t rise long enough, or the yeast was old. Fresh milled flour can be heavier, so kneading it enough and getting a full rise are important for achieving light and fluffy rolls. 

Kneading times may vary, and practice makes perfect. Plan on 10-15 minutes with a stand mixer or 15-20 minutes by hand. Fresh milled flour can sometimes take longer to develop gluten compared to white flour. Be patient! 

Yes! You can let the shaped rolls rise in the fridge overnight, then bring them to room temperature before baking the next day (or up to 3 days).

Store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze them once they have cooled completely and you can thaw them as needed.

Yes to both! You can freeze shaped dough balls before the second rise (let them thaw and rise before baking), or freeze the baked rolls and rewarm them in the oven.

I prefer not to add anything, but if you like you can try adding 1–2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten which can help improve the rise and fluffiness. Using hard white wheat berries will help to create that light fluffy roll also.

They should be golden brown on top and cooked all of the way through. With practice you will be able to tell easily! If you want to be really accurate, you can test the internal temperature of the rolls. When they are done, it should be around 190°F.

Definitely! It just takes more time and effort. Knead the dough by hand for 12–15 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic.

Yes, you can use water in place of the milk, and coconut oil in place of the butter! The rolls may be slightly different in flavor but still delicious and fluffy.

If you want the rolls to be exact, you can weigh the dough with a kitchen scale and divide it evenly. Shape each piece into a tight ball for uniform baking.

Yes, a slow overnight rise in the fridge can increase the yeast flavor as well. Just let the dough warm up before shaping and baking.

Hard white wheat gives a soft, mild roll with a lighter color. Hard red wheat makes a heartier, slightly nuttier roll. You can also blend the two. I would recommend hard wheat berries because they contain a higher gluten content and will result in a better rise.

Best Sweet Dinner Rolls With Fresh Milled Flour

These heavenly sweet dinner rolls are made with fresh milled flour and yeast, coming together in just a couple of hours. They are the perfect compliment to any meal, and a wonderful staple recipe to have in your kitchen. Just one bite into these fluffy, sweet rolls and you will be hooked! 
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting / Rise Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 12 rolls

Equipment

  • 1 Grain mill
  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 Small saucepan
  • 1 9 x 13 baking pan
  • Plastic Wrap
  • 1 Tea towel

Ingredients
  

  • 3 1/2 cups fresh milled flour hard white wheat berries
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1/3 cup raw honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the milk and the butter together until the butter is mostly melted and the mixture is warm to the touch but not hot. 
  • While the milk and butter are warming up, mill your wheat berries.
  • Combine the melted butter and milk with the honey, eggs, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix until everything is combined.
  • Next, add the flour and mix until fully incorporated. This is a sticky dough, so resist the urge to add more flour.
  • Let the dough sit and rest for about 15 minutes. This helps the fresh flour to fully absorb all of the liquids. 
  • When the 15 minutes is up, add the instant yeast and mix it in. 
  • Switch to the dough hook attachment and knead until you have a smooth dough that starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. You should be able to stretch the dough without it breaking, then you know it’s done. 
  • Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it to rise for 1-2 hours, or until roughly doubled in size. Rise times will vary based on the temperature of your kitchen.
  • Use a little bit of olive oil to oil your work surface, and use some butter to grease the 9 x 13 pan.
  • Shape the dough into 12 equal pieces, by folding all sides inward, then rolling it gently to create a ball. Place the shaped rolls into the prepared baking dish with the smooth side up. 
  • Cover the rolls with a damp tea towel and let them rise for about 45 minutes or until they appear puffy. 
  • Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they are turning golden brown and are cooked all the way through. Brush with additional melted butter, if desired.
  • Enjoy these rolls warm! 
Keyword bread roll, dinner rolls, fresh milled flour, holiday sides, whole wheat recipes

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