There’s nothing quite like warm, soft rolls right out of the oven, or the mouthwatering aroma of freshly baked sweet bread. Needless to say, these sweet rolls are delicious and have great tropical flavors. The rolls are perfect for sandwiches, which is actually how we ate them. Ham and swiss cheese sandwiches, placed them in the oven for a few minutes just until the Swiss cheese melted.

They are a bit sweeter but they are super soft and fluffy, and honestly, there’s nothing better than hot fresh rolls right out of the oven. The other issue some people have is with their dough not rising. Pretty much this always has to do with your yeast. In this recipe, we’re using instant yeast and not active dry yeast though you could use either. The difference is that instant yeast does not have to be activated, just add it to your dry ingredients, whereas with active dry yeast you have to dissolve it in a bit of warm water first.

These rolls are infused with pineapple juice, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and splash of vinegar for a slightly sweet, slightly tangy tropical flavor. The pineapple juice lends these rolls its subtly fruity sweet flavor enhanced by the vanilla all balanced by the vinegar’s subtle sharpness.

Ingredients

  • 8 tbsp butter unsalted and melted
  • 3/4 cup pineapple juice
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 tsp coconut extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 egg for egg wash

Directions;

  1. Heat oven to 200 F degrees.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the melted butter, buttermilk, pineapple juice, and brown sugar. Slightly whisk so that it’s all combined. Wait a bit until mixture cools a bit then add the extracts.
  3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of your mixer, combine 3 3/4 cups of flour, yeast, salt and ground ginger. Using the paddle attachment, turn the mixing speed on low and slowly pour in the wet ingredients. Continue mixing while adding the 2 eggs and egg yolk.
  4. A sticky dough will begin to form. Switch to the hook attachment and knead the dough for 7-8 minutes, adding 1/4 cup more of flour if necessary.
  5. Once the dough has been kneaded, form into a ball and place in a large metal or glass bowl that has been lightly greased. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, turn off your oven, place inside and allow to rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size.
  6. Once the dough has doubled, remove and gently deflate. Divide into 15 equal pieces. Roll into circles and place in a parchment lined baking pan. Heat oven to 200 degrees.
  7. Generously butter the tops and sides of each roll. Place a clean kitchen towel over top. Turn off your oven and place the covered rolls inside to rising until doubled in size.
  8. Remove the rolls from the oven and turn on your oven to 350 degrees.
  9. Brush the rolls with egg. Once heated, bake the rolls for 22-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown in color
  10. Remove from the oven. Another option is to skip brushing them with the egg wash and bake them, then brush them with melted butter once out of the oven.