Whole Wheat Honey Lemon Rolls

Five pre-teen boys at the house for an overnight birthday party? No worries. These rolls will earn rave reviews guaranteed. It was 9.29 out of 10 – and I’m pretty sure it would have been a 10 across the board if I had taken the rolls out of the oven a minute or two earlier. I have adjusted my Mom’s original recipe to reflect 16-20 minutes instead of 18-20 minutes baking time accordingly.

Below: Rising… plain with egg wash… with egg wash and a healthy sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Story Time!

Before we get baking, look what I found! A delightful children’s story about a mother and child baking bread with a big blue bowl. Boy does that sound familiar. I love it!

Whole Wheat Honey Lemon Rolls

Five pre-teen boys at the house for an overnight birthday party? These rolls will earn rave reviews guaranteed.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 24 rolls
Author Betsy Oppenneer

Ingredients

  • 1 scant tablespoon (or 1 ¼-ounce package) active dry yeast
  • ¼ cup warm water about 110 degrees
  • 1 cups warm milk about 110 degrees
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup solid vegetable shortening
  • 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2½-3½ cups unbleached flour
  • 1 egg beaten with
  • 1 tablespoon cold milk for the egg wash

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften.

  2. Add the milk, honey, shortening, lemon peel, all the whole wheat flour,  and 1 cup of the unbleached flour. Beat vigorously for two minutes.

  3. Gradually add flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.

  4. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

  5. Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour.

  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide into thirds, then divide each third into half. Divide the pieces in half two more times to make 24 pieces. Leave half the pieces covered with a towel n the work surface. Roll each of the first 12 pieces into an 8-inch rope. Coil the ends in opposite directions to make S-shaped rolls. Arrange rolls about 2 inches apart on a well-greased baking sheet (or use parchment paper).

  7. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

  8. Meanwhile, after the first batch has risen for about 15 minutes, shape the other 12 pieces of dough as directed in step 6. Cover to let rise.

  9. About 15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  10. Just before baking, lightly brush each roll with egg wash, taking care not to let any drop onto the baking sheet. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown (the internal temperature should reach 190 degrees). Repeat with the second batch.

  11. Remove the rolls from the baking sheet and cool on racks.

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