Make these Honey Butter Rolls this Thanksgiving

Students always ask me: What made you want to go into the culinary industry? My simple answer is: Nothing makes me happier than bringing people together over food. Thanksgiving is a day where everyone comes together to eat, drink, laugh and be thankful. It’s a special day for anyone who loves to cook, spending hours in the kitchen making a feast for family and friends.

I think we can all agree that no holiday table is complete without a basket full of warm buttery dinner rolls. Over the years, I've noticed rolls seem to be an afterthought. Adding another item to the list of things to prepare might seem a little daunting, but trust me it’s absolutely worth it. These rolls are soft, fluffy, buttery, and the best part is they are super easy to make.

Making bread can be intimidating at first. But understanding the ingredients and process is the first step in making successful bread. 

Active dry yeast is a cultivated yeast, this yeast is in a dormant state and needs to be revived in order to perform its function in a dough. Reviving the yeast entails giving it water and food. Yeasts “eat” sugars, including those found in the starches in all kinds of flour. They then produce carbon dioxide gas, which leavens bread, and alcohol, which gives it flavor. This process is called fermentation. We refer to the fermentation of dough as proofing. If you want to know more about all different kinds of yeast, read my blog Everything You Need to Know about Yeast.

Bread flour vs. all-purpose flour: Bread flour has a higher protein and gluten content which results in baked goods with a stronger structure and chew. All-purpose flour produces tender baked goods because of its lower protein content. In this recipe, we mix the two flours, resulting in a dough that has structure but stays soft and tender. 

Potato starch or potato flour, improves the texture of bread making it softer and more tender. It also helps bread retain its freshness and adds a unique flavor. 

Fats: Eggs and butter, adding fats to bread dough changes the gluten structure. Fat bonds to the gluten proteins preventing them from bonding with one another and forming webs of gluten. This makes the dough more tender and the crust softer. 

Salt: Of course, salt boots the flavor of your bread, but it also helps the dough hold on to the carbon dioxide gas that is formed during fermentation, supporting volume. Salt slows down fermentation and enzyme activity in dough so that it doesn’t proof too fast or too much. 

How to know when your dough is proofed: Your dough should visibly be doubled in size; when you poke it it should stay indented. If it bounces back, it's not proofed enough. If it collapses, it is over proofed.

How do you know your bread is done baking? The tops should be a nice golden brown color, if you tap on the tops it should sound almost hollow. When in doubt, take the temperature of the middle of the bread. It should be around 190 degrees. Always remove your bread from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool properly and prevent the bottoms from becoming soggy.

Honey Butter Rolls

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Yield: 12 rolls

Active time: 50 minutes

Start to finish: 3 hours

1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 Tablespoons potato starch

1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 egg

4 tablespoons butter  

Flakey salt for garnish on top (optional)

For the Honey Butter:

6 Tablespoons butter melted

3 Tablespoons honey

Combine melted butter and honey.

1. In a saucepan, combine the milk, 3 Tablespoons sugar, and butter. Heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow it to cool to no more than 110 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flours and potato starch; set aside.

3. While the milk is cooling, combine the yeast, warm water, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes to activate the yeast. It should be frothy. When the milk mixture has cooled to the correct temperature, add it to the yeast mixture.

4. Add half the flour mixture and egg, mix with the dough hook until incorporated. Follow with the remaining flour and then add the salt when the dough forms a shaggy mass.

5. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. The dough should still be a little tacky.

6. Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

7. Lightly grease a 9”x13” baking dish.

8. Lightly flour your work surface. Gently deflate the dough, and divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 12” rectangle, about ¼ inch thick. Brush each rectangle with honey butter. Cut each rectangle into 6 strips. Starting with the short end, roll them each into a log. Pinch the seam to seal. Evenly place the rolls seam side down in the baking dish.

9. Tent the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

10. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

11. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 190 degrees on a digital thermometer.

12. Remove the rills from the oven, brush with remaining honey butter, sprinkle with flaky salt and turn them out onto a cooling rack.

Make Ahead: Prepare the dough through step 5. Do not let the dough rise. Cover the dough and place in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge, let the dough proof at room temp and continue with steps 6-12.

Make and Freeze: Prepare and assemble the dough through step 8. Wrap the pan and freeze. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer and allow the rolls to come to room temperature and bake as directed.

Bake and freeze: Once the rolls come out of the oven, place them on a wire rack to fully cool. Wrap them tightly and freeze. When you're ready to eat them, take them out of the freezer, let them come to room temperature, put them back into the oven for a couple minutes to heat through and serve.

If you are looking for helpful tips and tricks to ensure your Thanksgiving meal is a success, I highly recommend joining us at for our Thanksgiving Crash Course Demonstration on Saturday, November 16 at 10am. You will watch the instructor cook the entire meal in real time while teaching you the timing, tricks, and classic recipes for you to go home and recreate. You will leave this demonstration class with recipes, shopping lists, and a clear timeline to get all your cooking done!

Or, if you prefer to do all of the cooking yourself, create the Thanksgiving feast, hands-on, in real time at our Hands-On Thanksgiving Workshop on Saturday, November 23 at 10am.

Do you want to learn even more about bread? Join us for Hands-On Artisanal Breads Boot Camp on Saturday, November 30 at 10am.