Homemade Sourdough Hawaiian-Style Rolls

These sourdough Hawaiian-style rolls are soft and fluffy. They will remind you of the soft and tasty rolls sold in grocery stores, but with a little sourdough tang. 

You can use Hawaiian-style rolls in so many ways. They are great for all kinds of sliders, sandwiches, and breakfast buns. You can also dress them up to make sticky buns, stuff them with cheese, or use leftovers for bread pudding. Of course, just warm them and toss them in your breadbasket on the table. They also make the most excellent dinner rolls. 

To learn more about the history of Hawaiian rolls, be sure to check out my post about the yeasted version of these rolls. 

Ingredients in These Hawaiian Rolls:

Bread Flour: I used King Arthur bread flour. It is 12.7 percent protein and is unbleached. Keep this in mind if you use a different brand. 

The recipe calls for 400 grams of bread flour. I recommend holding back some of the flour and adding it as you are kneading the dough until you achieve the desired "tacky but not sticky" dough. The amount of flour you end up using can depend on the level of humidity and room temperature in your kitchen. 

I started with 360 grams of flour and ended up with a slightly sticky dough. I didn't add any more flour to the dough while kneading, but used some of the extra flour for dusting my work surface and my hands. 

Canned pineapple Juice: Pineapple juice adds sweetness to the rolls. To make these rolls, I usually buy the six-pack of small cans so that I don't have to deal with a lot of leftovers right away. 

Milk: I used whole milk for these buns.

Egg: Be sure to set it out on the counter so that it is room temperature. 

Vanilla Extract: This is a fun addition and adds a wonderful flavor to the rolls. 

Brown Sugar: For sweetness. Use light brown sugar. 

Potato Flakes (Instant Mashed Potatoes): Potatoes in bread help soften them and retain moisture. Be sure to use ones that don't have any extra flavorings. 

Salt.

Sourdough Starter: You can make a levain if you like, but because the recipe doesn't add any different ingredients or alter the flour/water percentage, I used some of my active sourdough starter to save a few hours. My starter was actually beginning to collapse a bit after its last feeding, but it still worked just fine. 

If you'd like to make a levain, take 55 grams of your bubbly starter and combine it with 55 grams of all-purpose flour and 55 grams of water. Let the levain rise for 3 to 4 hours, until doubled. 

To Make These Rolls:

First, to the bowl of a stand mixer, add the starter or levain, pineapple juice, milk, egg, vanilla, brown sugar, potato flakes, salt, and flour. Knead on second speed for about 8 minutes. 

Next, let the dough rise until doubled, about four hours. At this point, you could also refrigerate the dough overnight to further develop flavor. 

After that, shape the rolls and place them in an oiled and parchment lined 8 by 8 inch square cake pan. Cover them and let them rise for about 3 to four hours, until they have risen to just below the top of the pan and pass the "finger dent test." Poke one with a dampened finger. It should leave a dent that slowly returns back to the original shape. 

Finally, bake the rolls on the center rack in a 400 degree F oven for about 25 minutes. 

Sample Schedule:

8:00 a.m. Mix the levain if you are making one. If you are using active starter, you can start with mixing the final dough.

11:30 a.m. Mix the final dough.

12:15 p.m. Bulk ferment.

4:45 p.m. Shape the dough into rolls, and cover.

8:00 p.m. Bake the rolls.

Storage:

These rolls should stay fresh for a day or two. After that, individually wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for later. 

Bread Baking Babes:

This month, our host is Judy. She was inspired by Amy Bakes Bread. Be sure to visit everyone's versions of these rolls after the recipe. 

Homemade Sourdough Hawaiian-Style Rolls

Yield: 9 Rolls

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 40 MinCook time: 25 MinInactive time: 11 HourTotal time: 12 H & 5 M

These sourdough Hawaiian-style rolls are soft and fluffy. They will remind you of the soft and tasty rolls sold in grocery stores, but with a little sourdough tang. 

Ingredients

For the Levain (see note)

• 55 grams (1/4 cup) bubbly starter
• 55 grams (7 tablespoons) all purpose flour
• 55 grams (1/4 cup) water

For the Final Dough

• 150 grams (2/3 cup) levain - or 150 grams active sourdough starter
• 115 grams (1/2 cup) canned pineapple juice
• 60 grams (1/4 cup) milk, room temperature
• 1 egg (50 grams), room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 70 grams (1/3 cup, packed) light brown sugar
• 20 grams (3 1/2 tablespoons) potato flakes
• 8 grams (1 teaspoon) salt
• 400 grams (scant 3 cups) bread flour, divided

Instructions

To Make the Levain

1. Combine levain ingredients in a 1 quart bowl, stir, cover, and let rise until doubled, 3 to 4 hours.

To Make the Rolls

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the levain, pineapple juice, milk, egg, vanilla, brown sugar, potato flakes, salt, and 360 grams of the bread flour. Mix for 8 to 10 minutes on speed 2 until you have a tacky but not too stick dough. Add more flour if needed.
2. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl or dough rising bucket and turn to coat with the oil. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 3 to 4 hours. At this point, it can be refrigerated overnight or you can continute to make the rolls.
3. Line an 8 inch by 8 inch square cake pan and spray with spray oil. Weigh the dough and divide by 9. Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces using the weight calculation as a guide.
4. Form each dough piece into a ball and place them in the pan in a 3 by 3 pattern. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until very puffy and risen to just below the top of the pan. It should pass the finger dent test. About 3 to 4 hours.
5. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F with a rack on the middle level. Lightly mist the top of the dough with water.
6. Bake the rolls for 20 to 30 minutes until golden and the dough interior reaches about 195 degrees F.
7. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Using the parchment, lift the rolls onto a wire rack and slide the parchment out from under the rolls. Cool on the rack. These rolls can be served warm.

Notes

I skipped making the levain and used active sourdough starter.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

255

Fat (grams)

2 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

0 g

Carbs (grams)

52 g

Fiber (grams)

2 g

Net carbs

50 g

Sugar (grams)

10 g

Protein (grams)

7 g

Cholesterol (grams)

19 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2025/10/homemade-sourdough-hawaiian-style-rolls.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories - adapted from Adapted from The Perfect Loaf

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