Whole Wheat Rolls in Jars

Baking whole wheat rolls in jars makes them adorable, portion controlled little gems. These are 100% whole wheat and pack a flavorful rosemary punch

Rolls in a jar?

Funny, right?

But are't they just the most adorable rolls you've ever seen?

It's Recipe ReDux day, and this month is all about jars.

I love how the Recipe ReDux challenges me to explore recipes and step out of the box every now and then.

Like always, I did a little brainstorming and started leaning towards dessert or muffins or the like for this month's post. Then I remembered that I did muffins last month, and with Labor Day just around the corner, I don't really want 12 jars of dessert hanging out in my house...

I love the idea of using jars for portion control and what's harder to control than portions of bread?

This bread lover definitely has trouble controlling herself around bread. Gimme some soft, good butter, and I'm like a kid in a candy shop. Forget the pasta and rice; I want bread.

However, when they are portion controlled for me in these little jars, it makes it a lot easier to just stick to eating one roll. They're also really pretty big so you feel like you only need one.

Did I mention that they were whole wheat? Yep, they're whole wheat.

I also made them with less butter and used more yogurt. The recipe I used called for buttermilk but I didn't have any, so substitute with yogurt I did.

Honestly, these almost didn't happen. My dough was a sticky mess - like there was no way that it was going to get out of the mixing bowl in one ball. I started to get a little perturbed, if you will, but then decided that who cares... it's bread, isn't bread supposed to be a soothing process - therapeutic, enjoyable, and making your house smell utterly delightful?

So I just added a little more flour and went with it. Who cared if it was a disaster? It's not like I had ruined a lobster dinner or anything. I think the total cost of my recipe was less than $2. Time was involved, yes. But not enough to ruin my day.

As I was waiting patiently for my dough to rise, I decided to peruse the other Recipe ReDux entries for this month, and lo and behold, someone else did rolls in a jar. Ha! They even based their recipe off the same one I did.

That was the last straw. "Oh well," I thought to myself; "I'll just skip this month."

An hour passed. The dough had risen. It was still a sticky disaster. I just threw it in the already prepared glass jars; let them rise for 10 minutes just for the sheer fact that I was already this far, and then I baked them.

Thank my lucky stars I did because I can't even describe how delicious these turned out! Since I doubled the rosemary, every bite is packed with woody, pungent flavor. The extra sprinkle of salt on top of each roll takes these to a whole different level.

I mean, I really have no words to describe my delight when these worked and they worked we well! I was doing a dance in my kitchen while shoving a butter-covered roll in my pie hole. The dance I do only after something magical comes out of my kitchen or when a kitchen disaster turns into a kitchen miracle. These rolls are apart of the latter group.

Make them. Serve them to guests. Freeze the leftovers {because you'll find yourself snacking on these babies into the wee hours of the morning if you don't}.

These can be made ahead, but I recommend reheating them in a 300°F oven for about 15 minutes before serving. They can get a tiny bit soggy if you let them sit in their jars for too long {over an hour}, but that oven time will remedy that.

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls in Jars

Baking whole wheat rolls in jars makes them adorable, portion controlled little gems. These are 100% whole wheat and pack a flavorful rosemary punch

Print Rate

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 12 rolls

Author: Meme

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 TBSP active dry yeast
• ▢ 2 TBSP warm water
• ▢ 1 TBSP honey
• ▢ 2 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary {about 2-3 sprigs worth}
• ▢ 1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 2 TBSP butter room temperature
• ▢ 12 glass jars 4 oz
• ▢ 2 tsp olive oil
• ▢ 1 TBSP cornmeal

Instructions

• In a small bowl, add yeast and warm water. Stir in honey. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes until bubbly {if it's not bubbly, your yeast is dead and you need new yeast}.
• Meanwhile, add white whole wheat flour, salt, and rosemary to a stand mixer with a dough hook. Whisk together.
• When the yeast mixture is bubbly, add in the yogurt and the egg. Pour into the wheat mixture. Mix on Low just until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.
• Add in the butter and mix dough on Low for about 5 minutes. {The dough will be really sticky! This is ok}
• Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, brush the insides of the jars with oil. Then sprinkle each jar with about 1/4 tsp cornmeal. {Go ahead and put the jars on a baking sheet}
• When the dough has risen, punch down the dough. Stir well {it's still sticky}, then drop equal amounts of dough into the prepared jars. {This is kind of tricky because the dough is sticky, but just go with it}. Brush a bit more oil over the rolls in the jars {I just used the leftover that was left on the pastry brush I used to coat the inside of the jars}. Sprinkle with a tiny pinch of kosher or sea salt. Let rise while the oven is preheating.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for about 18-22 minutes. Enjoy!

Notes

*Based on this recipe from Simple Bites

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

Meme

Here are the other recipes in jars: