Sweet Hawaiian Rolls

The last long weekend of the summer called for a picnic, and I had a potluck in the park with my family. There was roast beef, strawberry spinach salad, sausage rolls, cupcakes, san pelligrino... it was quite a spread! My contribution was this sweet Hawaiian bun. The recipe is adapted from BakeSpace, a new website to me.

 A sweet roll for a summer picnic

You Need: (Yield: 18-20 rolls)
1/2 c. lukewarm water (105 to 115 F)
2 tbsp. (about 2 packets) yeast
2/3 c. + 1 tsp. sugar
3/4 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
6 c. all purpose flour
1 extra whole egg and sugar for brushing over/glazing the rolls before baking

Warm, tropical juice

To Do:
1) Add yeast and 1 tsp. sugar to warm water in a small bowl. Mix well and let stand 5 to 10 minutes or until bubbly.
2) In a small saucepan, heat pineapple juice on high, with 2/3 cup sugar and butter until butter is melted. Once melted, reduce heat to low and add eggs, salt, ground ginger and vanilla.
3) Place 3 cups flour in large mixing bowl (I used my KitchenAid) and mix in dissolved yeast and pineapple mixture. Beat until blended. Stir in enough remaining flour (2-3 c.) to make a stiff dough.
Knead on floured surface (or use dough hook in the mixer) until dough is smooth and elastic.
3) Let dough rest in lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat and cover with a plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in volume,  about 1 and half hours. Punch dough and let rise about an hour more. Portion into 18-20 rolls and put into 9x13 greased pan. (I had to put 4 extra in a cake pan.)
4)  Brush rolls with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 F in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Connected, but they pull apart so easily

I let my buns go a little bit too long (about 5 minutes extra) because they didn't look completely cooked. Don't make that mistake! My bottoms were definitely a little browned as a result. They were still super tasty though. I used mine as a side with butter, as a sandwich bread with roast beef and havarti, a quick breakfast with blackberry jam and my diabetic grandma said she used the slightly sweet bun as a dessert. These will be a make again for me for sure. Anything for those wonderful memories of Oahu!!