# Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

By Willy Bear · 2026-10-13 · https://ricottabear.com/hawaiian-sweet-rolls


Soft, fluffy, lightly sweet pull-apart rolls made with pineapple juice, like the ones in the orange bag, made from scratch.

## The story

A from-scratch take on the soft, sweet rolls in the orange bag. Warm pineapple juice wakes up the yeast and gives the rolls their gentle sweetness, butter and eggs make them rich and tender, and they bake side by side in two pans so they pull apart in soft, squishy squares. Brush them with butter the second they come out.

Kate Dean’s recipe from I Heart Eating, written out here in my own words.

## Recipe: Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Soft, lightly sweet pull-apart rolls made with pineapple juice, butter and eggs. Makes 24 dinner rolls or 12 to 18 larger buns.

> Status: UNTESTED. The author has not made this yet; quantities and timings may change.

- Makes: 24 rolls
- Prep: 1 hr 30 min
- Bake: 25 min
- Total: 4 hr 55 min

### Ingredients

- 355 ml (1½ cups) pineapple juice
- 1½ tbsp (4½ tsp) active dry yeast
- 132 g (⅔ cup) granulated sugar, divided
- 113 g (½ cup) butter, at room temperature, plus extra for brushing the rolls
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 600 g (5 cups) bread flour, up to 6 cups; Kate uses about 5½
- 1 tsp table salt

### Method

1. **Get ready.** Grease two 9 x 13 inch pans and set them aside.
2. **Warm the juice.** Warm the pineapple juice in a small saucepan over medium-low heat to about 105°F (40°C), warm but not hot.
3. **Wake the yeast.** In the stand mixer bowl, stir the yeast with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pour in the warm juice, stir and leave for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy.
4. **Mix.** Add the rest of the sugar, the butter, vanilla and eggs and stir with the paddle to combine.
5. **Add the flour.** Switch to the dough hook. Add 3 cups of the flour and the salt and mix on low. Keep adding flour ½ cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should still feel slightly sticky. Kate usually needs about 5½ cups in total.
6. **Knead and rise.** Once the dough clears the sides, knead for about another minute. Cover the bowl and leave it until doubled, about 1½ hours.
7. **Shape.** Shape the dough into 24 rolls for dinner rolls, or 12 to 18 for bigger buns, and put half in each pan.
8. **Second rise.** Cover and leave until doubled again, about 1½ hours. Heat the oven toward the end. Oven: 350°F / 180°C (160°C fan).
9. **Bake.** Bake about 20 minutes for dinner rolls, until golden brown. Brush with butter straight away, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes: No bread flour? Kate has made these with all-purpose flour too; she needed about ½ to 1 cup more, so 6 to 6½ cups in total. The recipe card says 25 minutes in the oven, and the method says about 20 for dinner-sized rolls: start checking at 20, and give bigger buns longer.