Einkorn Dinner Rolls

One of our fluffiest einkorn roll recipes ever, these light and delicious dinner rolls are achieved with a very wet and sticky dough. There’s a bit of a learning curve to working with wet einkorn dough, but we’ve discovered that letting go of the expectation of einkorn to “behave” like modern wheat, and working with its natural stickiness, can lead to beautiful results. 

While you can knead this dough with your hands if you prefer, this recipe relies on a mixer for ease. Once you make these rolls a few times, you’ll be able to eyeball the perfect dough consistency but until then, don’t be afraid to add a little more flour should the dough be too sticky to handle. But don’t add too much flour—the less flour you add, the fluffier they’ll turn out! Quick tip on handling sticky dough: put a little olive oil on your hands beforehand. 

Instructions

1. Make the Yeast Mixture: In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of honey. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. 
2. Mix the dough: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of honey, eggs, butter, salt, and 1 cup of the flour to the mixing bowl. Using a paddle attachment, mix on low until combined, about 30 seconds.
3. Add the remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together, about 1 minute.  Dough will be sticky, but if it seems too set or sticky to knead, add an additional tablespoon of flour as needed.
4. Knead the dough: keep the dough in the mixer with the dough hook attachment and continue to mix on medium for an additional 4-5 minutes, or until the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. You’re ultimately looking for a soft, sticky dough. If the dough becomes too sticky as you mix, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed.
5. First rise: Gather your dough and place in an oil-coated bowl to rise. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a draft-free area for 1 ½ -2 hours, or until nearly doubled in size.
6. Oil a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
7. Shape the rolls: After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead a few times with the help of a bench scraper. The dough is going to be very wet and sticky. Try to avoid adding too much additional flour, as the wet dough will yield fluffier rolls. Divide into 18 even little pieces and with oiled hands, shape into smooth balls (work quickly here and don’t aim for perfection). Place smoothed balls into baking dish, arranged in 3 rows of 6. With very wet dough, you can scoop out ¼ cup spoonfuls with a spatula (about 55 g each), then quickly roll in your hands.
8. Second rise: Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and allow to rise for the second time for about 45 minutes. Dough balls should be puffed up, but not quite doubled in size.
9. Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until golden on top. Remove from the oven, brush with remaining melted butter and sprinkle with flaky salt. 

Notes:

• Rolls are best enjoyed warm the day they’re made. They can be kept airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days and frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
• We tested this recipe with both active dry and instant yeast and do prefer instant—but it will work with both!