Soft & Savory Rosemary Challah Bread Rolls
There is something about a fluffy roll, am I right? Yes, I am. Add in some rosemary, and you have fluffy roll magic. Rosemary is one of the best herbs in my opinion (which is an opinion I share a lot based on my various recipes like my beloved Rosemary Shortbread and these Rosemary & White Chocolate Scones) for both sweet and savory baking.
The beauty of these rolls, besides their literal beauty, amirighttt, is that they are fairly simple to turn into something gorgeous. Once you divide your dough-yes, you will need a digital scale for this – and roll each piece into a cylinder, simply flatten with a rolling pin, split with a knife, and twist! Spiral your twist into a round roll and leave on your baking tray to rise. Voila! P.S. I understand that reading that likely made you say “simple??” but I promise they come together easily and are really fun to make.
The richness of the challah dough combined with the savoriness of the fresh rosemary makes for a roll match made in heaven. These soft, braided challah beauties will look perfect on your plate as a side or cut in half and used to make a delicious sandwich!
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WHAT IS CHALLAH?
Challah is an enriched dough, meaning that instead of being made with just flour, water, salt, and yeast, there are fats added to it like butter and oil, sugar (in this case, honey), eggs, and sometimes milk, though not in this recipe. You’ll find challah braided, sometimes into a loaf or knots, and traditionally eaten around the holidays and on the Sabbath by Jewish people. It’s a delightfully soft bread, due to all that enriched goodness, and very fun to make!
How to eat challah: Challah can be made sweet or savory. These rosemary challah rolls lean on the savory side, making them perfect as an accompaniment to lunch or dinner, as buns for hamburgers, or simply with a little butter spread on them. For a sweet challah, I love to have a slice or roll with a little butter and cinnamon-sugar.
INGREDIENTS
- Warm Water: Adds moisture while the warmth activates the yeast
- Dry Yeast: Gives your rolls their rise
- Egg: Adds to the flavor, color, and puff of your rolls
- Canola Oil: Further fat enrichment for a soft and tender loaf
- Honey: Provides a hint of natural sweetness and a little color contribution
- Bread Flour: Makes for a softer texture while providing structure
- Salt: Strengthens the gluten, balances flavor, and aids in the color of the final crust
- Rosemary: Brings a delicious savory bite
- Butter: Gives a finishing gloss
Can I make my rolls smaller? Absolutely! As they are, these rolls are roughly the size of hamburger buns, making them great as a side or for a sandwich. If you want something a little smaller, feel free to cut the weight in half to get 16, 47g rolls. Note that if you make them smaller, their bake time should be less, so start checking their temperature at the 8-minute mark.
HOW TO MAKE ROSEMARY CHALLAH ROLLS
Start by blooming your yeast. Combine your warm water and yeast in the bowl of your mixer, fitted with a dough hook, and leave it to sit for 5 minutes, until your yeast has bloomed and become frothy.
Separately, grab a bowl or pitcher and whisk together your beaten egg, oil, and honey until combined. Then pour half of your egg mixture into the mixing bowl with the water. Carefully add in your flour and set your mixer to the lowest speed. Keep an eye on it and once it’s mostly combined, add in the remainder of your egg mixture. You’ll notice the dough start to come together, at this stage turn your mixer up to a medium speed and knead it for 5 minutes. Use a dough scraper or firm spatula to scrape down the sides of your bowl, and then turn the mixer to the next highest speed. At this point, you’re looking to get the dough to cling to the hook and “clean the bowl,” aka as the dough hits the sides, it immediately pulls away, taking any dough that was there and leaving a smooth bowl.
Scrape the bowl and give a brief mix one last time if you need to, before adding your salt and some of your rosemary, mixing on the lowest speed just until combined. Scrape down your bowl and cover with a towel, leaving it to rest in a warm space until doubled in size. This should take about an hour, but see notes below if your home tends to be colder.
When your dough has risen, test to see if it’s ready by pressing your finger gently into the dough. You want the indent you just made with your finger to slowly release; that’s when you know it’s ready to use!
Grab a cutting board, dough scraper, and your digital scale, and start to cut your dough into 8, 94g balls. Each roll will likely start as a pile of scraps as you cut to get the right weight, no worries, you will roll it together shortly. Make sure that you’re not tearing or pulling your dough as you cut it; just make as many clean, straight up-and-down cuts as you need to.
To shape, take one of your balls and flatten it into a rectangle; this will help to degas it. Then roll it into a cylinder, roughly a foot in length, kind of like making a snake. You can lightly flour your surface as you need to, to prevent sticking, but you don’t want to use too much and dry out your dough. Form all of your dough balls into cylinders and then, one at a time, use a rolling pin to flatten one of your cylinders. Grab a knife and cut a vertical line starting at the halfway point, splitting the dough down the middle, making sure not to drag your knife. Twist one piece over the other to form a twisted strand, then cut a vertical line from the halfway point upward, and repeat, twisting up. Now you should have one long twisted strand. Hold one end of the dough in each hand and swing it like a jump rope to tighten the twist before holding one end against the counter and swirling the dough in a spiral around it, to form your rolls. Be sure to tuck your end underneath the roll and then place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can bake up to 6 rolls on one large sheet, so have two baking sheets prepped for your rolls to do their final rise on.
Once your rolls are formed and on your baking sheet, cover them with a towel and let them proof until doubled in size, roughly another hour.
Set your oven rack to the third shelf down and preheat your oven to 350°F, and brush each of your challah rolls with the remainder of your beaten egg. Bake your rolls for 13-15 minutes, until a digital thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 185°F. Remove your rolls from the oven, place them on a wire rack to cool, and add your second tray to the oven to bake.
Once your rolls are cool, melt the remaining butter and mix in the rest of the chopped rosemary before brushing it over your rolls.
3 reasons you’ll love these rolls
TIPS & VARIATIONS
- Don’t have rosemary? No problem! You can swap in for any herb you have on hand or make your own spice blend. These also are delicious on their own, if you find yourself out of any herbs to chose from.
- Make sure you properly rise your dough. If you live in a colder climate or your house just leans cold, your dough may take longer to rise than mentioned below. As a trick, if you turn your oven on to the lowest setting and let it heat for a minute or two, then turn it off. It should create a light warmth where you can rise your dough with the door cracked open, without it being too hot. You can also just place your dough to rise in a cold oven with the light on, the light providing a little extra warmth.
- Yes, you can temperature-check bread for doneness, and I highly recommend it! Use a digital thermometer, inserting the tip into the center of your knot so not to leave a mark. Bread is done at 190F, though for this bread you can take it out once it hits 188F, as it will continue to bake a few degrees up once you remove it from the oven.
- These rolls turn out roughly the size of hamburger buns so if you prefer a smaller roll, feel free to weigh them at half the size mentioned below. Keep in mind that a smaller roll should have a shorter bake time, so start checking their temperature at the 8 minute mark.
MAKING AHEAD & STORING
Bread is at its best and freshest the day it is made. These rolls will keep in an airtight bag at room temperature for 2-3 days, but they will lose their softness as time passes. You can also freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
MORE ROSEMARY RECIPES
If you love rosemary in baked goods (or haven’t tried but want to give it a go), I’ve got you covered! These Rosemary White Chocolate Thumbprints are one of my favorites and are filled with pools of white chocolate ganache. For a simple savory option perfect for lunch or dinner, try this Simple Mushroom & Rosemary Galette, perfect served with a little side salad.
Equipment
- Mixer
- Dough Hook Attachment
- Dough Scraper
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Digital Scale
- Towel
- Pastry Brush
- Food Thermometer
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 ½ tsp dry yeast
- ⅓ cup beaten egg less than two eggs, save the remainder for egg wash
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 3 ½ tbsp honey
- 2 ¾ cups bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted
- 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook, combine your 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp of warm water and yeast and leave to sit for five minutes to allow it to bloom
- In a pitcher, combine your beaten egg, canola oil, and honey and give a good mix. Pour half of the mixture into the mixing bowl with the yeast/water.
- Add flour to the mixing bowl and set to lowest speed.
- Once mostly combined, add the remainder of your honey mixture to the mixing bowl
- When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium for five minutes
- Scrape down the bowl and put up to the next highest speed. Mix until the dough is clinging to the hook and cleaning the bowl
- If you need to, scrape the bowl down a final time and mix briefly to bring any remaining pieces together
- On low speed, add your salt and 2 tbsp of rosemary; mix until combined
- Scrape down the bowl and then cover with a towel, leave to rest until doubled in size (roughly 1 hour)
- Press your finger gently into the dough, when the indent you made slowly releases it’s ready!
- Using a digital scale and a dough scraper (or a knife), split your dough into eight, 94g balls, cutting from other pieces until all come to an equal weight. Do not tear or pull your dough to do this.
- Take each of the eight pieces and de-gas them one by one, flattening lightly into a rectangle
- Gently roll out each piece of dough into roughly a foot-long cylinder. Lightly flour your surface as needed, so the dough doesn’t tear.
- One cylinder at a time, use a rolling pin to flatten your piece of dough, and then with a knife, cut a vertical line from the halfway point down, splitting the dough down the middle. Do not drag your knife. Twist one piece over the other, to form a twisted strand. Cut a vertical line from the halfway point upward now, and twist the remaining dough together. With one end of your twisted strand in each hand, swing the dough lightly like a jump rope, to tighten the strands. Then, holding one end, swirl the dough around it to form a spiral, tucking the last end underneath. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lay your roll on one of them, splitting the rest of your rolls between the two, placing them with a few inches of space inbetween.
- Once you’ve formed all of your rolls, cover them with a towel and let proof until double in size (about an hour)
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- Brush your challah knot with the remainder of your beaten egg, be careful not to let the brush pull at the dough
- Bake on the third shelf down in your oven for 13-15 minutes. You will need to insert a thermometer into the middle hole of the dough – probing through the middle crack, don’t poke through one of your pretty knot lines. The temperature should be between 188-194F for your dough to be fully cooked.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely
- Melt 2 tbsp butter with 1 tsp of chopped rosemary and brush over your cooled rolls
- Enjoy!
