So I’ve been trying for a while to create my own version of King Hawaiian rolls. If you’re not familiar with these they are dinner rolls but slightly sweet. I love using them for pulled pork sliders. I tried a couple of recipes I found off the internet, including the one from the King Hawaiian website, but none of them were quite right.

Then it occurred to me, what if I took a recipe I already love and combined it with my Herman starter? So I pulled out my favorite cookbook, the Farm Journal’s Country cookbook that my mom gave me, and went to the Rich Hot Rolls recipe. I made a few changes, including adding Herman starter, and I really like the way they turned out. This recipe makes 24 rolls, so a lot! Enjoy.

Rich Rolls

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter + extra for buttering the tops when baking
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup water (110° to 115° )
• 4 1/4 to 4 3/4 cups sifted flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup Herman starter

Scald milk*; add butter and sugar and stir until butter is melted and sugar has dissolved. Cool to lukewarm.

Sprinkle yeast on warm water and stir to dissolve. Should start to foam after a few minutes to show the yeast is active and good.

Add milk and water/yeast to a stand mixer (or just a large bowl if you don’t have one). Add in 1 1/2 cups of flour, mix until smooth (about a minute). Add in the Herman starter and eggs, beat until smooth. Gradually stir in enough remaining flour, a little at a time, to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl.

Switch to a dough hook, or if not using a stand mixer turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and work until it’s smooth and satiny. Shouldn’t be sticky but don’t over flour as that’ll make your rolls tough.

Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, place in a warm spot and let it rise until doubled. About 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide and shape into rolls (should make 24). Arrange in a lightly greased or buttered baking pan. Brush with melted butter and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Set oven to 400°. Brush with a little more melted butter (I also added a little sprinkle of flake sea salt but that’s optional) bake for 20-25 minutes, the tops should be golden brown.

*So what does scald mean? Basically you’re getting the milk hot enough to almost start to boil and then you turn the heat off. Careful as you don’t want it to burn or scorch, which is why you want to stir it while doing this.