High Altitude Honey Poppy Seed Dinner Rolls

High altitude honey poppy seed dinner rolls are easy to make in a pretty cloverleaf shape, with an incredibly soft and fluffy texture. These poppy seed rolls are based on my popular milk buns recipe, using a tangzhong starter to keep the rolls pillowy soft and fresh tasting, even days after baking. All in all, these are truly the perfect dinner rolls!

You might also love these pumpkin shaped dinner rolls, Parker House dinner rolls with maple butter, and cheesy garlic herb bread rolls.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfect for Any Occasion. Whether you’re making dinner rolls for Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just to accompany a special pot roast dinner, these poppy seed dinner rolls go with everything. The honey adds a subtle sweetness, which pairs nicely with the nuttiness of the poppy seeds. They’re great slathered with softened butter or strawberry jam.

Versatile Shapes. You can use today’s dough recipe to make soft sided pull apart dinner rolls in a baking pan, or even bake the buns separately on a large baking sheet to make poppy seed sandwich rolls. And to learn how to shape clover leaf rolls, be sure to scroll through today’s post for step-by-step instructions.

Soft for Days. Thanks to the tangzhong starter (a simple cooked paste or roux of flour, milk and water) in the dough, these rolls don’t dry out and turn stale. Even days after baking, they’re still soft and fluffy.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. With yeast bread and yeast rolls recipes, altitude will mainly affect the rising or proofing time for the dough. You’ll find that the higher the elevation, the faster the dough rises, so you’ll need to watch the dough to make sure it doesn’t over-proof.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Tangzhong

• The tangzhong starter is a simple mixture of water, milk and flour. Added to the dough, it keeps the buns soft and pillowy, and helps them rise higher and fluffier.

Dough

• Butter. Unsalted butter adds moisture, richness and flavor to the buns. You’ll also need a little extra butter to grease the pan.
• Milk. Whole milk adds fat and richness for a tender, flavorful roll.
• Yeast. The yeast is the leavening agent which makes the buns rise. I highly recommend Red Star Platinum Premium Instant Yeast. It makes truly superior bread and rolls.
• Honey. Sweetens the rolls and helps to feed and activate the yeast.
• Bread Flour. With its higher percentage of protein (which gives bread a chewier texture), bread flour is the best choice for these poppy seed dinner rolls, rather than all purpose flour. I used this High Altitude Hungarian Flour, which you can find at King Soopers in Colorado and a few other mid-western states.
• Poppy Seeds. The poppy seeds add pretty speckles and a nutty flavor.
• Salt. Flavor. If you want flavorful rolls, don’t skimp on the salt.
• Egg. Gives the dough structure and a richer flavor.

Egg Wash

• An egg beaten with a little milk and brushed over the buns before baking makes them golden brown and shiny.

Instructions

Make the Tangzhong

• In a small saucepan, whisk together the water, milk and flour. Cook over medium heat for several minutes, whisking constantly, until it thickens into a paste.
• Remove from the heat, scrape the tangzhong into a small bowl, and set aside until needed.

Make the Dough

• In the same saucepan you used to make the tangzhong (no need to wash the pan first), melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the milk, and warm the mixture just until it reaches between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of honey. Let sit for a few minutes until it starts to get bubbly.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine all but 1/2 cup of the flour with the poppy seeds and salt, the remainder of the honey, the warm yeast mixture, the cooled tangzhong and egg.
• With the dough hook, knead the dough for 10 minutes, gradually adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, only if needed. The dough should be soft and smooth, and will wrap around the dough hook, but may still stick to the bottom of the bowl. Don’t be tempted to add more flour, though, or the buns will be dense.

• Scrape the dough into a greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This could take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the freshness/brand of yeast, and how warm your kitchen is.
• If your oven has a bread proof setting, you can use that. Otherwise, preheat your oven to the lowest setting, turn it off, then set the dough inside to rise.

Shape the Buns

• Lightly grease the inside and top of a muffin pan with butter.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gently press the air out of the dough.
• Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into 12 equal portions. Then cut each of those portions into thirds, trying to keep each piece of dough evenly sized. You’ll now have 36 small pieces of dough.

• Take a piece of dough, cup it in your hand, and pinch the dough together to form it into a ball, so that it’s smooth on top and pinched on the bottom.
• Place three balls of dough into each muffin cup, with the smooth side of the dough balls facing up.
• Cover the pan loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside until the rolls are starting to puff up, about 20-30 minutes.

Bake

• Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the egg and milk, and brush the egg wash over the rolls. This will give them a beautiful golden brown shine as they bake. Lightly sprinkle the top of the rolls with poppy seeds.

• Bake the rolls for about 15 minutes, until golden brown on top and an instant read digital thermometer inserted in the rolls reads 190 F.
• Let cool for a few minutes, then serve warm with softened butter.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know when homemade dinner rolls are done?

Using a digital instant read thermometer to take the internal temperature of your rolls is the best way to know if bread and rolls are fully baked through. If you under-bake them, they’ll be doughy and gooey, instead of light, pillowy and fluffy. Aim for an internal temperature of between 190-195 F, although a little higher won’t hurt anything, if you want to leave the rolls in the oven for a few minutes longer to get a darker color on them.

Can I use sugar or other sweeteners instead of honey?

Yes, you can use granulated sugar, honey, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or a variety of other sweeteners.

How do I make these into pull apart dinner rolls instead of cloverleaf dinner rolls?

For pull apart rolls, shape the dough into 12 buns, and place the buns, smooth side up, in a buttered 9×13 baking dish. Let sit until puffy, then brush with the egg wash. Bake at 350 F, for about 20-25 minutes, until the internal temperature of the rolls reaches 190F.

How do I make poppy seed sandwich rolls or buns?

For sandwich rolls, shape the dough into 12 buns, and place the buns, smooth side up, on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave 3 inches between the rolls so they don’t touch as they puff up. Let sit until puffy, then brush with the egg wash. Bake at 375 F, for about 20 minutes, until the internal temperature of the rolls reaches 190F.

What’s the best way to reheat leftover rolls?

To reheat, place the buns in the oven and warm them at 300 F for about 5-7 minutes. Or, reheat them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds at 50% power.

Can poppy seed rolls be frozen?

You can store leftover buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or place the baked rolls in a freezer bag, gently press the air out, and freeze the rolls for up to 3-6 months. Let thaw completely, then reheat before serving.

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