Whole Wheat Clover Dinner Rolls

5 from 1 vote

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This Whole Wheat Clover Dinner Rolls recipe makes soft and fluffy rolls! They are super easy to make using a muffin pan and pull apart into three pieces, which means more places to put the butter!

whole wheat clover rolls in white dish next to stick of butter on white surface.

I’ve been searching for a great whole wheat clover roll recipe for years, and love this one. My mom’s homemade dinner rolls recipe just didn’t adapt well from the Indiana baking of my childhood to my Utah baking now. The altitude and dryness really do change things! I think the eggs in the recipe are the key; the bread is very tender and soft because of them.

The clover roll is my mother-in-law’s specialty. She makes Grandma Lucy’s famous clover rolls for every family gathering; no one complains because they’re exquisite. I think she owns twelve to fifteen muffin tins to make gobs and gobs of rolls at a time. Let me know if you make these! I think you’ll be super pleased because they are fantastic.

clover rolls with pat of butter and drizzled with honey on white surface.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Here’s the beauty of the clover roll: a traditional roll is broken in half, and you can butter the top and bottom, while a clover roll splits into three pieces. Three pieces buttered instead of two is always a good thing.
  • They are absolutely beautiful. They look fancy and elevate the look of any dinner table!
  • Freshly baked bread’s wonderful taste and aroma is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Sugar
  • Yeast
  • Eggs
  • Honey
  • Butter
  • Wheat gluten
  • Whole wheat flour

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

rolls in the clover shape overflowing from a while bowl.

How to Make Clover Dinner Rolls

whole wheat clover roll dough.
adding flour to bread reciepe.

Step 1: Add water, sugar, and yeast

Step 2: Add the eggs, honey, butter, salt, gluten, and flour

top view of raw whole wheat clover roll dough in a muffin tin.
hand holding a clover roll broke apart.

Step 3: Shape the dough into a ball and let rise.

Step 4: Bake the rolls in the hot oven and enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

How do you make sure whole wheat dinner rolls Are fluffy?

The common issue with baking with whole wheat is that it can easily make the dough heavier and more challenging to rise. To get around this and get extra fluffy whole wheat clover rolls, 2 eggs, and a half-cup of butter in the recipe, allow the buns to rise and get nice and puffy.

How long do clover dinner rolls last?

These will last well in the fridge for up to a week. If you freeze them, they’ll last up to four months.

How long should the dough rise?

After mixing and kneading the dough, it should rise for about an hour and double in size. After you portion the small balls of dough out into the muffin tins, let them rise again for another half-hour.

top view of raw whole wheat clover roll dough in a muffin tin.

Expert Tips

  • Looking for more dinner roll recipes? You’ll love Mom’s Jumbo Dinner Rolls!
  • To freeze, wrap them in tin foil and place them in a freezer-safe zipper-topped baggie. They will last up to 4 months frozen.
  • Leftover clover rolls should be stored at room temperature. Let them cool completely, then wrap them in tin foil and place them inside a sealable baggie. Refrigerating them may dry them out and cause them to become stale, so keep them at room temperature for up to five days.
fresh baked whole wheat clover rolls in a muffin tin - close up.

More Bread Recipes to Consider

a pile of whole wheat clover rolls on a white ceramic bowl
5 from 1 vote

Whole Wheat Clover Rolls

This Whole Wheat Clover Dinner Rolls recipe makes soft and fluffy rolls! They are super easy to make using a muffin pan and pull apart into three pieces, which means more places to put the butter!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 18 minutes
Total: 2 hours
Servings: 18 rolls

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons wheat gluten, optional
  • 7 to 8 cups whole wheat flour
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Instructions 

  • Add the warm water, sugar, and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer and allow it to sit and get bubbly for 5 minutes.
  • Add the eggs, honey, butter, salt, gluten, and 2 cups of flour to the bowl. Using a dough hook, mix the ingredients in the bowl on low speed for 5 to 6 minutes. This is the stage my mom calls “the cake batter stage,” and it is important to work the gluten in the whole wheat flour well at this point.
  • Add the remaining flour, a half-cup at a time, while the mixer is running, until the dough starts to pull away from the edges of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom of the bowl.
  • Let the dough mix well in between each addition of flour. It should take around 10 minutes of mixing, adding flour, mixing, etc. for the dough to be ready.
  • When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until it is soft and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and return to a clean, lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 18 muffin tin holes.
  • To make the rolls, pinch a small piece of dough, about the size of a large marble or small walnut, and shape it into a round ball. The top of the dough just needs to be round, the bottom can be more pointed. Lots of the imperfections in the shape will smooth out as the dough rises again. Put the piece of dough into a muffin tin hole. Repeat this process until the dough is gone and you have three little balls of dough in each muffin tin hole. Let the rolls rise in the muffin tins, covered, for 30 minutes.
  • Bake the rolls in the hot oven for 18 to 22 minutes until the tops start to brown. Dump the rolls out of the tin into a towel when the come out of the oven. Serve hot with butter and honey.

Notes

  • I’m sure the bread could be made without adding gluten, but I think it helps. Gluten is cheap and can be found in the baking aisle. I think it’s worth the purchase if you are going to be making lots of whole wheat bread products.
  • To freeze, wrap them in tin foil and place them in a freezer-safe zipper-topped baggie. They will last up to 4 months frozen.
  • Leftover clover rolls should be stored at room temperature. 
  • Refrigerating them may dry them out and cause them to become stale.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 of 18 rolls, Calories: 247kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 179mg, Potassium: 187mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 188IU, Vitamin C: 0.05mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 2mg
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2 Comments

  1. Patti says:

    The rolls look deliciousous

  2. Ashley says:

    Loving your pictures! These rolls look delicious and I love the honey stirrer thingy – I don’t know if it has a real name, but it’s so cute! I must try these rolls!