Entrees

Much of my childhood was spent sneaking the King’s Hawaiian Rolls my parents would buy for special occasions. I knew when they came home from the store with a package, we were having people over for some reason or another. The package would slowly disappear every time  they turned their backs. I may have been slipping a tiny hand into the bag and pulling off a roll or two. The thought of these sweet rolls always makes my heart happy, still. Unfortunately, I realized they were not vegan when I got older and wanted to spread this love to my daughter. My daughter is a vegetarian and eats dairy and eggs, but I wanted something we could have together.

My husband bought some King’s Hawaiian Rolls a while back to make sliders out of, and then I got the idea to just make my own. How hard could it be? I mean really, I have a bit of knowledge about yeast bread making and what generally goes into these rolls, so as I always say, “I can totally make that vegan.” I found a few reference, Girl meets kitchen , and Food.com . These were a great help to get me started.

So here is the veganized version I came up with. They are so delicious, they take me right back to the happier times I had as a child. Food was always involved in my the memories I have that I am actually fond of. The point I am trying to make every day is to make healthier versions of the food that comforted me, and make healthier versions of the memories I had for my daughter, so that we may have a healthier life, physically and mentally. Please enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 C. All purpose flour

1/2 tsp. Ginger

1 1/2 Flax eggs( so that ends up being 3 Tbsp. Flax meal + 4 1/2 Tbsp. Water)

1 C. Pineapple Juice

1/3 C. White sugar

1/2 Tsp. Vanilla

2 1/4 tsp. Dry active yeast

1/4 C. Vegan butter( I use Earth Balance)

Directions:

1. Mix together flax eggs, pineapple juice, sugar and vanilla in a small mixing bowl.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add half the flour and the ginger, make a well in the center.
3. Add warm melted vegan butter to the wet mixture, and pour into the center of the dry mixture.
4. Sprinkle the yeast on to the wet center and begin to mix together with a wooden spoon.
5. Add the remaining flour and mix until fully combined.
6. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for a few minutes with as much extra flour as you need to make smooth and not sticky.
7. Place dough into greased bowl and let rise for an hour in a warm dry place.
8. Once doubled in size, turn back onto floured surface, cut in half, and then cut each half into 8 pieces. You should get 16 pieces total. Roll each section into a ball and put up against each other in a greased pan.
9. Let rise for another 30 minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 350. Brush the tops of each roll with vegan butter, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Half way through, I brushed the rolls with more vegan butter.
11. Put whateva you want on them, they are amazing!
12. P.S I put more Earth Balance on them!