Hawaiian Bread Machine Recipe — Soft, Sweet Homemade Loaf

Make yourself something sweet and soft and oh-so-comforting with this easy hawaiian bread recipe made right in the bread machine!

The hands-off method lets your machine do all the work while you do other things and have amazing, tasty homemade bread for dinner.

This sweet bread recipe will remind you of the grocery store standard and yet is full of natural ingredients and no preservatives so that you can feel good about serving it to your loved ones.

Flour Choices

Generally speaking, bread flour is recommended for bread machine use. I went with all-purpose flour here and still got a wonderfully tender and fluffy loaf.

You could easily substitute bread flour if desired.

I did not test this recipe with whole wheat flour, I imagine you could substitute some of the white flour but the texture would definitely be different.

Pineapple Juice

The pineapple juice is the key ingredient, don’t try to substitute it with something else, it simply won’t have the flavor you expect.

If you’re eating some pineapple chunks canned in juice, this is a great way to use up that juice and prevent any waste of the good stuff. This way you avoid the extra cost of buying pineapple juice just to make the recipe (unless you regularly drink it anyway).

Make Fluffy Rolls Instead

Want to make some hawaiian rolls instead of a loaf? Simply use your machine’s dough cycle.

Once the dough cycle is done, punch dough down and turn out onto lightly floured surface to form rolls. Then place on a greased baking sheet and let rise in a warm place.

Once risen, bake in a 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until done – time will vary based on size of rolls.

If you love bread machine rolls, my bread machine dinner rolls are another favorite — a classic soft roll that works for any occasion.

Yeast Choices

I use instant yeast for ease in every bread machine recipe I test. If you want to use active dry yeast or bread machine yeast, simply follow your manufacturer’s instructions but I can’t say for certainty in what amount.

Troubleshooting

My bread didn’t rise well or came out dense. This is the most common issue with enriched sweet doughs in a bread machine. A few possible causes: the pineapple juice was too cold when added (it should be at room temperature or slightly warm), the yeast is old, or the sugar and fat slowed the yeast down more than expected. Make sure all liquid ingredients are at room temperature before adding them to the machine.

My bread isn’t sweet enough. The sweetness in Hawaiian bread is subtle rather than dessert-sweet — that’s true to the style. If you’d like more sweetness, you can increase the sugar by one tablespoon next time. Don’t skip or reduce the pineapple juice as it provides both flavor and some natural sweetness.

The crust is too dark or thick. Hawaiian bread browns quickly because of the sugar and egg content. If your crust is coming out darker than you’d like, select the light crust setting on your machine. Every machine runs a little differently so it’s worth experimenting with crust settings on the first bake.

The loaf collapsed in the center. A sunken top usually means too much liquid, too much yeast, or the dough over-proofed. Make sure you’re measuring the pineapple juice accurately and that your yeast measurement is level. Humidity can also affect enriched doughs — if you’re baking on a very humid day, the dough may need slightly less liquid.

How to Serve

Use like you would any homemade loaves of bread. Serve slices or dinner rolls at feasts for an easy and wonderful side dish.

Toast it for breakfast and slather in a little bit of butter, jam, or peanut butter.

Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to tuck into lunch boxes.

If you have some leftover, use it for French toast the next day for a wonderful breakfast treat that will soothe any sweet tooth.

How to Store

Place any leftover cooled bread into a bread bag or airtight container where it should stay fresh for up to 5 days at room temp.

For longer term storage, place into a freezer bag or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. You can freeze the entire loaf or pre-slice and freeze for later.

Let frozen bread thaw on the counter prior to serving. Use up any frozen bread within 6 months for best flavor.