Soft & Airy Olive Oil Pull-Apart Buns

Fluffy, lightly sweet, and rich with olive oil, these tear-apart buns have a soft, almost pillowy texture that melts in your mouth. Baked together in a pan and generously drizzled with olive oil, they stay ultra-moist, making them perfect for dipping, spreading with butter, or enjoying as is.

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Recipe

Servings: 12-15 buns

Calories per serving: ~180 kcal

Total time: ~2 hours 45 minutes (including rising time)

Soft & Airy Olive Oil Pull-Apart Buns

Ingredients

• 3 ¾ cups (470g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast

• 1 ½ cups warm water (~110°F)

• 4 tablespoons honey

• ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling

Instructions

1. Activate the yeast: In a large bowl, mix warm water, honey, and yeast. Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy.

2. Make the dough: Add flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then knead for 5–7 minutes until smooth and slightly sticky.

3. First rise: Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 to 2 hours until doubled in size.

4. Shape the buns:

   • Generously grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with olive oil.

   • Divide the dough into 12–15 equal pieces and roll them into balls.

   • Arrange them in the pan, leaving just a little space between each for expansion.

   • Cover and let rise for another 30–40 minutes until puffy.

5. Oil & bake:

   • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

   • Drizzle the tops generously with olive oil.

   • Bake for 20–25 minutes, until lightly golden but still soft.

6. Steam for softness: Remove from the oven and immediately cover with a damp kitchen towel for 10 minutes to trap steam and enhance softness.

7. Cool & serve: Let cool slightly before pulling apart. Best enjoyed warm!

Nutritional Info (Per Bun, Approximate)

• Calories: 180 kcal

• Carbs: 30g

• Fat: 6g

• Protein: 4g

• Sugar: 4g

These buns are incredibly versatile—enjoy them with soup, use them for sandwiches, or just snack on them warm with a drizzle of honey or butter!

Ingredients

Activate the yeast

Activate the yeast

Make the dough

Make the dough

First rise

First rise

First rise

Shape the buns

Shape the buns

Shape the buns

Oil & bake

Oil & bake

Oil & bake

Steam for softness

Cool & serve

Cool & serve

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Prompt

I made focaccia the other day and it was insanely delicious, but the salt and rosemary were a little overpowering for my children. So I decided to make a dinner roll version.

I started by providing the focaccia recipe to ChatGPT with some additional modifications:

You gave me a focaccia recipe that was absolutely amazing! I think that what was so great about it as I took it out before it became crunchy so it was ultra soft, and I also graced the pan with a lot of olive oil and also drizzled a lot of olive oil on top so it came out really soft and almost like a donut. I want to take the same concept but make a more neutral bread that is not salty. Perhaps small buns that can easily be separated within the pan for easy grab so perhaps a slightly smaller amount but still the same taste of bread and using a lot of oil. Here is the recipe you gave me: 

Easy Homemade Focaccia with Rosemary

Ingredients
3 ¾ cups (470g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast
1 ½ cups warm water (~110°F)
2 tablespoons honey or sugar
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
Flaky salt, for topping


Instructions
1. Activate yeast: In a large bowl, combine warm water, honey (or sugar), and yeast. Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy.
2. Make the dough: Add flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then knead for 5–7 minutes until smooth and slightly sticky.
3. First rise: Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 to 2 hours until doubled in size.
4. Shape the focaccia: Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Press the dough into the pan, stretching it to fit. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.
5. Dimple & top: Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Use your fingers to press deep dimples into the dough. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary and flaky salt.
6. Bake: Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden brown and crisp on the edges.
7. Cool & serve: Let cool slightly before slicing. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!

It gave me a wonderful recipe:

You can absolutely take the same concept and turn it into soft, neutral-flavored pull-apart buns while keeping that ultra-soft, oil-rich texture. Here’s how to adapt your focaccia recipe into soft, slightly sweet, olive oil-infused buns:

Soft Olive Oil Pull-Apart Buns

Ingredients

• 3 ¾ cups (470g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt (reduce from 1 ½ tsp for a milder taste)

• 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast

• 1 ½ cups warm water (~110°F)

• 2 tablespoons honey or sugar

• ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling

Instructions

1. Activate yeast: In a large bowl, mix warm water, honey (or sugar), and yeast. Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy.

2. Make the dough: Add flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then knead for 5–7 minutes until smooth and slightly sticky.

3. First rise: Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 to 2 hours until doubled in size.

4. Shape the buns:

   • Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan generously with olive oil.

   • Divide the dough into 12–15 equal pieces and roll into balls.

   • Arrange them in the pan, leaving just a little space between each for expansion.

   • Cover and let rise for another 30–40 minutes until puffy.

5. Oil & bake:

   • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

   • Generously drizzle the tops with olive oil.

   • Bake for 20–25 minutes, until lightly golden but still soft.

6. Cool & serve: Let cool slightly before pulling apart. Best enjoyed warm!

These will have the same pillowy softness as your focaccia but in an easy-to-grab bun form, with a less salty, more neutral flavor. You could even brush them with a little more olive oil after baking for extra softness. Let me know if you want to tweak anything further!

Since my target audience is children, hopefully for sandwich bread, I asked for it to be a little sweeter:

Make it 4 tbsp honey

It adjusted the recipe:

Here's the adjusted recipe with 4 tablespoons of honey for a slightly sweeter touch:

Soft Olive Oil Pull-Apart Buns

Ingredients

• 3 ¾ cups (470g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant yeast

• 1 ½ cups warm water (~110°F)

• 4 tablespoons honey

• ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling

Instructions

1. Activate yeast: In a large bowl, mix warm water, honey, and yeast. Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy.

2. Make the dough: Add flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then knead for 5–7 minutes until smooth and slightly sticky.

3. First rise: Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 to 2 hours until doubled in size.

4. Shape the buns:

   • Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan generously with olive oil.

   • Divide the dough into 12–15 equal pieces and roll into balls.

   • Arrange them in the pan, leaving just a little space between each for expansion.

   • Cover and let rise for another 30–40 minutes until puffy.

5. Oil & bake:

   • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

   • Generously drizzle the tops with olive oil.

   • Bake for 20–25 minutes, until lightly golden but still soft.

6. Cool & serve: Let cool slightly before pulling apart. Optionally, brush with more olive oil for extra softness.

With the extra honey, these should have a slightly richer, subtly sweet flavor while still keeping that ultra-soft texture you loved. Let me know how they turn out!

The recipe called for drizzling olive oil on the buns, and I was wondering if butter would be better for children's palette. So I asked:

Can I drizzle top with butter instead of better with olive oil?

It approved:

Yes! Drizzling butter instead of olive oil on top will give the buns a richer, slightly sweeter flavor with a soft, tender crust rather than a slightly chewy one. Here’s how to adjust:

• Follow the same recipe, but after baking, brush the tops generously with melted butter instead of olive oil.

• For extra softness, cover the buns with a clean towel for about 10 minutes after brushing with butter to trap steam.

This will give you a more classic, pillowy dinner roll vibe while still keeping the olive oil richness inside the dough. Want to tweak anything else?

I decided to use butter, but when I went to the fridge I found out that I only have salted butter:

I only have salted butter so I went with olive oil and still covered with damp kitchen cloth for a few mins

It was cool with that:

That sounds like a great call! The olive oil keeps the texture ultra-soft, and covering them with a damp cloth helps trap steam for even more fluffiness. How did they turn out? Did they have that pillowy, almost donut-like softness you were aiming for?

Please check out the recipe at the top of this page or click the link below.

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