In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle yeast over warm milk. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter, honey, eggs, salt and half of the flour and mix until smooth. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Stir in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until a soft, sticky dough forms, about 5 minutes. The dough will look shaggy and move slowly off the beater but should be able to hold its shape— it will stabilize more through the folding process.
Spread 2 tablespoons of oil on a flat work surface in a 15-inch circle. Turn dough out onto the oiled surface and with oiled hands or a dough scraper, lift and fold the dough over on itself 4 or 5 times--you should notice the dough is very soft, but able to hold shape (not runny).
A dough scraper makes it easy to lift and fold the dough. A Cover with a bowl and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Repeat the folding and resting process 3 more times--a total of 4 folding sessions with 3 (5-min) resting times in between.
Oil a large bowl with olive oil, and using oiled hands, place dough in the prepared bowl, turning to coat with oil. (NOTE: At this point the dough can be placed in a refrigerated for up to 2 days until ready to let rise, shape and bake.)
Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let stand in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Inside the oven with only the oven light ON is a good, warm place free of drafts.)
Punch down dough and let rise for one more hour. Butter two 9x11 metal baking pans or line with parchment (the number of pans will depend on the size/number of rolls. Using a kitchen scale, weigh the dough. Divide the dough weight by the number of rolls you desire.
(The easiest way to make sure all the rolls are the same size is to use a kitchen scale.) With a little oil on your hands, pinch off and weigh out the rolls. Sprouted wheat dough can be sticky, so continue to apply oil throughout the shaping process as needed.
Shape each ball of dough in your hands by folding edges into the middle so the top side is smooth and place in the pan 1/4" apart. It's okay to crowd the rolls so they will touch when risen producing soft sides that easily peel away from each other when baked.
Cover and let rise for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size while preheating the oven to 375°F. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown (the internal temp should reach 190°F using an instant-read thermometer).
Remove from oven and brush tops generously with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
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Notes
Any sprouted whole wheat will work for this recipe, but white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour will produce the lightest rolls. IMPORTANT: “Holds its shape” means the dough may still slump or spread slightly when placed on the counter, but isn’t runny. This is important because once the dough can sit in a shaggy lump, only relaxing slightly, you can stop adding flour and switch to oil for handling the dough through the folding process. Through the folding and resting process, the dough will continue to hydrate and stabilize.