This is my way of making fluffy, light and buttery dinner rolls. My recipe is EASY and quick to prep, and the rolls turn out absolutely beautiful.
This is how I make my homemade dinner rolls – with an easy dough that’s quick to put together, and with the perfect result!
The dough is very soft, just like when making Cinnamon Rolls – this makes the rolls turn out wonderfully soft and fluffy, and you can either brush them with regular butter or with garlic butter after baking for a more savory variety.
These are best eaten warm slathered in butter (or Honey Butter!), but they keep for a day in case you have leftovers. We make them for every holiday – Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, you name it! They are perfect to make sliders with, too.
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Yeast: If using organic yeast, the dough may need more time to rise. Instant yeast can be used in place of the active yeast, the dough will rise faster.
- Milk: I prefer whole milk, but any milk can be used.
- Sugar: The sugar helps the yeast to grow and helps with the soft texture of the rolls, it doesn’t make the rolls overly sweet. You can reduce it to 1 tablespoon if you’re concerned about too much sweetness.
- Flour: I have made these with 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups white flour before, they are a little denser and need a bit longer to rise. But they’re still very soft and fluffy! I don’t know if they work with gluten free flour, but if you try, please let me know!
- Egg: If you can’t have eggs or don’t have any on hand, you can instead brush the rolls with half-and-half or with milk. They will not get as shiny or browned, but they’ll still be perfectly pretty and delicious.
How to make homemade dinner rolls – step by step
First, you’ll need to “bloom” the yeast. Just stir it into warm water and leave it until bubbles appear. Do NOT use hot water, it should be just lukewarm, or the yeast will die (1).
While the yeast sits, combine the milk, melted butter and sugar. Once the yeast is bubbly, add it to the milk mixture and combine well (2).
Add this yeast mixture to 4 cups of flour, add salt (3) and then knead the dough until it’s soft and very pliable (4). Let the dough sit under a clean tea towel in a warm spot until it has doubled in size (5).
Once the dough is ready, punch it down (6) divide it into 12 equal pieces (7) and shape each into a roll. Place in a 9×13 inch dish (8) and let rise until puffy, then brush with egg wash (9) and bake. I like to brush these with melted butter right as they come out of the oven for some extra decadence (10).
Just don’t burn your fingers when you try to pull a still-too-hot roll from the dish (been there, done that – too many times to count!).
Recipe tips
- Water temperature: Make sure the water you use doesn’t exceed 115°F. Otherwise it will kill off the yeast and your dough will not rise. Also, there’s no need to heat up the milk.
- Flour amount: Make sure to measure your flour correctly (spoon it into a measuring cup until heaping full, then level with a knife). If you add too much flour, your rolls will not turn out soft/fluffy but crumbly like a biscuit.
- Kneading: Knead the dough long enough. It’s hard to overwork yeast dough, so don’t worry about that. With yeast doughs, under-kneading is generally worse than kneading for a little bit too long. It should feel smooth and elastic, and you should be able to pull it a little without it tearing.
- Shaping the rolls: I pinch the dough at the bottom and then roll it in the hollow of my hand on the countertop. Watch the video to see how I shape my rolls to make them look nicely rounded.
- Baking: Make sure to not undertake the rolls, or they’ll sink back and turn out dense. The internal temperature of bread should be around 200°F, so if you have a kitchen thermometer you can check that way.
Freezer instructions
To make these rolls ahead and freeze, I like to freeze the dough, not the baked rolls (they taste much better that way).
- knead the dough as directed in the recipe, then let it rest for just 15 minutes.
- shape into rolls and freeze spaced apart on a lined baking sheet for a couple of hours. Once solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and label with the name and use-by date (use within 3 months) before placing in the freezer.
- to bake, place the rolls in a greased 9×11 pan and let them thaw and rise for 4-6 hours (depends a lot on your altitude and room temperature). Then egg wash and bake as directed!
More homemade bread recipes
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Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls
Recipe details
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- 9×11 Inch Baking Dish
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 1 envelope active dried yeast
- ½ cup water about room temperature warm, see notes
- 1 cup milk whole milk or 2% preferred
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour or more if needed
- ½ tablespoon salt
For brushing:
- 1 egg for egg wash
- melted butter to brush on the hot rolls
Instructions
- Activate yeast and combine liquid ingredients:Whisk the yeast into the warm water in a small bowl and set aside until bubbles start to appear on the surface. In the meantime, whisk together the milk, melted butter and sugar. Add the activated yeast mixture and whisk until combined.
- Make dough:Add the flour and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Add the milk mixture, then knead on medium-low speed for 5-6 minutes, or until you have a smooth ball of dough. Add an extra tablespoon of flour if your dough feels too sticky!
- Rise:Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Punch down, then divide dough into 12 equal pieces; shape into balls. Place in greased 9×11 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise at room temperature until big and puffed up, about 20-30 minutes.
- Bake:Heat the oven to 375°F. Beat the egg and egg wash the top of the rolls (you will most likely not use the entire egg; don't add too much or you'll have scrambled eggs on top of your rolls). Bake for around 20 minutes or until done. Brush with additional melted butter right as they come out of the oven, if you like. Remove from the pan and serve warm.
Notes
Ingredient Notes:
Yeast: If using organic yeast, the dough may need more time to rise. Instant yeast can be used in place of the active yeast, the dough will rise faster. Sugar: The sugar helps the yeast to grow and helps with the soft texture of the rolls, it doesn’t make the rolls overly sweet. You can reduce it to 1 tablespoon if you’re concerned about too much sweetness. Flour: I have made these with 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups white flour before, they are a little denser and need a bit longer to rise. But they’re still very soft and fluffy! Egg: If you can’t have eggs or don’t have any on hand, you can instead brush the rolls with half-and-half or with milk. They will not get as shiny or browned, but they’ll still be perfectly pretty and delicious.Baking Tips:
Water temperature: Make sure the water you use doesn’t exceed 115°F. Otherwise it will kill off the yeast and your dough will not rise. Also, there’s no need to heat up the milk. Flour amount: Make sure to measure your flour correctly (spoon it into a measuring cup until heaping full, then level with a knife). If you add too much flour, your rolls will not turn out soft/fluffy but crumbly like a biscuit. Kneading: Knead the dough long enough. It’s hard to overwork yeast dough, so don’t worry about that. With yeast doughs, under-kneading is generally worse than kneading for a little bit too long. It should feel smooth and elastic, and you should be able to pull it a little without it tearing. Shaping the rolls: I pinch the dough at the bottom and then roll it in the hollow of my hand on the countertop. Watch the video to see how I shape my rolls to make them look nicely rounded. Baking: Make sure to not undertake the rolls, or they’ll sink back and turn out dense. The internal temperature of bread should be around 200°F, so if you have a kitchen thermometer you can check that way.Freezer Instructions:
To make these rolls ahead and freeze, I like to freeze the dough, not the baked rolls (they taste much better that way).- knead the dough as directed in the recipe, then let it rest for just 15 minutes.
- shape into rolls and freeze spaced apart on a lined baking sheet for a couple of hours. Once solid, transfer them to a freezer bag and label with the name and use-by date (use within 3 months) before placing in the freezer.
- to bake, place the rolls in a greased 9×11 pan and let them thaw and rise for 4-6 hours (depends a lot on your altitude and room temperature). Then egg wash and bake as directed!
Lori says
Just made these…..so good. Thank you for sharing!
Nora says
They are our favorite – glad you enjoyed them too, Lori!
Angela says
Super easy to make and amazing taste! Thank you 😊
Connie says
My first time making these rolls!!Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your recipe!! Happy Holidays!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Connie! Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Rachelle says
I made these for Thanksgiving and my family loved them. Definitely a new family favorite.
Nora says
I’m so glad, Rachelle!
Rachel says
These were so tasty! It was my first time making rolls, and I made them for Thanksgiving so there was that nice “it’s a holiday so something has to go wrong” atmosphere, and sadly it was the rolls that suffered. They didn’t rise at all (my fault though, it was too cold) and I was so worried they were going to come out dense and crumbly, but they were delicious and light! So don’t fret if they don’t rise too much, haha. I also substituted the milk for Lactaid 🙂 Thanks for such a tasty recipe, they were a big hit and a special treat for the small holiday this year!
Nora says
Oh goodness, I’m so glad the rolls came out great after all, Rachel!
Becki says
I make these ALL the time and also use Lactaid. A tip… Turn oven to preheat while you are making dough and then turn it off. It will be just “warm” inside while you are kneading and during winter is a nice rise spot for your dough. I use no egg wash, instead use a little melted butter and sea salt right out of the oven! Also makes an excellent 9×5 loaf of soft bread. I love it with eggs!! Very versatile dough.
Nora says
Thank you so much for sharing all of your tips, Becki!
Laura says
Super easy and delicious
Jemma Daries says
So simple, so easy and so so delicious! They came out so soft with a toasty top, which I seasoned with some coarse salt. I personally used 4c cake flour and it came out lovely, not sure if it changed anything, but I’ll definitely use this recipe again!
Adam says
These turned out really good. I found that I needed almost twice as long for the first proof (~1 hour and 45) and upped the salt to 12g (~3/4 tbsp). Well done!
Nora says
Adam, thanks for your feedback! I’m glad the rolls turned out well for you. I believe proofing time depends on so, so many factors – altitude, exact yeast used, room temperature, type of bowl used… I made cinnamon rolls yesterday on a very cold day in a badly insulated house on lower altitude than I normally make them, and the first proof took about three times as long. They were done in time for dinner in the end 😅
Judy says
Can you use rapid rise yeast and how does it change the recipe?
Judy says
Nevermind. I just missed the yeast part.
Nora says
Glad you figured it out, Judy! Hope the rolls cam out well for you.
Angelique says
Quick question about your freezing instructions: You say that before baking I should put them in the greased pan and let thaw and rise for 4-6 hours. So my question is, am I letting them thaw first, and then they rise for the 4-6 hours, or are they thawing and rising at the same time during the 4-6 hours? Thanks for your help!
Angelique says
These turned out great! I used all bread flour and only made half a batch and they were wonderful. I couldn’t find my dough hook so I kneeded them by hand, which was actually a nice stress reliever. I’m planning on making a full batch of these for Thanksgiving!
Wren says
These are incredibly good! This was the first time I’ve made rolls, and I made these in a rush and they STILL came out great! Thank you for the recipe!!
Paula says
These are really easy to make, beautifully browned and delicious. The only changes I made was to add more flour during the “kneading” step and I took the rolls out of oven at 18 minutes as the color was perfect. I think next time I will add course salt on top when I brush on the butter after baking. Thanks so much
Nadine McGrath says
This is such an easy recipe and soooo worth it I loved it so so much!! They literally melt in your mouth
Lissa says
Turned out well! I added a little more salt. Cooked for 25 minutes.
Janet Williams says
I made them with all bred flour. Love the smell of fresh rolls baking
Claire says
I made it with 2 c. bread flour + 2 c. plain white flour and they turned out so nice and fluffy!! I topped with sesame seeds and let rise with more space so they were more like burger buns. They were also not overly yeast-y tasting and they were nice and easy to make. Perfect.
Ashley says
I made these rolls and they are so good! Never made rolls before but I think I’m going to keep it up! Thanks for sharing your recipe and your video helped so much :).
Mariana says
These were the best rolls I’ve ever made. They were super fluffy and delicious. The only thing I did different is put 1 tsp. of salt instead of 1/2. I like my salt😁
Anthea says
If I don’t have the individual yeast packet, how many tablespoons or teaspoons of yeast do I use? I have a pound bag. Thank you!
Nora Rusev says
Anthea, one packet will be about 1 scant tablespoon of yeast, or 0.25oz (7 grams) if you have a scale that measures very small weights. Hope that helps!
Leanna says
These were good but they made 13+ rolls. Very easy to make, and tasted good – just a little bit bland but overall I’d definitely make again – kids liked them!
Agnetha Kahirimana says
Hi. I made these rolls this afternoon and I must say they are absolutely amazing. Super fluffy and delicious!!!
Deepthi says
Wonderful… I’m so excited making them. I’m using them as pav(bun) for an indian dish Pav Bajji… and it’s just wonderful
Tina says
Excellent – perfect!
Julie says
A wonderful recipe delivering soft and very tasty bread rolls.
The recipe was so easy to follow with your detailed instructions.
Thank you so much for these beautiful little rolls.
Enjoyed by all the family.
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad, Julie. It’s one of my favorite bread recipes to make for my family, so I’m happy to hear yours enjoyed it as much as mine always does.