Homemade Soft Dinner Rolls

Buttery, fluffy, and soft dinner rolls are the best to have with any main course. This bread recipe needs only 6 ingredients, 10 minutes to prep, and 20 minutes to bake with some proofing time in between.

Table of Content

• Why make these dinner rolls?
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Best dinner rolls recipe
• Tips for success
• Variations
• More bread recipes
• Frequently asked questions
• Troubleshooting
• More dinner roll recipes
• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

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Homemade bread is an addiction and I say that because once you get used to eating homemade, bakery bread will never be the same again. And that smell! Have you ever walked into a home that's baking fresh bread? You must walk into mine, you will be begging to stay for dinner. The smell of fresh bread is like nothing else.

These rolls are my all-purpose bread, used for anything and everything. Kids will snack on them with butter and jam, and sometimes they make sandwiches with cold cuts and cheese. Often, I will make sliders with some chicken and cheese for dinner.

We rarely have these go stale. But if I do have stale bread, then I cut them into cubes and toast them like croutons with a sprinkle of milk, butter, and parmesan. The kids feast over those croutons.

Why make these dinner rolls?

• This a wonderfully buttery dinner rolls that has a soft, chewy and fluffy texture.
• Most of the ingredients are simple pantry staples and made without any eggs. I have use sugar and butter but you can also use honey butter or oil instead of butter.
• Even if you are new to making homemade bread, don't worry you've come to the right place and the right recipe. While I have plenty of bread recipes on this blog, I highly recommend beginners to start with this recipe.
• While you can make this in a stand mixer, I recommend new bakers to knead the dough by hand. It gives you have an understanding of the hydration, texture, consistency, and feel. It's amazing how that soft, sticky, and yucky mess suddenly starts to develop gluten and turns into a smooth, soft, elastic, and shiny dough.
• It's also a very forgiving dough, so no matter what you do, the bread always turns out delicious. You really can't mess this one up, watch the video.
• If you notice, this is a small batch of just 9 rolls. That's because I make them often and make them fresh.
  • The process for these rolls is so easy too
  • Knead dough - 10 mins
  • Let dough rise once - 45 to 60 mins
  • Shape the rolls - 10 mins
  • Proof the rolls - 30 to 45 mins
  • Bake the rolls - 20 to 22 mins

Ingredients and substitutes

• Flour - Often bread flour is recommended for making homemade dinner rolls but these would work with either bread or all-purpose flour.
• Instant dry yeast - I like to use instant dry because I've always had great success with it. If you have to use active dry yeast you will need 2 ¼ teaspoon or one packet. And if you use fresh yeast you will need about 21 grams.
• Sugar - the sugar is not much so it won't make the dough sweet but it will help feed the yeast and help it ferment quicker. If you prefer you can substitute sugar with 2 tablespoon of honey.
• Butter - will add richness as well as feed the yeast to help it ferment quicker. You can substitute the butter for 2 tablespoon of oil in this recipe.

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Best dinner rolls recipe

• Yeast - In a small bowl or measuring cup combine warm milk (110 F), yeast, and sugar. Stir and set aside to foam for 3 mins.
  Pro-tip- instant yeast does not need to be activated but I like to ensure my yeast is good and working for me. You may choose to add all ingredients directly to the flour.
• Dough - Measure the flour and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer with the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and combine well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
  Pro-tip - if you do not like kneading I highly recommend using a stand mixer with the hook attachment.

• Knead bread
  • By hand - transfer to a well-dusted worktop and knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes using the remaining flour only if necessary.
  • Stand mixer - once all the flour is well incorporated knead on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes
• Butter - Then, add the butter and knead again for 3 minutes more by hand or 2 minutes on the stand mixer
  Pro-tip - avoid the temptation to add more flour. We want soft, light, and fluffy rolls, and this is only possible when the dough is soft, elastic, yet slightly sticky
• Bowl - When the dough is soft, shiny, but still slightly sticky shape it into a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl seam side down. Coat the surface with cooking spray to prevent drying. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
• First rise - Leave in a warm place. Let rise for 60 to 90 minutes until double in volume.
  Pro-tip - in winter you may need 90 minutes or more but in summer the dough may double in 45 minutes. If you can't attend to it at that moment. De-gas, reshape, and let double in volume again.

• Divide - When the dough is double in volume transfer to a well-dusted floured work surface. De-gas, reshape into a ball. Then roll into a small log.
  Pro-tip - at this point there is no need for additional flour. So use a light dusting of flour.
• Using a dough scraper divide this log into three portions and then each of those portions into 3 again. This should give you 9 dinner rolls.
  Pro-tip - the odd number 9 is because we are using a square baking pan. you can also divide into 8 medium or 12 small rolls, use an 8-inch round or quarter sheet pan.

Shape and bake

• Shape - Hold each piece of dough in your hand and gather all the seams together. Pinch the seams at the bottom then place the ball on a non-floured surface while still holding it in your hand.Loosen the grip on the dough and roll back and forth into a tight circle against the work surface. You will feel the dough become tight and smooth.
  Pro-tip - the goal is to create a tight, smooth ball. If you overdo the rolling you will rip the top surface which will give a rough, not smooth roll.
• Proof - Grease or spray a 9 x 9 square baking pan. Place the rolls in the pan. Seam side down. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes until almost double in size.
  Pro-tip - Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls.
• Oven - When the rolls are almost double in volume at about 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375°F /190°C / Gas Mark 5
• Egg wash - Brush the rolls with milk, cream, or egg wash.
  Pro-tip- Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden brown color.
• Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes until lightly golden on top. When baked brush with melted butter
  Pro-tip - this is optional but adds a nice flavor and keeps the top crust soft.
• Cool - Take them out of the pan and cover them with a clean kitchen cloth for at least 5 minutes to keep them soft
  Pro-tip - do not leave the rolls in the pan for too long as the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom

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Tips for success

1. Measure all ingredients ahead of time so you don't forget anything at the last minute.
2. For accuracy use a weight measure for the ingredients
3. The milk must be warm (not hot) about 110F. If the milk is too hot it will kill the yeast, similarly, if the milk is too cold it will not activate the yeast.
4. Though instant dry yeast has a long shelf life, it can get ruined. Always check the expiry of the yeast. If unsure, combine the wet ingredients from the recipe and let stand 5 minutes. If it gets foamy the yeast is good to go if not best to buy fresh yeast or check the temperature of the milk
5. Keep salt away from yeast as it can kill the yeast. I like to combine it with the flour then add it to the yeast mixture.
6. A soft loose well-hydrated dough is not necessarily a bad thing, it often will give you soft fuffy bread so don't be tempted to add more flour than mentioned in the recipe.
7. Kneading is key to making good bread. While kneading by hand can be therapeutic using a stand mixer is easier and quicker
8. Leave the dough at room temperature to rise until double in volume. While not recommended when in haste you can place it in a warm 100F (not hot) oven this will expedite the rise.
9. Bread does not have to be time-consuming. You can leave the dough in the fridge to rise for a few hours (even overnight) while you go about your chores. A slow rise will give more flavor to the bread.
10. Always preheat the oven for at least 10 minutes before you place bread in or the low temperature will spread the dough too much.

Variations

• Herbed dinner rolls - Add a few fresh or drird herbs to the flour such as chopped rosemary, parsley, basil, or thyme
• Cheese - add grated cheese such as cheddar cheese, emantle, or parmesan to the dough after first rise.
• Garlic butter rolls - I love rosted garlic but a few crushed fresh garlics cloves added to the dough make wonderful garlic rolls. Try my garlic rolls or Parmesan garlic rolls
• Sun-dried tomato rolls - made with a few chopped sun dried tomatoes and olives.
• Knots dinner rolls - same dough can be rolled into knots for an impressive presentation
• Pumpkin dinner rolls - substituting some of the liquid in the recipe with pumpkin puree.

More bread recipes

• Sourdough Loaf Bread
• Japanese Milk Bread
• BEST Sandwich Bread Recipe or Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
• Softest Hamburger Buns or Soft Whole Wheat Burger Buns
• Recipe For Brioche or Brioche Sandwich Bread Recipe
• Rosemary Focaccia Bread
• See all bread recipes

Frequently asked questions

Troubleshooting

• My dough did not rise?
  Most often the simplest explanation for this is that the liquid (milk) used was not warm. You need the liquid to be no more than 110 F/ 41 C. Hotter than that will not activate the yeast. In some cases, it could also be that the yeast was old and not good.
• My bread is not soft but dense?
  If you add too much flour to the dough the bread will be dense, not soft. You want the dough to be soft, elastic, and still slightly sticky. Follow the recipe and look at the video to see my consistency of dough.
• My rolls deflated when baking.
  Prove the rolls for only 45 minutes or until just almost double in volume. They will continue to rise some more in the oven when baking. If you overproof the rolls they tend to rise and deflate when baking.

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More dinner roll recipes

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