Learn how to make the fluffiest dinner rolls! These rolls are buttery, soft, and loved by everyone I serve them to. They make an excellent holiday side dish or paired alongside your favorite weeknight meal!
Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, Drew and I make fresh dinner rolls. I feel like once you taste a soft, pillowy dinner roll that’s made from scratch, you instantly know they are a holiday essential!
When these rolls are fresh from the oven, they’re irresistible. They’re warm, pillowy clouds of buttery bread that feel as if they melt in your mouth. I absolutely love them, and Drew is typically the one to make them on holidays since I’m typically tied up making all the other dishes.
But what’s great about these rolls is that they’re not only delicious, but also really easy to make. You don’t need to be experienced in baking to make them, and in fact, it’s pretty hard to mess them up.
My family absolutely loves these rolls, and I am certain yours will too! xo
Ingredients
Dry ingredients: You’ll need all-purpose flour (bread flour works too), active dry yeast (instant yeast works too), kosher salt, and sugar for a touch of sweetness and also to help feed the yeast.
Wet ingredients: You’ll need a mixture of warmed whole milk to activate the yeast, egg, and egg yolk to enrich and soften the dough further, and softened butter.
How to Make Dinner Rolls
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1
Activate the yeast. In a large bowl, whisk together the warmed milk, yeast, and sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
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2
Mix in the remaining ingredients. Add the salt, softened butter, 1 large egg, and egg yolk. Mix these ingredients, then working in 1 cup increments slowly add the flour, mixing constantly and scraping down the bowl as needed.
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3
Mix until the dough comes together.
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4
Use your hands to knead the dough (4-5). Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 8 minutes. The dough will be sticky at first, so dust with flour as you knead until the dough becomes smooth.
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6
Knead until the dough is smooth and springy. Continue to knead until the dough springs back slightly when pressing with your finger.
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7
First rise. Grease a large clean bowl with a little bit of olive oil or a neutral oil then place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
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8
Divide the dough. Transfer the risen dough onto a clean surface, and use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 15 even pieces.
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9
Form the dough. To get the dough into a ball, pull the edges of the piece of dough outward and then back into the middle until you create a round shape.
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10
Roll and shape. Then flip it over and using a cupping motion with your hand, work the dough into a circle until it forms a smooth ball. Repeat.
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11
Second rise. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter. Place the dough balls equally spaced in the dish and give a little room around the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for 1 hour.
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12
Bake, then brush with butter. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls at 350℉ for 18-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Brush with melted butter once finished and then serve!
Tips for Success
When using instant yeast. If you have instant yeast instead of active dry, you don’t need to activate it. Skip step 1 with the milk, yeast, and sugar, and mix the yeast with all the ingredients instead.
Use room temperature ingredients. For the eggs and butter, make sure they are at room temperature, not cold. Otherwise, the colder temperature will affect how the ingredients blend into the dough.
Use all-purpose or bread flour. Most pantries have all-purpose flour, so I chose it as the main flour. But bread flour is also a great option and can be used to create a chewier dinner roll in place of all-purpose flour.
More Bread Recipes to Try
If you love easy bread recipes, I also love my Rosemary Garlic Bread and Cinnamon Raisin Bread, or, for a more advanced bread, try Drew’s Country Sourdough Bread (one of my favorite breads of all time).
Dinner Rolls
Video Tutorial
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm whole milk, heated to 110℉
- 1 packet of active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons salted butter cubed and softened, plus more for greasing
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons salted butter melted and cooled for brushing
- flakey salt optional topping
Instructions
- Note: These instructions are for mixing without a stand mixer; if you have one, you can use it to help with the mixing and initial kneading steps.
- Activate the yeast: In a large bowl, whisk together the warmed milk, yeast, and sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes.Note: if you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step and add all of the ingredients together.
- Add the remaining ingredients, but gradually add the flour. Add the salt, softened butter, 1 large egg, and egg yolk. Mix these ingredients, then working in 1 cup increments, slowly add the flour, mixing constantly and scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Knead the dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 8 minutes. The dough will be sticky at first, so dust with flour as you knead until the dough becomes smooth. Continue to knead until the dough springs back slightly when pressing with your finger.Note: If using a stand mixer, with the dough hook attachment, mix on low for 5 minutes and then knead by hand for 3 more minutes.
- First rise. Grease a large clean bowl with a little bit of olive oil or a neutral oil then place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Cut and shape the rolls. Pour the dough out onto an unfloured surface. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut into 15 equal pieces. If you have a scale, each piece should be around 60 grams. To shape into a ball, pull the edges of the piece of dough outward and then back into the middle until you create a round shape. Then flip it over and using a cupping motion with your hand, work the dough into a circle until it forms a smooth ball. Repeat.Note: It is very important to use a clean surface for this step. The dough will shape nicely against the tension of a dry, unfloured surface.
- Second rise. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter. Place the dough balls equally spaced in the dish and give a little room around the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for 1 hour.With about 15 minutes left, preheat your oven to 350℉ with the rack in the middle.
- Bake. Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350℉ for 18-20 minutes until the tops of the rolls are golden brown. While baking, melt 2 Tbsp butter and let cool.
- Serve. Once out of the oven, brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and optionally sprinkle with flakey salt. They are best served warm alongside your meal!
Notes
- Use your oven for rising. To create a warm spot for the dough to rise, and you don’t have a proofing drawer or oven, you can turn on your oven for about 60 seconds, and then turn it off to capture some heat. You can also use your oven light, but some can get too hot so be careful with that. You are looking for about 80 degrees for optimal proofing.
- Bake the next day. If you want to make the dough ahead of time, you can skip the final rise after shaping, and place the covered dish in your refrigerator overnight and then bake the next day.
- Reheat before serving.
These rolls are amazing. Made them for my Grandson last week. He loves them so much he placed another order today. They’re hot out of the oven waiting for him as he’s coming home from school. Thank you.
Barbara that’s so sweet of you to make them for your grandson! I love that. I’m so glad you both enjoyed them!! 🙂 Warm rolls after school sound AMAZING.