Dinner Rolls

Homemade dinner rolls are the star of any meal. These light and fluffy rolls are easy to make and won’t take your whole day to prepare, so treat your family any night of the week.

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If you love the taste and smell of fresh home-cooked bread like I do, then you must try these dinner rolls. This is the easiest, tastiest recipe; the best part is that they don’t take all day to make. Whip up a batch anytime you crave something special to go alongside a favorite dish, or you want to impress your friends at your next dinner party. Fluffy homemade dinner rolls are an especially irresistible addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner spreads.

Dinner Rolls Ingredients

You’ll need:

• 4½ cups all-purpose flour, divided into 3 cups and 1½ cups
• 1½ tablespoons instant yeast, rapid rise
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups warm milk, 110°F
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted (for the top of the finished rolls)

Substitutions and Additions 

WARM MILK: Try warming up some of your favorite flavors of liquid coffee creamer, almond milk, or buttermilk to add interesting variety to your dinner roll’s taste.

How to Make This Fluffy Dinner Rolls Recipe

STEP ONE: Add 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir together. Add warm milk, softened butter, and egg.

PRO TIP: If you don’t have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon.

STEP TWO: Attach the dough hook and turn the mixer on to the lowest speed; mix until the flour is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

STEP THREE: Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.

STEP FOUR: Add ½ cup flour and blend with the dough hook until incorporated. And another ½ cup flour and repeat, mixing at medium speed for another 1-2 minutes until a dough ball is formed. Add up to ½ of the additional flour until the dough ball is slightly sticky and pulls away from the bowl’s sides.

PRO TIP: If using a large bowl and wooden spoon, you must dump your dough onto a floured surface and kneed it for ten minutes before moving on to step five.

STEP FIVE: Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.

STEP SIX: Remove the towel and deflate the dough by punching down lightly.

STEP SEVEN: Pinch off pieces of the dough to form 20 equally-sized dough balls.

STEP EIGHT: Transfer the rolls to a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover with a towel and let rise for an additional 30 minutes at room temperature.

STEP NINE: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. If the rolls get too brown, just tent the rolls with foil.

PRO TIP: Oven temperatures may vary. Check your dinner rolls for doneness on the low end of the time suggested. Tent them with aluminum foil if they are browning too quickly.

STEP TEN: Remove rolls and brush hot rolls with the melted butter. Serve immediately or store cooled rolls in a plastic bag for up to 3 days.

How To Serve 

These amazing rolls are perfect for dipping in a bowl of soup or chili or alongside a pasta dish or casserole. Truly there is no wrong way to serve these fluffy dinner rolls.

Storage

IN THE FRIDGE: Leftover dinner rolls can be kept in a zip-lock bag in the fridge after completely cool, although refrigerating them is not necessary. They will keep for up to 3 days.

IN THE FREEZER: Make sure your dinner rolls have completely cooled before freezing them to enjoy later. Simply store them in an air-tight container for 3 months. They will still be delicious but not as fluffy the second time.

REHEATING INSTRUCTIONS: Let your dinner rolls thaw, and then wrap them in foil and heat them for about 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven. To microwave them, wrap them in a damp paper towel and heat them for approximately 30 seconds. 

Any meal, anytime, is made more special when homemade dinner rolls are on the table. With minimal time and effort required, these irresistible rolls are sure to steal the show.

FAQ:

Question: Why aren’t my dinner rolls fluffy?

Answer: Be sure to follow step 4 carefully and add flour just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Too much flour will lead to a dense dough.

Question: Why won’t my dinner rolls rise?

Answer: It could be that your dry instant yeast is not fresh. Always check before you begin baking. Using the proper baking dish for this recipe is important as well.

Dinner Rolls

Homemade dinner rolls are the star of any meal. These light and fluffy rolls are easy to make and won’t take your whole day to prepare, so treat your family any night of the week.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Rest Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Servings 20 rolls

Ingredients

  

• 4½ cups all-purpose flour divided into 3 cups and 1½ cups
• 1½ tablespoons instant yeast rapid rise
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups warm milk 110°F
• 4 tablespoons butter softened
• 1 egg room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter melted (for the top of the finished rolls)

Instructions

 

• Add 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir together. Add warm milk, softened butter, and egg.
• Attach the dough hook and turn the mixer on to the lowest speed, mix until the flour is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
• Add ½ cup flour and blend with the dough hook until incorporated. And another ½ cup flour and repeat, mixing at medium speed for another 1-2 minutes until a ball of dough is formed. Add up to ½ of additional flour until the dough ball is slightly sticky and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Remove the towel and deflate the dough by punching down lightly.
• Pinch off pieces of the dough to form 20 equally sized dough balls.
• Transfer the rolls to a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover with a towel and let rise for an additional 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. If the rolls are getting too brown, just tent the rolls with foil.
• Remove rolls and brush hot rolls with the melted butter. Serve immediately or store cooled rolls in a plastic bag for up to 3 days.

Notes

Make sure you are using instant yeast rather than active dry yeast for this recipe. Unlike active dry yeast, instant yeast does not need to be activated (rehydrated) in warm water to bloom but rather can be added to a recipe directly from the package and will dissolve in the ambient moisture of the dough rather than needing to be rehydrated.

Warm the milk in the microwave for about 1 minute and 10 seconds to reach approximately 110°F.

If you don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you can achieve the same thing using a wooden spoon, mixing until combined and sticky. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on a floured surface.

To reheat your buttery rolls in the oven, wrap them in tin foil, place them on a baking sheet in the oven, and cook for about 10 minutes. To reheat your rolls using the microwave, wrap them in a damp paper towel, place the rolls on a microwave-safe plate, and warm them for about 15 seconds.

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