TODAY: Get My No-Fail, Lazy Summer Cookbook for 60% OFF!
Make soft homemade dinner rolls as a side dish for your next meal, using this simple dinner rolls recipe. This quick recipe uses instant yeast and makes the best dinner rolls. They are way better than frozen rolls, but just as easy to make!
Dinner rolls go great with so many meals. They can complete a pasta dish like this Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs and they are the addition to a hearty comfort meal like this CrockPot Chicken and Gravy.
MORE ROLL RECIPES:
Easy Pepperoni Rolls | Cabbage Rolls
INGREDIENTS FOR DINNER ROLLS
You will need:
- 4 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 ½ tablespoons rapid rise, instant yeast
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups warm milk, 110 degrees
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted (for the top of the finished rolls)
SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS
Milk: Although any type of milk will work, for the softest dinner rolls I recommend to use whole milk. The more fat your milk contains, the softer your dinner rolls will be!
Active Dry Yeast: While this recipe calls for rapid rise, instant yeast, you can also use active dry yeast. The major difference is that instant yeast can be added directly to the ingredients, while active dry yeast needs to be mixed with and dissolved in water before using. They can be used interchangeably for most recipes, although active dry yeast may take a bit longer to rise.
HOW TO MAKE THIS DINNER ROLLS RECIPE
STEP ONE: Add 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir together, then add in your warm milk, softened butter, and egg.
PRO TIP: Warm the milk in the microwave for about 1 minute and 10 seconds to reach approximately 110 degrees F.
STEP TWO: Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer 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 the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
STEP FOUR: Add ½ cup of flour and blend with the dough hook until it’s fully incorporated. Add another ½ cup of flour and repeat, mixing at medium speed for another 1 to 2 minutes, until a ball of dough is formed. Add up to ½ cup of additional flour until the dough ball is slightly sticky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
STEP FIVE: Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.
STEP SIX: Remove the towel and deflate the dough by punching it 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 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. If the rolls are getting too brown, just tent the rolls with foil.
STEP TEN: Remove the rolls and brush hot rolls with the melted butter. Serve immediately or store cooled rolls.
STORAGE
IN THE FRIDGE: You should serve your dinner rolls immediately or store any extra cooled rolls in a plastic bag for up to 3 days. You can store them in the fridge or on the countertop at room temperature.
IN THE FREEZER: If you have extra dinner rolls that you won’t eat within the 3 days, you can toss them in a freezer Ziploc bag and put them in the freezer. Just be aware that they will not be quite as soft thawed out as they were when served fresh.
PRO TIP: To reheat your 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 for about 15 seconds.
These homemade dinner rolls are soft and delicious. They are quick and easy to make using instant or active dry yeast. They make a wonderful side to go with so many dinner dishes, and leftovers can easily be reheated to enjoy later.
MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoon instant yeast rapid rise
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup warm milk 110 degrees
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 tbsp 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 flour is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup flour and blend with the dough hook until incorporated. And another 1/2 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 x 13 baking dish. Cover with a towel and let rise for an additional 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees 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.
I love the smell and taste of freshly baked bread. But, I don’t always have enough time or patience to actually make it. This recipe is perfect. The rolls are so fluffy and delicious and doesn’t take all day to make.
Oh my..! Amazing! Like little soft clouds.. I can t believe they really came out so soft and delicious.. Congratulations!
Such simple ingredients, easy to make and we love dipping ours in some veggie soup.
Can you make them without a stand mixer with a dough hook
Hi, Sharon – you can make them in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until it is combined and sticky. Place a floured surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Enjoy! 🙂
Can the dough be made in a bread machine?
Yes, it probably could but I haven’t done it that way with this recipe yet so I can’t offer specific advice! Enjoy! 🙂
Would like to try these but this makes a bit much for us. Can these be frozen and if so at what stage? Or perhaps maybe only half the recipe, would we cut everything in half evenly?
You could half the recipe OR you could bake the recipe as-is and freeze your rolls to heat up again later.
I did this recipe last year and they were great! Didn’t need all of the flour, so pay attention to the consistency, but they tasted perfectly!
I tried these last weekend, however after they raised and I pinched for individual rolls and laid on cookie sheet, the dough balls didn’t raised that much more. What did I do wrong? They tasted great but were flat. I went exactly by the recipe.
Hi, Tina – my first guesses would be there: they’re supposed to be made in a 9×13 baking dish, not a cookie sheet, so that could impact them. The freshness of ingredients and type of yeast would also have an impact on how they would rise – if something wasn’t fresh, it can have a big difference on how it turns out.
Does it matter what I use to grease the bowl and pan with?
I’ve used cooking spray and butter with success. Enjoy!