You only need 7 ingredients to make these dinner rolls. Flaky, soft, and buttery, these fresh dinner rolls outshine any main dish. If you’re a bread beginner, read this blog post to learn more about the yeast rolls recipe, including how to prep the rolls ahead of time. You can also reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
- Do you long to bake homemade bread but are too intimidated to start?
- Does yeast dough send you running for the hills?
- Do bread recipes seem overly complicated and confusing?
I’m teaching you how to make homemade dinner rolls. These are the best homemade dinner rolls I’ve ever had and it all starts with a straightforward 7-ingredient dough. I make these rolls whenever I get the chance and even brought a pan to our friends who just welcomed a baby. They’re pillow-soft with the most delicious flaky and buttery texture. Everyone will demand you bake them on repeat.
And with this recipe, I guarantee you will finally feel confident baking bread. 🙂
This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Video Tutorial: Dinner Rolls
Let’s start with a video tutorial.
Overview: How to Make Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Make the dough. Continue below to learn more about this dough recipe.
- Knead the dough. Reference my How to Knead Dough video tutorial if you need extra help with this step.
- Cover the dough and let it rise. The dough rises in about 1-2 hours in a relatively warm environment.
- Punch down the dough to release the air and shape into rolls.
- Let the rolls rise for about 1 hour.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. If desired, brush the warm rolls with a little honey and melted butter for extra flavor.
As shown in the video tutorial, the dough comes together with a mixer. You can use a paddle attachment or a dough hook. You can also make the dough by hand, but it requires a bit of arm muscle. After the dough comes together in the mixing bowl, it’s time to knead. You can simply continue beating the dough with the mixer for this step or you can knead the dough by hand. I chose to knead the dough by hand so you can see me doing it in the video above.
If you’re new to bread making, my How to Knead Dough post and video can help even more with this step. And my Baking with Yeast Guide is a wonderful resource for all bread beginners!
Soft Dinner Rolls Require a Rich Dough
The crustier and chewier the bread, the less fat in the dough. This is known as a lean dough. The softer and richer the bread, the more fat in the dough. This is known as a rich dough. Unlike chewy homemade bagels, focaccia, ciabatta, and my artisan bread, soft dinner rolls require a rich dough. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that the dough is swimming in cash. Rather, “rich” correlates with the amount of fat. For example, this dough has milk, butter, and egg.
You need 7 ingredients total. They’re the same ingredients in my easy cinnamon rolls and homemade brioche, which are also rich doughs. (Though I use more sugar for sweeter cinnamon rolls, of course.)
- Milk: Liquid activates the yeast. For the softest dinner rolls, use whole milk. Nondairy or low fat milks work too, but whole milk produces phenomenal flavor and texture.
- Yeast: You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, the rise times will be a little longer. I recommend Platinum Yeast from Red Star, which is an instant yeast blended with natural dough improvers.
- Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, increases its activity, and tenderizes the dough.
- Egg: 1 egg provides structure and flavor.
- Butter: Butter promises a flavorful and soft dinner roll. Make sure it’s room temperature.
- Salt: You can’t make flavorful bread without salt!
- Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour in this recipe. All-purpose flour is convenient for most, but bread flour produces chewier dinner rolls. There are no other changes to the recipe if you use bread flour.
Once you make the dough, let it rise:
After that, punch down the risen dough. Shape into balls and arrange in a baking pan. Don’t worry if they’re not all uniform in size.
Let the shaped rolls rise before baking. Look how puffy they get after 1 hour of rising:
How to Shape Dinner Rolls
You can shape this dough many different ways including twisted rolls, knotted rolls (how I shape garlic knots), cloverleaf rolls, or even hot dog buns. Let’s stick with the basic round shape. Divide the dough into 14-16 pieces. Take a piece and stretch the top of the dough while pinching and sealing the bottom. Make sure the rolls are smooth on top and sealed on the bottom. I shape hot cross buns the same exact way.
How to Make Yeast Rolls Ahead of Time
The rolls require around 3 hours of rising. Not everyone has 3 hours to spare, so let’s discuss another option! Prepare the dough, let it rise, and shape the rolls. Cover the shaped rolls tightly and refrigerate for up to about 16 hours. At least 3 hours before you need them the next day, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and allow to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours before baking.
And here’s how to freeze dinner rolls: Follow the make-ahead instructions and instead of refrigerating overnight, freeze the rolls in a baking pan. Once frozen, they won’t stick together anymore and you can place them in a freezer bag. Let them thaw and rise for about 4-5 hours, then bake. You can also freeze the baked dinner rolls. Therefore, if you want a smaller batch, you can make the entire recipe and bake only a few fresh rolls at a time.
These make-ahead options are especially helpful if you want fresh-baked rolls for Easter brunch, Thanksgiving dinner, or on Christmas.
Dinner Roll Flavors
How about some pizazz? Mix in these ingredients when you add the flour.
- Rosemary Dinner Rolls – 2 Tablespoons fresh or dried chopped rosemary.
- Cheddar Dinner Rolls – 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Other cheese varieties work, but avoid super soft cheeses.
- Garlic & Herb Dinner Rolls – 2 teaspoons each: dried rosemary, dried basil, & dried parsley, along with 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
- Brown Butter Sage Dinner Rolls
- Honey Butter Rolls
- Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls
- Oatmeal Molasses Dinner Rolls
- Multigrain Rolls – Here is my Multigrain Bread recipe that you can turn into rolls.
They’re also fantastic with a simple swipe of homemade honey butter or homemade cinnamon butter.
This dough is not ideal for a big loaf of bread. Instead, I recommend using a leaner dough, such as my sandwich bread or whole wheat bread recipes. If you need an egg free dough, try homemade breadsticks instead. And if you love pizza, try these pizza pull apart rolls next!
3 Success Tips
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide, which answers many common yeast FAQs.
- Make sure your yeast isn’t expired. Expiration date is on the package.
- Directly from the pros at Red StarYeast: Measuring flour correctly is key to avoiding a dense dough, which leads to heavy (not soft!) rolls. Spoon and level your flour, do not scoop it out of the package.
My final piece of advice? Don’t limit these rolls to suppertime. They’re welcome anywhere, with any meal, any time of day. Use for sliders, breakfast sandwiches, soaking up your favorite tomato sauce with slow cooker turkey meatballs, alongside salad, or dunking into a bowl of creamy chicken noodle soup. Above all, don’t doubt yourself because you, too, can become a bread baking pro.
Soft Dinner Rolls Recipe
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
- Yield: 14-16 rolls
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need 7 ingredients to make these dinner rolls. Flaky, soft, and buttery, these fresh dinner rolls outshine any main dish. See recipe notes for freezing and overnight instructions. You can also reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour or bread flour* (spooned & leveled)
- optional topping: 2 Tablespoons (28g) melted unsalted butter mixed with 1 Tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough, similar to the photos above. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. You can also bake the rolls in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet.*
- Shape the rolls: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it– doesn’t need to be perfect!) A bench scraper is always helpful for cutting dough. Shape each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
- 2nd Rise: Cover shaped rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
- Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It’s best to bake the rolls towards the bottom of the oven so the tops don’t burn.)
- Bake the rolls: Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.
- Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Prepare recipe through step 6. Place shaped rolls in a greased baking pan, cover tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Once frozen, the dough balls won’t stick together anymore and you can place them in a freezer bag if needed. On the day you serve them, arrange the dough balls in a greased baking pan, cover tightly, then let them thaw and rise at room temperature for about 4-5 hours. Bake as directed. You can also freeze the baked dinner rolls. Allow them to cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired. If reheating the whole pan, lightly cover and reheat in a 300°F (149°C) oven for about 10 minutes or until warm.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare the recipe through step 6. Cover the shaped rolls tightly and refrigerate for up to about 15 hours. At least 3 hours before you need them the next day, remove the rolls from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours before baking. Alternatively, you can let the dough have its 1st rise in the refrigerator overnight. Cover the dough tightly and place in the refrigerator for up to about 15 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to fully rise for 2 more hours. Continue with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer or Glass Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon / Spatula | 9×13-inch Glass Baking Pan | Bench Scraper | Pastry Brush
- Baking Pan: I prefer baking the rolls in a glass 9×13 inch baking pan because I find they brown a little too quickly in metal. As long as you bake the rolls on a lower oven rack and keep your eye on them, any pan is great.
- Yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star is an instant yeast. You can use Red Star Yeast active dry yeast instead. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour. All-purpose flour is convenient for most, but bread flour produces chewier dinner rolls. The rolls are still soft and fluffy no matter which you use. Either flour is fine and there are no other changes to the recipe if you use one or the other.
Adapted from Homemade Bread Bowls and Honey Butter Rolls
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these into Vegemite and cheese scrolls (craving for them). Instead of shaping into rolls I rolled out flat then added a layer of Vegemite and grated cheese then rolled and cut into the size I wanted for rolls. I resumed following steps, rising, etc. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!! Thank you so much Sally this is the 3rd recipe I have used of yours recently and so freaking good. Eaten way too many.
I always like Sally’s baking recipe. It is easy and delicious. However, I baked twice the soft dinner roll but the result turned out not good as the bread very hard and dry. I don’t know what went wrong. Could you please share some tips? Is it need to bake with water bath method?
Sally, I make these all the time it is my go to dinner roll recipe! They are always perfect! Is there a way I can use buttermilk instead of whole milk? I checked the recipe notes and didn’t find any recommendation. Thanks for all you do! Baking is a wonderful stress release during our stay-at-home order
These are the absolute best buns! Love how soft the dough is, making for a tender texture once baked. Thanks Sally! This is my second bread recipe from your site. Looking forward to trying more.
Best roll recipe ever!
I made these for Easter and they were AMAZING! I want to makensone for my mom to keep in her freezer. Can i freeze them after the 2nd rise so she can just “take and bake”?
Yes you can! They freeze wonderfully after step 6. See the recipe notes for the full freezing instructions.
I tried this recipe yesterday and the buns came out perfect. Thank you so much for such thorough instruction – step by step plus the video. I will now have the confidence in baking to venture in making cinnamon buns as they are my daughter’s favorite.
We had these on honeymoon in California last year and I’ve been meaning to make them at home ever since! Made them today as we’re in lockdown in the UK and they reminded us of our amazing holiday!
I’m not a pro, but your recipes make me feel like one… this is a no fail recipe… thanks to u….
Your recipes are always on point! I’ve tried different sites but yours always stand out. Thank you Sally! 🙂
First time to bake with yeast and the result is perfect. Just need to practice in shaping the dough. One question, Can I add another tablespoon of sugar to taste it more sweeter?
Dear Sally, is there a particular wisdom to brushing with butter after baking vs before baking? I made these last week for Easter (they were delicious, despite having to make a few substitutions due to quarantine-related shortages), made them Saturday night and brushed them with the honey butter while they were fresh out of the oven. When I went to eat them Sunday around noon the tops were still kind of damp and sticky. My family didn’t mind, but I was wondering if brushing them before baking would help, and if it would help the tops brown better?
Thanks for all the delicious recipes you post!
Hi Jordan! Brushing the butter on the shaped and risen rolls can deflate them, so that’s why I recommend adding it after. If you decide to brush it on before baking, be extra gentle.
Hi Sally! I tried making these both with fresh milled all purpose and bread flour but neither would rise in the oven. For the all purpose I followed your instructions and for the bread flour I switched the milk with water. The bread flour taste was amazing! Do you have any suggestions? I’ve never worked with fresh milled flour before so any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!!
My first time baking with yeast and these came out perfect! Thanks so much Sally for an amazing recipe.
I just set my dough for first proof– I triple checked the recipe and followed exactly, but my dough is SO wet and sticky–more like batter. I even added an extra 1.5 cup flour (I used white lily regular flour and it is fresh). It is still very sticky but I’ve left it to proof. I couldn’t handle it–get it into a bowl to proof unless I added the extra flour. Hope they turn out, and not too heavy. But why would my dough be ‘batter like’ ?? Fresh yeast, whole milk, softened butter etc. The yeast proofed and then I added the rest of ingredients as directed. Used a hand mixer and hand stirred in the last (extra bit of flour). Possibly because I used a hand mixer?
Well, these turned out pretty OK. I would have liked them a little lighter and fluffier/tender. I think I may have overcooked a bit– they didn’t get too brown at all, but cooked for 25 min. (in a glass pan- gas oven). Just a little dry and crumblier than I would like. I will try again! Maybe a different flour will work better and a little less cook time (maybe try in a metal pan next time). But my son loved them! (I don’t do bread much at all, and trying to master this). Thank you for the video too!
These turned
Out 100 Perfect! You’ve given me such confidence in baking with your recipes. After making these buns I have little intention on buying buns from the store again 🙂
Thank you for this amazing recipe. I was down and out today and needed a pick me up and to try something new. Lately my dough has been disastrous and I’ve always been too lazy to prove twice (well I don’t have the time with 2 under 6). These turned out great, so satisfying and even more satisfying when my fussy eater and fussy husband commented on how nice they were!!
I made these for Easter yesterday. Realized in the morning that I didn’t have whole milk (#quarantine) so I substituted buttermilk. They were glorious! So fluffy and perfect!
Used 2%, bread flour and active dry yeast. Proofed for 1.5 hrs first and then 1 hrs second rise. After baking they had a weird after taste like beer. Not sure what I did wrong.
I had an issue: perfectly easy recipe, did all the steps, dough would expand greately during both proofs and looked really puffy after the second proof (just like the picture you posted but even more). Then I preheated the oven to 350 and placed a 9×13” baking pan with rolls in and after 15 minutes when I was going to rotate the pan, they looked super pale and flattened. They took 35 mins to bake and came out similar to pizza dough bread (tough and crispy). What do you think I could’ve done wrong? Thanks!
Hi Masha! So glad you tried these dinner rolls. When yeast breads rise, then fall flat– and/or are pale even after baking– the dough was likely over-proofed or over-worked. Make sure the milk isn’t too hot and that the rise times aren’t extended longer than they need to be. I hope this helps for next time.
Ahh! Ok that makes sense I did do everything on the warmer side as I was a bit short on time.. I didn’t extend the rise time (in fact the first proof took just one hour) but the milk was pretty warm and I put it to rise in the warm oven. That is probably exactly the case (what you explained). Thank you so much!!! 🙂
Outrageously delicious rolls. Light and airy! So tasty. Loved this recipe!!!
I made exactly as instructed except I didn’t have whole milk I used 2%. The texture was great, it smelled great, they were nice and soft but to be honest they were pretty plain, didn’t have much taste. I think I may add some herbs next time .
Yum! I baked these today for Easter. My first time using yeast – they were delicious! I used 2% milk instead of whole milk. Thank you, Sally – you make baking so approachable!
Thank you so much for this recipe – I just served it at our family’s home isolation Easter dinner, and it was the highlight of the meal! Looked, smelled, and tasted amazing…I’ve been afraid of using yeast since an underwhelming experience years ago, but this recipe has me back on the horse!! My wife has ordered me to make these for every holiday meal from now on 🙂
Leaving five stars for a well layed out recipe, although my batch SUCKED. First rise went fine, second rise barely moved. Hoped for the best and baked anyway, ugly unbrowned dense rolls ☹️ saw another comment about not using half and half
(which of course I didn’t see until after!) But may I ask why? I did about a half cup that and half cup two percent. Is that why mine failed or am I just not great at baking bread
Just made these rolls, I let the dough rise one hour for the first rise and thirty minutes for the second. The dough was doubled and ready to go at those times. I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, so I’m not sure why my rising time was what I normally would allow dough to rise, but it was. The rolls turned out fluffy and delicious, my husband and toddler loved them.
Sally, I accidentally used too much butter. Like 1/2 instead of 1/4. What s the worst that will happen?
They are soooo good! Family loves them. Definitely will make them again!!
I made these and they were delicious, I tried them as herb cheddar rolls and they turned out okay except they did not brown the ways yours did and they almost developed a crispy crust on the outside, almost like a biscuit texture with a fluffy inside
I have made several different recipes for yeast rolls but these are by far the best. My family loves them. These are the only ones I’ll make now. Thank you for sharing this.