With a simple process and easy-to-find ingredients, homemade dinner rolls are sure to become a family favorite in your home. Whole milk, yeast, butter, flour, an egg, and a touch of sugar mix together in a stand mixer for the best dinner rolls with minimal hand kneading. The oven-hot rolls are brushed with melted butter for a shiny appearance and decadent taste!
You’ll love the light, fluffy, and buttery texture of these rolls for everyday meals or special occasions. These yeast rolls are the perfect beginner-friendly bread recipe and turn out soft and golden brown every time. For more yeast bread recipes, try my recipe for biscuits, drop biscuits recipe, or crescent rolls recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Whole Milk – warm the milk to approximately 110°F before using. The heat is needed to help activate the yeast. Whole milk will make the best dinner rolls, so I don’t recommend swapping this ingredient. Warm the milk in a small saucepan on low heat and use a thermometer to get just the right temperature.
Instant Yeast – also called rapid rise yeast, a packet of instant yeast is what gives these dinner rolls lift, and the familiar yeast rolls taste. If you have a larger jar of yeast instead of a packet, weigh 7 grams of yeast using a food scale or measure out 2¼ teaspoons.
Butter – softened butter mixes smoothly with the other dough ingredients for buttery and delicate homemade rolls. Additional butter is melted and brushed on top of the hot rolls for extra decadence.
Flour – standard all-purpose flour is all you need to make light and fluffy rolls. Even though this is a bread recipe, you don’t need bread flour! The flour will be added in portions, and how much flour is used may vary, so make sure to divide the flour into two 1½ cup portions and one ¼ cup portion to easily add to your dough at the right times. Organic all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour can be used.
How to Make Dinner Rolls
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the warm milk and yeast.
2. Add 1½ cups of flour followed by the melted butter, sugar, egg, and salt. Beat with the paddle attachment at medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and switch to the dough hook.
3. Add another 1½ cups of flour and mix on medium until the dough forms a ball about, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the additional ¼ cup of flour a tablespoon at a time if needed. Continue mixing for 2 minutes to knead the dough.
4. Transfer the dough from the mixing bowl to your work surface and knead it by hand until it is smooth and bounces back when pressed.
5. Place the dough in an oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
6. Once risen, grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with softened butter. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces. Pinch the corners of each piece together at the center, then flip over. Cup the ball with your hands and move in a tight circular motion to shape each ball. This will pull the edge in, creating a tight and smooth ball.
7. Place the dough balls in the prepared pan evenly spaced apart, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until visibly puffed or almost doubled in size, about 1 hour. When the rolls look almost done rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until very puffed and the tops are a deep golden brown. Brush the hot rolls with melted butter, if desired. You can serve them immediately or let them cool before serving.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Heat the milk slowly and use a thermometer. A key step in this dinner roll recipe is to warm the milk to right around 110°F before using. Heat the milk on low or in the microwave in 30-second intervals, and use a thermometer to get just the right temperature to activate the yeast. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, it won’t be warm enough to activate the yeast or the bread will take a long time to rise.
- Switch to the dough hook for the final mixing step. Before adding the second 1½ cup portion of flour, switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook. The paddle attachment smoothly incorporates all of the wet ingredients, but the dough hook is essential for helping knead the dough and achieve the right texture and rise.
- Bake with a steam bath if desired. For an extra perfect rise as the bread bakes or to ensure perfectly moist and fluffy bread in dryer climates, add an oven-safe dish of warm water on the self underneath the bread as it bakes.
- For the softest dinner rolls, bake in a ceramic or glass baking dish. For rolls that are soft and pillowy both inside and out, bake them in a ceramic or glass baking dish. This type of pan will insulate the dough as it cooks. If you prefer your rolls to have more of a crust on the outside, use a metal pan. If you don’t have a large ceramic baking dish, you can use two deep 8” cake pans.
- Use a food scale for evenly sized rolls. For perfectly-symmetrical rolls that are all the same size, use a food scale to make 15 equally-sized dough balls. Begin by weighing the larger dough ball and then divide the total weight by 15 to determine the weight of each individual roll. Then, cut and shape accordingly.
- Brush the hot rolls with butter. Immediately after baking, brush the top of the rolls with melted butter. This will give them a beautiful shiny appearance and add to their buttery flavor!
- Add herbs or spices to change the flavor. Add your favorite fresh herbs or spices to the dough for a fun variation. This recipe is delicious with rosemary, thyme, or Italian seasoning. You can also add garlic or grated cheese for cheesy garlic rolls!
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftovers keep covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or can be frozen in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Defrost the frozen rolls at room temperature for 15-30 minutes, or until thawed through.
Rolls complement so many main dishes and are an absolute must-have homemade bread at Thanksgiving dinner or holiday meals. I love serving them with a hearty beef stew or roasted duck. The buttery flavor and pillow-like texture are perfect for dipping into tomato soup or serving alongside spinach artichoke pasta. Leftover rolls also make fun slider-sized spicy chicken sandwiches!
To make this recipe ahead of time, mix the dough, allow it to rise, form the rolls, place them in a greased baking dish, and cover with plastic wrap. Skip the second rise and immediately refrigerate the rolls for up to 24 hours before baking. To freeze ahead of time, prepare the rolls and arrange them in a disposable foil baking pan. Cover the pan tightly in plastic wrap and then wrap in aluminum foil. Defrost completely and let rise as directed before baking.
If you’ve tried this dinner rolls recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Dinner Rolls
Video
Equipment
- Stand mixer (optional)
- Large mixing bowl
- 9×13″ baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm whole milk about 110°F (240ml)
- 1 (0.25oz/7g) packet instant yeast (rapid rise)
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour divided (390g)
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (71g)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (optional)
Instructions
- In the bowl of stand mixer, stir together the milk and yeast. Add 1½ cups of flour followed by the butter, sugar, egg, and salt.
- Beat with the paddle attachment at medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl and switch to the dough hook. Add another 1½ cups of flour and mix on medium until the dough forms a ball about, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the additional ¼ cup of flour a tablespoon at a time if needed.
- Continue mixing for 2 minutes to knead the dough then finish off by hand until smooth and bounces back when pressed.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
- Once risen, grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with softened butter.
- Puch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 15 equal pieces. Pinch the corners of each pieces together at the center, then flip over. Cup the ball with your hands and move in a tight circular motion to shape each ball. This will pull the edge in, creating a tight ball and smooth roll.
- Place arrange the dough balls in the prepared pan evenly spaced apart, cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until visibly puffed or almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- When the rolls look almost done rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until very puffed and the tops are a deep golden brown. Brush the hot rolls with melted butter. You can serve them immediately or let them cool before serving.
Notes
- Heat the milk slowly and use a thermometer. A key step in this dinner roll recipe is to warm the milk to right around 110°F before using. Heat the milk on low or in the microwave in 30-second intervals, and use a thermometer to get just the right temperature to activate the yeast. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, it won’t be warm enough to activate the yeast or the bread will take a long time to rise.
- Switch to the dough hook for the final mixing step. Before adding the second 1½ cup portion of flour, switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook. The paddle attachment smoothly incorporates all of the wet ingredients, but the dough hook is essential for helping knead the dough and achieve the right texture and rise.
- Bake with a steam bath if desired. For an extra perfect rise as the bread bakes or to ensure perfectly moist and fluffy bread in dryer climates, add an oven-safe dish of warm water on the self underneath the bread as it bakes.
- For the softest dinner rolls, bake in a ceramic or glass baking dish. For rolls that are soft and pillowy both inside and out, bake them in a ceramic or glass baking dish. This type of pan will insulate the dough as it cooks. If you prefer your rolls to have more of a crust on the outside, use a metal pan. If you don’t have a large ceramic baking dish, you can use two deep 8” cake pans.
- Use a food scale for evenly sized rolls. For perfectly-symmetrical rolls that are all the same size, use a food scale to make 15 equally-sized dough balls. Begin by weighing the larger dough ball and then divide the total weight by 15 to determine the weight of each individual roll. Then, cut and shape accordingly.
- Brush the hot rolls with butter. Immediately after baking, brush the top of the rolls with melted butter. This will give them a beautiful shiny appearance and add to their buttery flavor!
- Add herbs or spices to change the flavor. Add your favorite fresh herbs or spices to the dough for a fun variation. This recipe is delicious with rosemary, thyme, or Italian seasoning. You can also add garlic or grated cheese for cheesy garlic rolls!