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. 🙂
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, 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, which is also a rich dough. (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.
- 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
- Brown Butter Sage Dinner Rolls
- Honey Butter Rolls
- Multigrain Rolls – Here is my Multigrain Bread recipe that you can turn into rolls.
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, 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.
See Your Dinner Rolls!
Many readers have made this recipe! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos on social media. 🙂
PrintSoft 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.
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 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
Keywords: bread, rolls, yeast rolls
These were faaaaantaatic! I’ve tried at least 5 different recipes to find a good one for soft dinner rolls, and this was exactly what I was searching for.
★★★★★
Followed the recipe and they rose beautifully and looked amazing, however tasted pretty much like flour, Racking my brain and cannot figure out what went wrong. Skipped the butter on top but I don’t think that is the problem. Any ideas? So wanted these to work!
Hi Laura, did you make any changes to the recipe? With all the butter and whole milk, I’m wondering how they could taste flavorless. What type of salt did you use?
No changes. I used coarse kosher salt, could that have been the problem?
I chose this recipe for the overnight option; I wanted fresh dinner rolls for Thanksgiving dinner but did not want to fuss with bread dough on the big day with everything else going on. The afternoon before Thanksgiving, I formed the rolls, put them in the fridge overnight, took them out at noon, let them rise for 2 hours, then baked for 25 minutes. They were delicious. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I used SAF-Instant Premium Yeast and King Arthur bread flour. I mixed the dough with a dough hook in my Kitchen Aid Pro Mixer. The dough was sticky, but I resisted the temptation to add more flour, and it turned out fine. Thank you for a great recipe!
★★★★★
i weighed the ingredients, used a large egg. It was incredibly sticky. if I knew more about baking, I probably would have added more flour.
Hi Dan, If you try this recipe again the dough should be very soft. A little sticky is fine, but if it’s unworkable, you can add a few more Tablespoons of flour.
Are you supposed to start with the first two cups of flour? That part was confusing. Hoping I did it right and these turn out great, like everyone else says they are.
Thanks!
Hi Heather, You will mix one cup of flour with the sugar, egg, butter, salt for 30 seconds. Then you will add the remaining 2 cups of flour. Enjoy!
This recipe didn’t work for me at all they rose beautifully the night before but did nothing the next day. I don’t know what I did wrong, but they didn’t rise at all the next day, even with a pot of war steaming on my stove and the heater cranked up. After six hours with no rise, I just gave up. My yeast was nice and foamy when I made the dough, so who knows.
Hi Katherine, it’s strange the dough would just stop rising. I wonder if the rolls were over-handled when shaping? If it’s helpful, see my What if My Dough Isn’t Rising? section in my Baking with Yeast guide.
These were easy and came out great!
★★★★★
Thanks for a great recipe! Mine don’t look as good as yours, but my teenage daughter gave it “8 out of 10”, so….tough crowd here. They taste like something grandma would’ve made, so I’m happy. I’ll be making these again and my technique will get better, I’m certain.
★★★★★
Great recipe. Trying to replicate the rolls my late MIL used to make. They need to be a bit sweeter. Can I increase the sugar a bit at a time to achieve the same results but sweeter? Or will the additional sugar cause other issues with ingredients?
★★★★★
Hi Deb, You can certainly add more sugar to fit your tastes with no other changes to the recipe. The honey butter on top also helps add a wonderful layer of sweetness!
Thanks for responding, my husband said these are the best I’ve made! As good as his mom’s! You wouldn’t happen to have a bread recipe? Thanks so much.
★★★★★
I am guessing that the people who added extra flour may not have let the dough beat for long enough. Mine looked really sticky but I let it beat longer until it formed a ball on the paddle.
★★★★★
I just made these for the first time, and it’s also my first time baking with yeast. Everything came together so beautifully until they were in the oven. They didn’t brown and have more a biscuit consistency than a roll. They taste good, but I know I did something wrong. Any ideas? I don’t have a mixer, so I stirred and kneaded by hand.
★★★★
Anyone have any quick advice on reheating these bad boys? I’ve made them and they look (and smell) marvelous, but they’re not due to be munched for another 6-7 hrs so they’ll have full cooled by then and nothing is better than a nice warm dinner roll, but I’m worried I’ll somehow mangle them during a reheat 🙂
Just made these for Thanksgiving dinner and getting ready to take out of the oven. I read some reviews about having to add more flour. Also added almost 1/2 cup as it was very wet. They came together nicely. Smell wonderful and must “test” one before serving. Excellent!!
★★★★★
I let the dough rise in the oven with the light on. Took one hour.
★★★★★
Hey Len, I don’t know what Sally would recommend, but I’ve found that the sugar content in almond milk (and other non-dairy) is lower, or SOMETHING that prevents the nice browning you get with “real” milk. They’ll probably turn out fine, just won’t be nice and golden. Maybe add a touch more sugar?
★★★★★
I am on the 1st rise. My question is the second rise does it have to be an hour? Oh 1st time making them
★★★★★
Yes, you want them to puff up which usually takes around an hour using instant or rapid rise yeast and could take a little longer if using active dry yeast. Enjoy!
W.O.W!!!! The search stops here. Best dinner rolls ever and so easy to make. Followed recipe exactly except I used 360 g of flour (king arthur flour). Thank you Sally for sharing this recipe. I threw away my Fleishmann recipe that been in the family for over 45 years!!
★★★★★
Absolutely delicious! Rave reviews from the whole family. I’m making them again for Thanksgiving and my dough is very wet added a little more flour …. I hope I didn’t add too much extra – maybe 1/4 cup (before I read the guide saying not too!)
I’m sure they will be fantastic either way.
★★★★★
This rolls were amazing! Came out light and fluffy. Easy to do, easy directions. This was my first time baking with yeast and making a bread and despite being so nervous they came out great!
★★★★★
I’ve made these twice but Third time will be the real charm because they’re for Thanksgiving.
★★★★★
Killer recipe. Made with Red Star Platinum yeast & King Aurthur bread flour. Super simple recipe. Made a double batch (I mixed the batches separately in my KitchenAid), it was great to not have to knead them by hand at all.
I had to make 3 pies today as Thanksgiving plans changed and I became responsible for all of the pies so I was a bit overwhelmed and I only had time to make the pie dough & the dinner roll dough last night. I refrigerated the dough overnight, it rose quite a bit in the fridge. Then I left it on the counter for about 2 hours, formed the rolls in 2 9×13” pans and put back into the fridge, covered, for another 6 or so hours so I could finish my pies. I took them out about 1 hour before baking to rise at room temp and baked 25 minutes after brushing with butter and adding some sea salt. They are beautiful, flakey, golden brown, and absolutely delicious, sooo much better than store bought. Will definitely make them again! Would totally recommend this recipe to anyone, even those inexperienced with yeast breads. It’s a great starter recipe if you’ve never worked with yeast before and isn’t fussy like some recipes.
★★★★★
This was my first time trying to bake rolls and they turned out pretty good. It was an easy recipe to follow and the step by step instructions were spot on. Thank you for your help.
★★★★★
Follow the recipe exactly and they turn out amazing each time! Have already made them 2 times this week and making them again tomorrow!
★★★★★
Made these for the second time and once again they turned out amazing. I even under-mixed the dough before the first rise and was able to correct it with a little hand kneading before the second rise. Great recipe, so yummy.
★★★★★
For me baking them on the lower rack was a huge mistake. The base was burnt and dry and the bun as a whole ended up being a dry biscuit like texture. Not sure what should have been changed in the ingredients/method…
Hello! I just made the dough and it’s on the first rise – I’m curious to see if you have an idea of why I had to add almost a cup more flour. I used 2% (we don’t have whole milk) but measured with a scale like I normally do and I’m 99% certain my measurements were exact. It’s winter in Minnesota – I mean, could the dry air affect the flour that much? I also use KA AP flour. I tried not to overwork the dough and used a dough scraper to knead because it was so loose. Let me know if you have ideas. 🙂 Here’s hoping there’s enough gluten structure to rise!
I am guessing that the people who added extra flour may not have let the dough beat for long enough. Mine looked really sticky but I let it beat longer until it formed a ball on the paddle.
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
Please, please, please tell me the answer to my question: do we REALLY need a stand mixer to make all foods? I mean, I see a bunch of recipes and I realize I have all the ingredients but no stand mixer or hand mixer when they call for one. Bummer. I was on the verge of buying one a few days ago. I’m always thinking to myself: should I get one; should I not? Because, to me, the stand mixer was SO expensive. So I decided to get your expert knowledge, Sally. 🙂 Is a stand mixer REALLY necessary? Do I really need a stand mixer or hand mixer to make great cakes and cookies and bread and etc? Because honestly I’M JUST NOT SURE. Also, does a hand mxier or stand mixer produce a better-quality end result?
Thank you SO much sally!
Love, Maya Green
The rolls so delicious. I made it for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I hope they last untill tomorrow.
★★★★★
These rolls were so easy to make they came out perfect the first time. My husband loves them so much he stopped using sliced bread and tortillas for his work lunch. I make some a little larger and flatter just for that purpose. I’ve used honey and butter topping but also tried butter and garlic salt which was good too. Big hit in our house! Thanks for sharing
★★★★★
I just made them with my bread machine dough cycle. OMG….they are delicious and I put the melted butter honey on them. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
★★★★★
Hi. My dough was sticky, after me adding about 4 extra tablespoons of flour.
It is resting now. Is this normal, since a cup of milk was used?
Or should I start over?