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
I cannot fine this Brand of Yeast in Dallas and amazon cannot ship for a month. Any suggestions?
Hi Donna, We are using an instant/rapid yeast here. You can use active dry yeast instead with no other changes. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast.
Could this be doubled? Would you double the yeast along with everything else?
Hi Abbie, for best results, I recommend making 2 separate batches of dough instead of doubling.
Made these twice. Excellent. Can I use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose? Thanksgiving here we come!
Hi Rick, so glad you enjoy these! I recommend my whole wheat rolls if you want to use 100% whole wheat flour. You could replace 1 cup of the regular flour in this recipe with whole wheat flour, but expect the rolls to taste a little heavy.
My dough was too wet at first, so I was worried about adding too much flour in, but they turned out pretty good!
Can dough be mixed and let rise using a bread machine?
Hi Linda, we haven’t tested this recipe in a bread machine but we can’t see why not! Other readers have reported success doing so.
Do you use a water bath?
Hi Ruby, We do not in this recipe.
Why are you proofing if the recipe calls for instant yeast?
I have made these rolls many times, and they are always a big hit. My question is, is it possible to make 1 1/2 servings, rather than completely doubling the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, with yeast recipes, it’s better to make separate batches so that you don’t risk over-kneading the dough. It would be best to make two batches and you can freeze those you don’t need right away!
For the freezing instructions, is it possible to thaw them overnight in the fridge and bake them in the morning, instead of thawing on the counter for 4-5 hours the day of? I was wondering if anyone has tried this method as I’d love to bake them early before going to our Thanksgiving event.
Can you bake these rolls and then freeze them? Due to time constraints, I would prefer to have the rolls completed through step 9, and then freeze. Or, do they stay fresh if left at room temp for 3-4 days? Thank you,
Hi Gail! See recipe notes for our recommended make-ahead instructions. Enjoy!
I’ve made these rolls several times and they are amazing! I’ve always used bread flour and followed the recipe exactly. I don’t have a lot of bread making experience so I’m thankful that Sally always provides detailed instructions!
I tried this recipe last thanksgiving and it was good. The rolls appearance and texture was fabulous . Soft, light with a lovely crust. My question is about the flavor which did not match expectation. Would love to try again this holiday, any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
I’m not sure what I did wrong but the tops of my rolls were hard and the bottom of the rolls had a really thick, hard crust. The inside of the roll was good.
Hi Heidi! Could they simply be over-baked? Try a few minutes less in the oven next time.
Whole family loved these rolls!!!
I added 1/2 c of shredded carrots to the recipe . Soft, flavorful and the dough was delightful to work with. This one is a keeper!
Made these today as a test run for thanksgiving. Followed the directions exactly, with exception to the whole milk (we only had 2% here) and even with the milk substitution, they turned out amazing! My 4 year old gave it 2 thumbs up and all toes yp!!
Will definitely be making these again, thanks for sharing!!!
Great taste. Not a problem with them. Cooked til 190 degrees in the centre roll( oops lol) , my oven doesn’t brown well so they were cooked fine but the texture is a little coarse, rather than silky inside more air holes but not tough ( looked more almost like a French or Italian bread but softer and not chewy rather than a sandwich loaf if that makes sense. ). I didn’t test for a transparent window although the dough looked and felt great. So are they supposed to be “ holie” inside or smooth and silky. More or less kneading or is that just how the dough is?
I’m so confused! The recipe says 3 cups but the instructions only say to add 1. My dough is really soupy. Do you i just continue to add by the T until it equals 3 cups?
Hi Lindsey, In step 2 after you add the first cup of flour, you mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then add the remaining flour.
I CANT get my rolls to brown without overcooking them! I’ve tried egg wash, butter, moving them to a higher rack, but they always come out pale! If I cook them until they brown, they’re very overdone and hard. Any advice?
Hi Amanda, 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.
I make these constantly. I was wondering if you could use buttermilk so last time I used half buttermilk and half water and they were great. I have also made them larger and squashed them flat for sandwiches (make them larger, maybe 10 for the recipe). I also don’t add the second tablespoon of sugar. An egg white wash with seeds or bagel seasoning is also yummy! I have this recipe memorized and make it all the time fun to make in to little braided buns or other shapes too
I love your recipes. They are always a success! These rolls turned out soft
and fluffy and a lovely colour. Brushed them with a mix of honey and butter and sprinkle
with coarse sea salt or coarse truffle salt, yummy. thank you.
I made these tonight to use for bbq chicken sliders. The recipe was nice and easy to follow. I especially appreciated the video so I could see each step. I made them with unsweetened almond milk and they turned out absolutely perfect. They were light, fluffy and delicious!
can I use oat milk? Hubby cant do dairy! Or coconut milk? Thanks!
Hi Debi, Oat milk or almond milk should work, though the rolls may be *slightly* less soft and fluffy.
I made these to go with our dinner last night. So easy, so light and so delicious. I will try some of your add-in suggestions next time.
Just came to say that I’ve made this recipe several times and i keep coming back! It’s easy and the buns always turn out really fluffy and delicious. My family and i like to slice them in half and make deli meat and cheese or nuttella sandwiches. Super tasty!
Hello, is it 3 cups flour or 1 cup? The ingredients say 3 but the procedure says 1 cup. Thanks!
Hi KT, in step 2 you’ll start with 1 cup of flour and then mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Enjoy!
I. Made these and they didn’t rise I used fkesichmanns rapid rise yeast which I have for the rolls I have made in the past but they did not rise ! I was looking for a quick roll recipe for thanksgiving but guess I will stick to the one I am use too but it was worth a try !
Your yeast might have expired! Did the yeast foam when you put it in the milk?
Are these high altitude?
Hi Nancy, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I had no problem here at 1100m above sea level. The buns rose a bit quicker that the recipe suggested but maybe my kitchen was warmer than usual
As always, I was uncertain of when dough was not too sticky and not too much flour. Added 2 additional tablespoons of flour and hoped for the best as I’m not experienced with this type of bread making. All went well. Divided into 28 dough balls and used to form around meatballs. End product was light, fluffy and tasted great. All positive comments from guests and no leftovers. I would definitely use this recipe again, with or without meatballs.
I’m never making another bun recipe again! These are amazing; buttery, soft, rich. And so easy, especially with a stand mixer.
I’ve made this recipe several times, and it is a winner! Other roll recipes always had issues with rising and ended up too dense, but these are amazingly fluffy. I keep a sourdough starter so I put a few tablespoons of my active starter in the mix and lower the yeast amount to 1 teaspoon. Works perfectly!
I tried making these rolls and they taste good, but are a little dense- like a biscuit. Do you have any suggestions or ideas about what I did wrong? Thank you!
Hi Jen! Too much kneading will lead to a dense tasting bread or roll because the gluten has been over-worked – or perhaps your dough didn’t rise enough before baking? Too much flour can also make breads dry and dense, so be sure to carefully spoon and level or use a scale to measure. You may find our Baking with Yeast Guide very helpful!
Thanks for this response. I made these today and my experience was much like Jen K’s. I thought I kneaded them the correct time (with the dough hook on my mixer). I wasn’t sure what speed to use for the kneading though. I’ll try then again soon. Mine weren’t dry but were coarse and dense. Like Jen said, a little like a biscuit.
I tried them again today and they turned out much better! The first time, I used the dough hook on my mixer to knead, but I did it by hand this time to make sure I didn’t over knead the dough. Thanks for the help and suggestions!
Taste dense more like a Biscuit would.