Ultimate Dinner Rolls

How to Make Dinner Rolls

Ingredients for Dinner Rolls

• Warm milk – whole milk produces the absolute best flavor and texture. We don’t recommend using a nondairy or low-fat milk unless you absolutely must.
• Unsalted butter – a little inside the dough lends richness and flavor! Plus, even more brushed on the freshly baked rolls because YUM.
• Eggs – also add richness and flavor. Two eggs go inside the dough and one gets brushed on top for an ultra shiny and golden brown exterior.
• Granulated sugar – just a touch, not too much, to help make the rolls tender and golden brown.
• Salt  – fine sea salt or table salt is an absolute must in the dough, but I also love sprinkling the freshly baked and buttered rolls with flaky sea salt for even more flavor.
• Instant yeast – more on this below.
• Bread flour – bread flour has a higher level of protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps create tall dinner rolls with a nice chewy, fluffy texture. If you don’t have bread flour, use the same amount of all-purpose flour. Your rolls may just be slightly shorter and less chewy.

Which Yeast Is Best to Use For Dinner Rolls?

This recipe utilizes a short cut ingredient: instant yeast, also called rapid rise or quick rise yeast. One of the three should be available at most grocery stores or you can buy my all-time favorite yeast on Amazon. These types of yeast are specifically formulated to allow you to skip proofing (aka the step where you combine the yeast with warm liquid for 5 minutes). You can add instant yeast directly into the mix with all of the ingredients.

If you don’t have or can’t find instant yeast, you can easily use active dry yeast instead. Add it right in with the dry ingredients like instant yeast, just know the dough will take about 20% more time to rise. Or, to speed up that rise time slightly, simply combine it with the warm water and milk called for in the recipe and allow it to proof for 5 minutes before adding into the bowl with the other ingredients.

Can I Knead the Dough By Hand?

Yes! Be sure to knead the dough properly to get rolls that hold their shape and bake up nice and fluffy. I call for a stand mixer to make easy work of kneading in this recipe, but you can also knead by hand. You can see my full tutorial on how to knead dough here.

How to Tell When Dough Is Risen

After kneading, shape the dough into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. I like to use glass so I can see how much it’s rising. I’ll even snap an iPhone picture of the dough before rising so I can compare later. The dough should be turned over to oil the top so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, foil, or a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free location. Ideal rise temperatures are between 80°F and 90°F. Lower temperatures will require more rising time.

The dough is done rising when it’s about doubled in size and passes the “ripe” test. Gently stick two fingers in the risen dough up to the second knuckle and then take them out. If the finger marks remain, the dough is ready for shaping into balls. If not, cover and let the dough rise longer until it is.

The same finger test can be done again when the rolls are shaped and getting ready for baking. Here’s what my dough looked like before and after rising:

How to Shape Bread Rolls

Once the dough is risen, press it down to deflate it slightly. Place the dough onto a clean surface (not a floured surface). Use a bench scraper to section the dough into 12 equal pieces. Don’t worry if they’re not perfectly equal in size. However, if you’re a perfectionist you can actually weigh the entire mass of dough, divide that number by 12, then portion each piece perfectly by weight.

As you’re shaping each piece into a round, make sure to pinch the dough into one central point to create a tight ball. This will help the rolls rise beautifully. Don’t flour your work surface when shaping the rolls because you want some resistance to roll them into taut balls.

You can also get creative with the shapes! Check out my article for 5 Ways to Shape Bread Rolls here.

How to Make Dinner Rolls Ahead of Time

Basically all yeast dough can be made ahead of time and baked off later on! For this recipe, I like to make the dough all the way through to rising once and shaping the rolls. Once the rolls are shaped, cover them and place in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature as the oven preheats before baking as the recipe directs. If the rolls haven’t doubled in size yet, allow to sit at room temperature until they do.

Refrigerating basically stunts the rise time and can actually allow more flavor to develop!

The rolls are best served the day they’re baked. However, you can easily reheat the rolls briefly in the oven or toaster oven at 300°F until warmed through to refresh.

How to Freeze Dinner Rolls

Freeze the dough after it has risen for the first time and been shaped. Place the rolls in a baking dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Loosen the plastic wrap and thaw to room temperature. Let rise until an indentation made with your finger into the dough remains. Proceed with the recipe as written.