What can be better than freshly baked homemade dinner rolls. Light, buttery, and fluffy, they are just perfection! So easy to make, using just 7 basic ingredients.
If you want to surprise your family, make these easy homemade dinner rolls! They are perfectly buttery and flaky inside and will be a great compliment to any dish.
I like to serve it with Instant Pot Pot Roast, Dutch Oven Beef Stew, Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs, and many other comforting meals.
Why this recipe works
Dinner rolls are quite different from Sandwich Bread recipe. They should be light, flaky, and most important, buttery.
To achieve that, we need to incorporate extra “fats”. That is why we need to add milk, butter, and egg. They will help the dough to be rich and moist. Also, I like to brush them with extra melted butter after they are baked to get additional flavor and beautiful shiny tops.
How to make it
In a stand mixer bowl, put warm milk (about 110˚F), active dry yeast, and sugar. Give it a stir and let sit for 3-5 minutes until it starts to bubble (Photos 1-4).
Then add melted butter, egg, salt, and half of the flour (Photos 5-8).
Using a dough attachment, mix it up.
Then gradually add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until combined. Knead for about 3-5 minutes (Photos 9-11).
Lightly grease the dough from all sides with olive oil.
Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let it rise for about 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size (Photos 12-15).
When the dough is ready, grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the counter. Punch down the dough to release the air (Photos 16-17).
Transfer it to a floured surface. Roll dough in a log, cut in 12 equal pieces and roll them into a ball shape (Photos 18-21).
Place them in a baking pan, leaving some space in between (Photo 22).
Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 more hour (Photo 23).
When ready, adjust the oven rack to a lower level and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the rolls at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
When the rolls are ready, remove them from the oven. You can brush them with melted butter for a shiny finish. Let them cool off before serving (Photos 24-25).
Tips for best results
Milk. To activate the yeast, the milk should be warm, about 100-110°F. You can heat it in a microwave or on the stovetop. It’s better to use a food thermometer to make sure that it’s the right temperature. If the milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
Size. When rolling the dough balls, try to keep them the same size. That will help them to bake more evenly.
Frequently Asked Questions
After the rolls are cooled off, you can put them in an air tight container or a zip-lock bag. They will stay fresh on the counter for up to a week.
You can reheat them in the oven. Wrap them in the foil and bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes. The foil will prevent them from drying out.
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk warm, about 110°F
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 packet
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, to brush
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl, put 1 cup warm milk (about 110˚F), 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast, and 3 tbsp sugar. Give it a stir and let sit for 3-5 minutes until it starts to bubble.
- Then add 4 tbsp melted butter, 1 egg, 1 ½ ts salt, and half of the flour.
- Using a dough attachment, mix it up.
- Then gradually add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until combined. Knead for about 3-5 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp olive oil and grease the dough fro all sides.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let it rise for about 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size.
- When the dough is ready, grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the counter. Punch down the dough to release the air.
- Transfer it to a floured surface. Roll the dough in a log, cut in 12 equal pieces and roll them into a ball shape.
- Place them in a baking pan, leaving some space in between.
- Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 more hour.
- When ready, adjust the oven rack to a lower level and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the rolls at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
- When the dinner rolls are ready, remove them from the oven. Brush them with melted butter for a shiny finish.
Could you make them the night before and let them rise in the fridge over night?
Hi Jacci, I never tested this recipe for overnight rise, so I cannot say for sure. I believe that should work, though, it might need more time to get to the room temperature and properly rise in the morning.
They came out well! Mine weren’t as beautiful as yours but they taste really good . I’m definitely going to try this recipe again!
Thank you
Thank you, Nyasha! Glad you liked them 😉
Hello again! The dinner rolls came out very yummy, i added melted butter in the end but mixed with some herbs and garlic powder!
But i did have some issues and i need your advice on them!
First i used active dry yeast but it was dead, it wouldn’t make bubbles it just formed into a lump. 🙁
So, i used instant yeast in the mixture, i put all the liquids first in the mixer bowl and put the yeast there. Only 1 and a half tsp because i read its stronger than active yeast? :/
I let the dough rise lesser for the same reasons, i think one hour first and then one more hour after i shaped them into balls!
But it didn’t rise like yours(the first time).
Also i didn’t have the exact same pan size, the one i used i think it was bigger. So my bread rolls were not so close to each other while baking and they because more flat and not so tall as yours! :/
Thank you for your help!
Hi Maria! I’m glad you liked the recipe! Even if you substitute active dry yeast with instant yeast, you need to let the dough rise for about the same time. Under proofing usually is the main reason why the rolls come out flat.
Thank you! I will keep that in mind for next time! ❤️
Hello, i do not have a stand mixer only a hand mixer :/ so the dough hook is out of the option for me. Can i use a hand whisk instead to mix the dough?
Hi Maria! Yes, you can use a regular whisk or a spatula, then just simply knead the dough by hand. Let me know how it came out 😉
Fluffy, soft and delicious! Perfect as is for a dinner side dish or used to make sliders.
Beautiful dinner rolls! The texture is spot on. Thanks for the step by step pictures, they truly help to achieve a great result!
Your dinner rolls look so perfect!! I love all the details you’ve included. I’ve never made my own dinner rolls honestly so I am very excited to give this try 😀
These rolls are amazing!! Your instructions are perfect and so easy to follow!! The best dinner rolls!
Your rolls look so lovely so I am making these babies tonight! Thank you for the notes on how to store and reheat.
These mini dinner rolls are absolutely exquisite! They are a well worth bread option to have when having dinner with firends. Fresh from the oven they’re really difficult to resist!
I can’t believe that these soft and buttery rolls only take 7 ingredients! I will have to whip these together soon to join our table for dinner.
Wonderful recipe – and more importantly, wonderful explanations and instructions! There are so many bread recipes out there (especially these days), so it’s really nice to have one that makes the recipe so easy to follow and understand. Cheers!
Wow, the bread is fantastic and the guided recipe is perfectly explained! Great recipe and great post.