Dinner Rolls

Easy Dinner Rolls

These easy dinner rolls are golden, buttery, and soft. Fresh from the oven, they taste like a warm hug. If you’ve never made rolls, not to worry. Let’s break it into four steps: (1) Dough, (2) Knead, (3) Rise, (4) Rolls.

For the DOUGH, you’ll need a small bowl, a medium bowl, and a large bowl. In the small bowl, whisk the yeast and a bit of sugar, and then some warm water. If it gets foamy after 5 minutes, you’re good to go. In the medium bowl, heat the milk and butter in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. In the large bowl, mix together the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Then add warm milk, melted butter, whisked egg, and the yeast mixture to the flour. Now stir until a dough forms.

Next up, kneading. KNEAD the dough in a stand-mixer with a dough hook or on a lightly floured surface, adding flour as needed. Then put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

To let the dough RISE, set the bowl in a warm place for 1-2 hours. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, and divide the dough into 16 balls of dough. (My hack for making 16 even pieces is on this video.) Then let the ROLLS rise for 45 minutes. Now it’s time to bake! Brush on an egg wash, pop them in the oven for 25 minutes, and your easy dinner rolls are ready to enjoy! For a wheat version, check out our Wheat Dinner Rolls.

Easy Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 teaspoon (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
  • 2 to 5 Tablespoons (24 – 60 g) sugar, depending on desired sweetness
  • 3 Tablespoons (45 g) warm water, 105 to 115 degrees F (40 – 46 degrees C)
  • 1 cup (8 0z) whole milk
  • 6 Tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter
  • 3 1/2 cups (490 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon (9 g) Kosher salt
  • 1 large (50 g) egg, whisked

 

For egg wash: 1 egg + 2 teaspoons water, whisked and strained

For topping: flakey sea salt

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together yeast and 1 Tablespoon (12 g) sugar. Add 3 Tablespoons warm water and whisk again. Let stand 5 minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, microwave milk and butter for 1 minute, or until milk is warm and butter is just melted.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1-4 Tablespoons (12 – 48 g) sugar (depending on desired sweetness), and salt. Add milk, butter, egg, and yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms. Knead dough in a stand-mixer with a dough hook, or by hand on a lightly floured surface until smooth, about 6-8 minutes.
  4. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
  5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down dough and then bring it together into a ball. Divide dough into 16 balls. Place rolls side by side, lightly touching, into four rows of four. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit in warm spot 45 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. For egg wash, whisk one egg in a small bowl with 2 teaspoons water. Strain egg and discard stringy pieces. Using a pastry brush, gently brush tops of rolls with egg. Bake until rolls are puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with flakey sea salt if desired. Serve warm.

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Hi! I’m Marie. Mama, wife, homebody. I’m a self-taught chef and cookbook author. 

I love sharing fast, fresh, family-friendly recipes that will, hopefully, make your life a little easier.

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28 Responses

    1. Hi Linda! Thanks so much for your note! I’m excited for you to try the rolls. They are so delicious! Let me know if you have questions — I’m always happy to help! Hugs, Marie

    1. Hi Judith! Thanks so much for your note — lovely to hear from you 😊 I’m excited for you to try these. Let me know how the turn out. Hugs, Marie

  1. Want to do these right away! When using a mixer do you add the dough after you mix it in a separate bowl? I’m not new to kneading but getting older and it’s not so easy any more. Have a good stand mixer and want to put it to work! You’re easy to follow so I know everything will be so good! I’m 72 and have been making bread since my dad taught me many years ago. Just haven’t relied on a mixer until now. Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Hi Carol! I’m with you — I much prefer to use the mixer for kneading! And I apologize for not making it more clear. You can put your flour and dry ingredients directly into the mixing bowl and follow the recipe as usual from there. In other words, when you start adding the liquid and yeast to the flour mixture, do it all in the stand-mixer bowl. Then use the dough hook to knead 8 minutes or so, adding just a little flour if needed to keep it from being too sticky. Let me know if you need anything else. Hugs, Marie

  2. Hi Judith, Oh how wonderfully delicious these rolls look! It’s past the midnight hour or I would be in the kitchen now giving these a try. Question: Can I use self-rising flour and just omit the salt? Thanks!

    1. Hi Judith! So glad you want to make the rolls! Self-rising flour also contains baking powder, and that can change the chemistry of a yeast dough. I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t predict exactly what would happen, but I do think they would be significantly different in texture. Hope that helps. Hugs, Marie

  3. Judith, I forgot to ask about the yeast. I keep the packs in the refrigerator. Should I remove it and bring to room temp before using? Or is that necessary? Thanks!

    1. Hi Betty! The yeast should always be kept in the refrigerator, so you are doing the right thing! No need to bring to room temp before using. Hugs, Marie

    1. Hi Joann! I apologize for the delayed reply — somehow I missed this one! Yes, you can use honey for the rolls. I’ve never proofed yeast with honey, so I’m not sure how that works, but if you’re fairly certain your yeast is not expired, then you can skip the proofing step, and just add the yeast, water and honey in with the rest of the mixture. Let me know how it turns out! Thanks for watching 🥰 Hugs, Marie

  4. My wife is out with her sister and daughter today, I’m making these right now, I’m positive they’ll be a hit.

    1. Hi Joe! Exciting! How lucky they are to come home to fresh warm rolls! Thanks for the comment — always love to hear from readers 😊 Happy holidays, Marie

  5. Made these rolls for Thanksgiving dinner and they were a BIG hit with my grandkids! Great recipe and easy to follow directions for my first time making rolls. Will be making these rolls often. Thank you!

    1. Hi Annette! Sorry for the delayed reply! I was traveling for Thanksgiving 🙂 I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed these rolls and plan to make them often! Thank you for watching and especially for taking time to leave a note! It’s always great to connect with viewers. Hugs, Marie

  6. Hello Maria, I just want to say that I love your dinner roll recipe. It is so easy to follow your directions, and because of that, I have subscribe to your channel. I’m looking forward to making more of your recipes in the near future.

    1. Hi Linda! Thanks so much for your note! I’m thrilled to hear that you are enjoying the dinner rolls recipe and are finding the recipes easy to follow. Please stay in touch and feel free to reach out if you have any questions or requests! Hugs, Marie

  7. I made these for Thanksgiving, used 3 1/2 tablespoons of Sugar, they were perfect. I’m making a double batch for Christmas Eve, I used our stand mixer for the entire process. I can’t believe the mixer can be used to make such tasty rolls. Thanks Marie Saba!

  8. Today’s weather was extremely chilly, so I decided it was the perfect time to make the dinner rolls. It was easy. The whole house smells amazing and cozy. I’m having it with my favorite hot chocolate. If only I could share before and after photos! Your recipe deserves a glowing five-star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Thanks a bunch, Marie! P.S. Breadmaking is now a permanent addition to my culinary adventures.”

    1. Hi Cheryl! Thanks so much for watching and I apologize for the delayed reply. I would make two batches. It’s already a lot of dough to work with, so I think a double batch would be too much at once. Hope that helps, Marie

  9. Is it 3 Tablespoons Water, not a 1/2 or 1 Cup water to 1 TBLSP sugar and 2 1/4 yeast? Your measuring cup looks like the water is at the 1/2 cup mark.
    Thanks
    Julie

    1. Hi Julie! Thanks for watching and for your comment! The 3 Tablespoons is correct. I just filled my measuring cup up a bit more so it would be easy to scoop out 3 Tablespoons. I did not add the remaining water. Sorry for the confusion 😉 Thanks again for watching. Big hugs, Marie

  10. Floyd Kellam high school in Virginia Beach Virginia.baked these every morning, 2 for a nickel. The school always smelled wonderfully welcoming. I bake them now.

  11. Can’t wait to make these! Do you know if you can make the dough ahead of time? Maybe the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight. Let it come to room temp and proceed with the 1st rise and then roll into balls……..

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Marie Saba

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