Homemade Dinner Rolls

4.88 from 25 votes

Homemade Dinner Rolls

You only need 6 simple ingredients to create the most fluffy, buttery, tender and super easy Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe!

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Resting Time2

Total Time40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: Rolls

Calories: 214kcal

Author: Neha

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups Milk (full fat, warmed to about 110°F)
4 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Active Dry Yeast (I used Red Star)
6 Tablespoons Butter (unsalted, melted)
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
3 ½ - 4 Cups All purpose flour
1 Tablespoon Butter (for brushing on top)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

PROVING THE YEAST:

Mix warm milk, yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Or in a regular mixing bowl, if you wish to knead the dough with hands. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.

MAKING THE DOUGH:

Now add in melted butter, salt, remaining sugar and flour. Add 3 ¾ cups of flour gradually, 1 cup at a time. Continue to whisk until all the dough gets in. You can also make use of a wooden spoon here.
Next attach dough hook to the mixer and continue to knead the dough on speed 2 till it leaves sides of the bowl. Add the last ¼ cup of flour if you find the dough to be too sticky. This should take about 2-3 minutes. If you

FIRST RISE:

Coat the dough in some oil, also oil the sides of bowl. Cover it with a kitchen towel or foil and let it rise in a warm environment until double in size. This should take about 1- 1 ½ hours.
Grease a baking 9x13" pan or two 8-inches square/round pans and set them aside.

SHAPING THE ROLLS:

Punch the dough down after it is doubled. Divide the dough into 12-14 portions eyeballing it using a bench scraper/knife.
To shape: Work with one dough ball at a time. Place the ball on work surface or in your hand. Now start pulling outer edges of the ball, up and towards the center of the ball, all the way around. Then pinch all the pulled edges together up in the center of ball. Flip and place the ball in prepared pan. Repeat till you are done shaping every roll.

SECOND RISE:

Now cover the pan with a damp towel. Let the rolls rise again until double for about 30-45 minutes) in some place warm.

BAKING THE ROLLS:

When you notice your rolls have risen halfway, preheat your oven to 375°F. Bake the well risen rolls for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden on the outside and sound hollow when tapped on top with a spoon/spatula.
Remove the rolls from oven and brush with butter. Serve warm!

Notes

Storing and Freezing Instructions:

How do you store them overnight?

Cover leftover rolls in a foil and store in an air tight container at room temperature. Never store rolls in fridge as it will dry them out.

How to freeze Rolls?

Both baked/unbaked rolls can be frozen.

Baked rolls can be frozen in a plastic bag foiled individually for up to a month.
Unbaked rolls can be frozen after rolling individually. Place rolled balls in greased baking tray for 2-3 hours in freezer. Now you can store them in a freezer bag for 2 months.
When ready to bake, thaw and let them rise in baking pan and bake as directed above.

More Helpful Tips:

Which Yeast is best for Dinner Rolls?

Both Quick Rising and Active Dry Yeast work well for this recipe. If using Quick Rise Yeast, you do not need to prove it first. Just directly add it with all ingredients while making the dough.

Even active dry yeast can be added directly. The rising time of dough would be considerably more in that case.

How to make the dough rise quickly?

In Microwave: Place a damp kitchen towel/a bowl filled with water in microwave for a minute on high heat. Now remove the towel/glass and keep the dough covered in the warm microwave with door closed and allow it to rise.

In Oven: Preheat oven at 400 deg F for 2 minutes. Now turn the oven off and place dough (covered with a kitchen towel) in the oven and shut the door. Allow the dough to rise in this warm oven.

How do you unfreeze a baked roll?

You can thaw dinner rolls in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter top. Serve them after re-warming.

How do you reheat rolls?

Rolls are best re-heated in oven. Place rolls on a baking dish/tray, cover it with a foil. Place some water in a ramekin along side the baking dish. Re-heat rolls in a 300 deg F pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Nutrition