Homemade dinner rolls are easy to make and come out of the oven light and fluffy!
So much better than store-bought, these soft rolls are perfect with butter, served with lasagna, or even to use for sliders!
A Homemade Favorite
- Easy to make with ingredients you likely have on hand.
- This recipe comes from an old favorite in my recipe box.
- Can be made with a stand mixer or by hand.
- Rolls are fluffy with great flavor.
Make this easy yeast roll recipe any time dinner rolls are called for. These go great with soup, stew, and really with any saucy recipe!
Ingredients and Variations
YEAST For best results, use fresh active yeast. To tell if yeast is still fresh, add some sugar to the yeast in warm water. If the yeast bubbles up after 10 minutes, it’s still good to use.
DAIRY Whole milk and full-fat butter will give the finished rolls a rich and mildly sweet flavor.
SUGAR Sugar activates the yeast. For extra fiber, use a half and half ratio of whole wheat flour to white, and for a gluten-free dinner roll, use a gluten-free flour blend and increase the yeast and water (or follow the instructions on the package).
EXTRAS For savory rolls, stir in some Everything Bagel Seasoning or some Italian Seasoning. And for a sweet spread, try this wonderful recipe for Honey Butter.
How to Make Dinner Rolls
It’s never been so easy to make homemade dinner rolls:
- Combine yeast with warm water & sugar until foamy. Warm the milk, butter, sugar, & salt until melted.
- Mix flour with the yeast mixture, and milk mixtures.
- Knead dough until smooth, allow to rise.
- Punch down dough & divide into 12 balls.
- Shape balls into buns & place them in a greased casserole dish. Cover & let rise. Bake (per the recipe below) until rolls are fluffy and golden brown on top.
How Warm Should the Water Be?
The water should feel just slightly warmer than room temperature, almost like a baby’s bath. You can (but don’t really need to) use a thermometer to check the water temperature, it should be around 110°F. Be sure you’re using active dry yeast.
Tips for the Best Buns
- Measure the flour by spooning it into a measuring cup and then pulling a knife across the top to level the flour.
- Don’t add too much flour to the dough while kneading, just enough to keep the dough from sticking.
- Allow the buns to rise at room temperature away from temperature extremes. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap or parchment and a clean kitchen towel.
- Brushing the rolls with butter or milk helps them come out browned and glossy. Brush with additional butter when they come out of the oven to make them shiny.
How to Store
Keep dinner rolls in a zippered bag or covered container in a cool dry place, and they’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days. Freeze baked and cooled rolls on a cookie sheet and then place them in a zippered bag with the date labeled on the outside. They’ll keep in the freezer indefinitely, but are best if used within 3 months. Let frozen rolls thaw at room temperature before serving.
More Love from the Oven
- Cheese Bread (Quick Bread) – easy & cheesy
- Homemade Biscuits
- Naan Bread – chewy and soft
- Cheddar Cheese Scones
- 30 Minute Dinner Rolls
- Jalapeno Cheddar Bread – a touch of spice
- Easy Beer Bread – savory warmth
- Parker House Rolls
Did you make these homemade Dinner Rolls? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Fluffy Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons traditional yeast 1 packet
- ¼ cup water lukewarm
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- ¾ cup butter
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar + ¼ tsp
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water and sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of sugar on top. Let it stand for 10 minutes until bubbly.
- In a small saucepan heat milk, butter, sugar, and salt until lukewarm and melted.
- In a large bowl mix flour and the yeast mixture, slowly add the heated milk mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover, letting it rise for 30 minutes.
- After rising, punch down the dough and portion it into 15 balls.
- Grease a 9x13 baking pan and place the rolls into the pan. Cover and let them rise for 60-70 minutes or until fluffy.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Brush buns with additional butter if desired and bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
These are the best rolls I have ever made. They are super light, fluffy and buttery..So so good, and they re-heat beautifully.
These are amazing! Can we freeze the dough and bake when ready?
We have only froze them after baking but I think it should work! Shape them, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze them. Then when they’re frozen you can move them to a Ziploc bag. Once you’re ready to bake, arrange them on a baking sheet, let them thaw and rise, then bake as directed. Please let us know how it turns out if you decide to try it!
Should I use active dry yeast or I stand yeast?
I use active dry yeast in this recipe Jessica. Enjoy!
Best dinner rolls I have ever made so moist and tasty
I am so glad you enjoyed these dinner rolls Syl!
Turned out very tasty and moist. Family and myself enjoyed very much with butter and jam!
Any tips on shaping like a roll lol? Mine were more square
I’m so glad your family enjoyed these rolls Maria! They do kind of become square-like from squishing up against each other when they rise.
Can I knead my dough in a stand mixer?
Yes, this can be kneaded in a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 4 to 5 minutes.
Please, please, PLEASE provide measurements in GRAMS instead of basic volume, especially for dry ingredients such as flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Even butter is best measured in grams, not tablespoons or cups.
Also mention the type of salt used, whether kosher or table. When not providing dry measurements in weights, that is extremely important with salt as table salt weighs about twice as much as kosher salt which could lead to a recipe turning out either very flat or twice as salty as it should, either way it ruins the end result.
I have noticed this to be a very common problem on American recipe sites where there seems to be some great resistance to metric measurements in particular, even though they are inarguably the best way to measure ingredients, especially in baking.
As for the rolls themselves, I will definitely be trying these very soon. They look delicious and are very simple to make.
This recipe uses table salt. Let us know how they work out for you!
Hello Robert
I understand that if you are used to a Metric system then that is how you like a recipe to appear, BUT the US is not a Metric country, I live in Canada, so I’m very familiar with the Metric system.
You can easily convert recipe amounts to Metric by using Google, simply type in 1 cup All Purpose flour to grams and you will get the information you need. Maybe you could keep a journal so you do not have to keep looking up ingredient items. Hope this helps :)