These are the softest, fluffiest yeast rolls I have ever made. An easy-to-make recipe for dinner rolls perfect for any occasion.
Who can resist a warm dinner roll fresh from the oven? Definitely not me, nor anybody in my family.
I am usually into making German-style bread rolls when making homemade buns, but these easy yeast rolls, American style, have definitely made it into our list of regulars when it comes to bread. The homemade dinner rolls are just that good: soft and fluffy, light and airy, perfect with a stew, a soup, or just with some butter and maybejSimple Apricot Jam or Black Currant Jelly in the morning...
What are yeast rolls?
Rolls are small loaves of bread served as a side dish for soups or saucy dishes or at breakfast with butter, jam, or cheese.
There is, however, a difference between the typical bread roll we know in Germany or Europe and the American-style dinner rolls. The German/European bread rolls can be made with plain white flour, but often whole wheat, rye, or spelt flour can be used instead.
In Germany, we do love plain Brötchen, Mehrkornbrötchen - rolls with several types of seeds, Roggenbrötchen – rye rolls, or pretzel rolls. This kind of Brötchen or rolls come in different degrees of lightness or denseness; they are sometimes light and sometimes dark in color, depending on the kind of flour or flour mixture used. They are “bready,” if that is a word I can use, they are smaller, crustier versions of a loaf of bread. They are all amazing!
However, I was never able to buy a roll similar to the American-style dinner rolls. We do have the Milchbrötchen – milk rolls, which have a similar texture as the dinner rolls, but they are sweeter; they are more like a snack or a dessert, and I could not imagine eating them as an accompaniment for a savory dish.
These American homemade dinner rolls are everything I expected them to be: soft bread rolls, light and only very slightly sweetened, perfect to mop up any sauce on your plate, and also perfect to enjoy with a little butter and jam.
Recipe steps
Making this dinner roll recipe with yeast is actually easier than you might think. You can make the recipe with the help of a stand mixer or handheld mixer fitted with dough hooks, or you can knead the dough by hand; either way, it will all go fairly quickly.
- Heat the milk until lukewarm. The milk should not get hot. Otherwise, it will destroy the yeast.
- Pour the milk, yeast, and granulated sugar into a large bowl, either a regular bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir shortly.
- Add the soft butter and the lightly beaten eggs. Mix well either with the kneading attachments of the stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer fitted with dough hooks. If not using a machine, stir well with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are mixed.
- Add the flour and the salt to the bowl and mix with the dough hooks until the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- If making the dough without a machine, stir in about half of the flour using a wooden spoon. Start adding the remaining flour, stirring with the spoon for as long as possible. When the dough becomes too sturdy to stir, give it to the working surface and knead it with your hands until the dough is only slightly sticky and still soft.
- You could add 1 or 2 tablespoons extra flour, if necessary, but keep in mind that the dough should remain soft.
- Let the dough rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes in a warm place; it should double in size.
- Lightly grease a large baking tray. Punch down the dough and form the rolls; I had 24 rolls that fitted perfectly into my baking tray. Place them on the tray leaving a little space between them.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another hour.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- When the dinner rolls have properly risen, they will come together, touching each other on the tray. However, it will be very easy (and fun) to pull them apart when serving.
- Bake the easy yeast rolls for 12 to 14 minutes until nicely golden. Take them out of the oven and brush them immediately with 1 tablespoon of melted (or very soft) butter.
Recipe Tips and FAQ
Once baked, the yeast dinner rolls can be served immediately.
If not served hot, let them rest on the tray for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Keep stored in plastic bags or wrapped in foil at room temperature; they should keep for about 3-4 days.
The homemade yeast rolls should not be refrigerated as they will become stale quicker than at room temperature.
You can reheat them in the oven before serving them again if you wish. It's not mandatory, but nice if they are warm. However, we had absolutely no issues serving the leftovers for breakfast without warming them up; they were still great!
You can refrigerate them after shaping them into rolls for up to 24 hours. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
Yeast products are always best when fresh, but you can make the rolls a little in advance and refresh them before serving.
Freeze unbaked rolls after shaping them. Let them thaw and rise before baking; this will take 1 - 2 hours at room temperature, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
Freeze baked dinner rolls. Let them cool down completely, place them in freezer bags or wrap them in aluminum foil and freeze them. They will keep for at least 3 months.
Remove the aluminum foil or take the rolls out of the freezer bags; if you leave them wrapped, they will become soggy. Let thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until soft.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Loosely wrap 4-6 dinner rolls in a single layer in a large piece of aluminum foil and reheat for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
Serving suggestions
- As mentioned above, the easy yeast rolls can be served hot, warm, or cold.
- You can have them for breakfast with butter, jam, cheese, and so on. Split them in half by breaking them with your hands (it's so easy, using a knife is pointless).
- Or you can have the homemade dinner rolls as an accompaniment for soups, anything with gravy – like a nice beef roast with gravy, saucy dishes like meatballs in tomato sauce, pork stew or Hungarian goulash.
- Last time I made them, we had them with something similar to this French beef stew. And the leftovers with these beautiful eggplants in tomato sauce.
- Or you can make pulled pork sandwiches - so good!!! Or make sloppy Joes; I've never had those, but they look amazing, and these homemade dinner rolls would be perfect for them.
Source: The Stay at Home Chef
More rolls and buns
Homemade Yeast Rolls
Ingredients
- 480 ml milk 16.2 fl.oz/ 2 cups
- 2 tablespoons instant dry yeast
- 50 g granulated sugar 1.5 oz/ ¼ cup
- 80 g unsalted butter soft + 1 extra tablespoon butter for brushing, 3 oz/ ⅓ cup
- 2 eggs medium Germany, large US
- 750 g all-purpose flour 1.7 lbs / 6 ¼ cups
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Instructions
- Heat the milk until lukewarm. Don't overheat the milk or it will spoil the yeast.
- Mix: Pour the lukewarm milk, active dry yeast, and granulated sugar into a large bowl (or the stand mixer bowl). Add the soft butter and the lightly beaten eggs. Mixwell either with the kneading attachments of the stand mixer or with a handheld mixer fitted with dough hooks.
- If not using a machine, stir well with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are mixed.
- Knead: Add the flour and the salt to the bowl and mix with the dough hooks until the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- If making the dough without a machine, stir in about half of the flour using a wooden spoon. Start adding the remaining flour, stirring with the spoon for as long as possible. When the dough becomes too sturdy to stir, turn it on the lightly floured working surface and knead with your hands until the dough is only slightly sticky and still soft.
- You could add 1 or 2 tablespoons extra flour, if necessary, but keep in mind that the dough should remain soft.
- Let rise: Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes in a warm place, it should double in size.
- Form yeast rolls: Lightly grease a large baking tray of about 30x40 cm/12x16 inches. Punch down the dough. Form 24 rolls. Place them on the baking tray leaving a little space between them. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for another hour.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake: When the rolls have nicely risen, they will come together, touching each other on the tray. Bake the easy yeast rolls for 12 to 14 minutes, until nicely golden.
- Brush them immediately with 1 tablespoon melted (or very soft) butter.
angiesrecipes says
They look so nicely golden, soft and yummy :-))
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
These rolls look incredibly soft and fluffy!! If I had not spent the last two hours in the kitchen baking, I would want to go into my kitchen to whip up some of these right now. Definitely have to try these! Pinning. Happy Holidays Adina!!
Ambreen Wajid says
Oh gosh! These rolls look absolutely perfect and fluffy! Can't wait to add these to my dinner!
tanzeela fawad says
Looks wonderful and the shape is so interesting. I can imagine how good it tastes! That’s my kind of recipe! I go weak in the knees for anything these delicious recipe and this is one of my kind. 🙂
Vicki Skonieczny says
I have never had much luck with dinner rolls.....until now. These were so easy and they came out beautifully. Not even I can believe that I actually made these. So light, fluffy and delicious. Thank you so much. After 30 years of baking, I have finally found my go to roll recipe.
Adina says
I am so happy to hear it, Vicki. Thank you so much for the feedback.
Bobbie says
I made these they turned out good but I always get biscuit like dough when I bake them never a roll they are good but just don’t know what I’m doimg wrong
Adina says
Hi Bobbie. Do you mean they don't rise and get fluffy? Do they remain flat? It's hard to say from afar, but it might be the yeast? The milk should be lukewarm, if it's too hot, it will kill the yeast, and the dough won't rise. The bowl with the dough should be allowed to rise in a warm room like the kitchen. Or put it in the oven and turn on the oven light, just the light, not the oven itself. And give it enough time to double in size. The same for the second rise. I hope this helps.
Nichole says
These are wonderful my family said they are the best ones I have made yet! Thanks so much!
Adina says
I am so happy to hear it, Nichole. Thank you for the feedback.
Jennifer D says
How do you get the rolls all the same size? Forgive me if this is a stupid question for I have never made homemade rolls for my Thanksgiving dinner.
Adina says
Hi Jennifer. I always weigh them on a scale, which is the best solution.
Marcy says
@Adina, These look wonderful, thanks for sharing. Would you please tell me how much each roll weighs to get them all the same size? I was looking for a nice big roll (not the little dinner rolls you normally see) and the pic you have of one in your hand looks like the perfect size. Thank you.
Adina says
Hi Marcy. It's easy: Weigh the dough and divide the weight by 24. Then you will know exactly how much one roll should weigh. ?
RachelC says
2 tablespoons of yeast? Surely, that is a typo! A packet of yeast is just over 2 teaspoons. Is that what's meant here?
Adina says
Hi. Yes, I always use that much, you need to have enough for the 750 g flour.
Karen says
Could you use active yeast instead of instant?
Adina says
Hi Karen. Yes, you can.
Lindsay K says
I made these rolls on a whim on Thanksgiving and they turned out perfect! Perfect soft tear apart rolls with wonderful yeast flavor. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Diana says
Hi. Is the milk whole milk or evaporated/condensed milk?
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Thanks
Adina says
Hi Diana. Regular milk, you can use whole (3.5% fat) or semi-skimmed (1.8% fat).