Homemade Dinner Rolls from Scratch
Once you start making these homemade dinner rolls for your family, they are sure to become a staple menu item. Serve them for a weeknight dinner or special events such as Thanksgiving. These are hands down our favorite homemade dinner rolls.
These yeast rolls are a nice soft and fluffy roll that are just begging for some butter. They accompany any dish and will have your kids sneaking more than they should.
Ingredients for Homemade Dinner Rolls
- 2 cups warm milk
- 2 tablespoons instant dry yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 5 1/2 – 6 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
- melted butter for the tops or a stick of butter to rub on when they come out of the oven
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Kitchen Items Needed
- Stand mixer with a dough hook (you can do this by hand but the mixer makes it much easier)
- Measuring cups
- Baking sheet (1/2 sheet pan, these are my favorite)
- Parchment paper or silicone mat for the baking sheet
- Kitchen scale (helpful, but you can do without it)
- Bowl for rising or my favorite way to let my dough rise is in these food storage containers
How Much Time to Plan for When Baking the Rolls
This is a fairly quick recipe as far as homemade rolls go. Expect about 3 hours from start to finish – a little more if you are just starting out with bread baking and haven’t rolled up rolls yet. It goes much quicker as you practice and make the recipe more times.
You can make them ahead of time and then pop them back into the oven again right before eating to warm them up (the whole sheet pan or just what is needed for dinner).
How Long Do the Homemade Dinner Rolls Last?
The rolls will be best right away or within the first day, but they do heat up really well for several days when stored in a plastic bag on the counter.
These are also excellent rolls to freeze. I usually freeze what we won’t eat in the first 2 days. That way I will have rolls in the freezer for later. That is the best!
When I want to use them out of the freezer, I will take out and let them defrost on the counter. Then pop them into a hot oven with the rest of dinner for a few minutes to warm up.
You can also take them out right before dinner incase you forgot earlier. But I’ve found that they need to go in a really low oven (250 degrees or so) for a bit longer to make sure the middle is warm through before the outside is too crispy.
How Big are These Dinner Rolls?
These are a nice big dinner roll (24 rolls to the 1/2 sheet pan). They are a great size for dinner or a small ham sandwich.
I have doubled the amount of rolls to 48 on the 1/2 sheet pan by rolling out 48 with the same recipe. They make a nice small roll for a potluck or when you have a lot of kids and want something smaller.
Step By Step Instructions for Homemade Dinner Rolls
Warm up the milk to about 85 degrees (feels warm when you put your finger in it)
In the stand mixer use the paddle mixer to combine the warm milk, yeast, sugar, salt, soft butter, and eggs.
When everything is mixed, add in about 5 cups of the flour. When it is mixed together, switch to the dough hook.
With the dough hook in, kneed at medium speed. Watch the dough to see what it is doing. If it is mixed together, but looking really sticky and not pulling away from the sides after several minutes, add in more flour 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should not be too sticky and it will pull away from the sides of the mixer bowl once it has enough flour in it. The recipe calls for an approximate amount of flour because it depends on each time you make it with temperature/humidity/etc. You will know you it is done when it it feels soft and slightly sticky to the touch. Kneed 1-2 minutes more with the dough hook once it is at the desired consistency.
The picture on the left needs a bit more flour and kneading. The picture on the right is ready to come out to rise.
You can lift out the dough and grease the bowl slightly and then replace the dough. Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap while dough rises. You can also use these food storage containers with lids. I like them because I cane get a good eye on how much the dough has risen since it has measurements. Let the dough rise for about 90 minutes.
Get out your baking sheet and lightly grease or use a silicone baking mat.
Punch down dough in the container and dump out onto the counter or other surface. If you want your rolls to all be the same size, get out your kitchen scale and weigh the whole lump of dough. Divide the number by 24. Then separate the dough into 24 pieces using the weight measurement. I like to use my dough cutter to help with dividing the dough.
Form the 24 pieces of dough into rolls. Place on the baking sheet in rows of 4 by 6. Cover again with the tea towel and let rise for another 60 minutes.
If you need help with how to form rolls, here is a video that is similar to how I shape my rolls.
When the hour is almost over, turn on the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 14 minutes, checking a few minutes before. You want them to be a nice brown color. Sometimes I will turn the baking sheet half way through for more even browning.
When the rolls are out of the oven, rub the tops of each roll for a few seconds with a stick of butter (I only use a few tablespoons, but hold the whole stick with the wrapping to rub on the butter).
Leave the rolls on the baking sheet to cool for 10-15 minutes and then remove to a wire cooling rack.
Store in a plastic bag up to a couple days or freeze when cooled down.
Fluffy Dinner Rolls
These fluffy dinner rolls are a perfect side to an every day dinner or a holiday meal. They also make a great base for a ham sandwich or all on their own.
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm milk
- 2 tablespoons instant dry yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
- Melted butter for the tops or a stick of butter to rub on when the rolls come out
Instructions
Warm up the milk to about 85 degrees
(feels warm when you put your finger in it)
In the stand mixer use the paddle mixer to combine the warm milk, yeast, sugar, salt, soft butter, and eggs.
When everything is mixed, add in about 5 cups of the flour. When it is mixed together, switch to the dough hook.
With the dough hook in, kneed at medium speed. Watch the dough to see what it is doing. If it is mixed together, but looking really sticky and not pulling away from the sides after several minutes, add in more flour 1/2 cup at a time. The dough should not be too sticky and it will pull away from the sides of the mixer bowl once it has enough flour in it. The recipe calls for an approximate amount of flour because it depends on each time you make it with temperature/humidity/type of flour. You will know you it is done when it it feels soft and slightly sticky to the touch.
You can lift out the dough and grease the bowl slightly and then replace the dough. Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap while dough rises. You can also use a food storage containers with a lid. Let the dough rise for about 90 minutes.
Get out your baking sheet and lightly grease or use a silicone baking mat.
Punch down dough in the container and dump out onto the counter or other surface. If you want your rolls to all be the same size, get out your kitchen scale and weigh the whole lump of dough. Divide the number by 24. Then separate the dough into 24 pieces using the weight measurement. I like to use my dough cutter to help with dividing the dough.
Form the 24 pieces of dough into rolls. Place on the baking sheet in rows of 4 by 6. Cover again with the tea towel and let rise for another 60 minutes.
When the hour is almost over, turn on the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the rolls for about 14 minutes, checking a few minutes before. You want them to be a nice brown color. Sometimes I will turn the baking sheet half way through for more even browning.
When the rolls are out of the oven, rub the tops of each roll for a few seconds with a stick of butter (I only use a few tablespoons, but hold the whole stick with the wrapper on).
Leave the rolls on the baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes and then move to a cooling rack.
Notes
You can make 48 rolls by making them 1/2 the size for a potluck or more kid size.
Rolls can be eaten right away or warmed up later. They freeze great in plastic bags and can be reheated well in the oven.
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