Homemade Yeast Dinner Rolls

Yes, YOU can make homemade fluffy, golden-brown yeast rolls right in your own kitchen, and with ingredients you probably already have on hand! This is a very simple but tried and true recipe that will please an entire crowd. Pass the butter, please?

Look how beautiful these babies look! I know bread can be intimidating, but I promise you it is so easy to make these golden brown, fluffy, buttery yeast rolls! If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, it's even more hands-off; but if you knead by hand, I promise the small workout is worth it once you have a taste!

Ingredients

• Active Dry Yeast - The key to a perfectly fluffy dinner roll - make sure you get the active dry yeast and not the quick rising yeast.
• Buttermilk - Buttermilk helps us get that pillowy soft texture. If you don't have any on hand, or want to make a non-dairy version, check out the section below where I give you a cool trick to make your own!
• Melted Butter - We mix some melted salted butter into the dough... I can't really think of any recipe that wasn't made better by a little butter.
• All-Purpose Flour - No need for bread flour in this dinner roll recipe! Using all-purpose flour will still give us the perfect, easy bread roll. And you're more likely to already have it in your pantry.

How to Make Homemade Yeast Rolls

Whether you're looking for a star recipe for Thanksgiving, or a high quality side dish during the weekday, these homemade yeast rolls are calling your name.

One thing that I believe helps make the recipe even easier - using a stand mixer with a dough hook! That way, the machine will do all of the heavy lifting for you.

1. Start by blooming your yeast. Add active-dry yeast to a bowl of warm water and a bit of sugar to "feed" it. Let it sit for 5 minutes until fluffy.
2. To your stand mixing bowl, add buttermilk, salt, melted butter, flour, and the bloomed yeast mixture. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, stir 1 tablespoon of FRESH lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to a cup of dairy OR non-dairy milk. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until you can see the reaction.
3. Use the stand mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the bowl and not be so sticky that you can't pick it up.
4. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand on a floured surface.
5. Add the dough ball to a bowl that has olive oil in it. Use your hand to rotate the ball into the oil until covered.
6. Cover the dough ball with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour.
7. Punch the dough down, separate the dough into 12 even pieces, and create small spheres.
8. Butter or oil a cast iron skillet and add the small dough balls to it. Cover with a towel, and let it rise for 20 more minutes.
9. Brush the dough with egg wash for a golden brown crust once they are finished.
10. Bake at 350℉ for 25-28 minutes, until golden brown. Ensure that you use the bottom rack so the tops of the rolls don't cook too fast!
11. Brush some extra butter on the rolls and serve with jam, honey, or even more butter.

Variations/Substitutions

• Try brushing a mixture of melted butter, garlic powder, and fresh parsley on top of the rolls!
• If you don't consume dairy, look at the section above for a tip on how to make dairy-free buttermilk - it's actually what I used in this recipe!
• Serve with a homemade honey butter, cinnamon butter, or homemade jam for a sweet take on these.

Other Tasty Bread Recipes You'll Love!

Brown Butter Banana Bread

Homemade Garlic Naan

Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Easy Homemade Yeast Dinner Rolls

Shani W.

Fluffy, buttery, and surprisingly easy to make - these Homemade Yeast Dinner Rolls are the perfect pairing with any meal you create!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Rising Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizers

Servings 12 rolls

Ingredients

  

• ½ cup warm water
• 2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast or one single-use packet
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk see above for how to make your own!
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp. salted butter melted
• olive oil
• egg wash 1 egg + water, whisked
• extra butter for serving
• flaky sea salt for serving

Instructions

 

Blooming Your Yeast

• Add the warm water, active dry yeast, and sugar to a medium-sized bowl. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until fluffy.

The Yeast Rolls

• In a large mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, salt, melted butter, all purpose flour, and the bloomed yeast mixture from earlier.
• Using a dough hook, knead the dough for 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it is pulling away from the sides of the bowl, and isn't too sticky to pick up.
• Add some olive oil to a large bowl and add the dough ball. Using your hands, rotate the dough ball so it's completely covered in oil.
• Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for an hour.
• Punch the dough down, and then separate the dough into 12 even pieces (they don't have to be perfect)!

  You may need to use a floured surface to roll the pieces into spheres.
• Add each dough ball to a buttered/oiled cast-iron skillet. Cover the skillet with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for another 20 minutes, until very fluffy.
• Brush the rolls with egg wash for a beautiful golden brown color after they are finished.
• Bake the rolls on the bottom rack of the oven at 350℉ for 25-28 minutes, until golden brown.
• Remove, brush with more melted butter, and top with flaky sea salt if preferred. Enjoy!

Keyword Dinner Rolls, Homemade Dinner Rolls, Homemade Yeast Rolls, Thanksgiving Sides

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The Coined Breakdown

• Total Cost per serving: $0.25
• Total Cost (6 servings): $1.48
• Those Other Guys: $3.99 per serving