Yes, YOU can make homemade, fluffy, golden-brown Yeast Dinner 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 delectable, buttery yeast rolls! If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, it's even more hands-off; but even if you knead by hand, I promise the small workout is worth it once you have a taste.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.25
- Total Cost (6 servings): $1.48
- Those Other Guys: $3.99 per serving
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 for flavor and texture.
- 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.
- Sugar & Warm Water - To bloom the yeast, we mix it into a cup of warm water and sugar. The yeast will "feed" on the sugar and turn nice and foamy; that's how you know it's ready.
- Vegetable Oil - We use oil to coat the dough before it rises. This provides a moist environment that's perfect for rising!
- Egg - To make an egg wash, which we brush onto the rolls right before baking. It gives our bread a gorgeous, golden-brown top.
Variations and Substitutions
Sea Salt & Herb Yeast Rolls: Add a combination of garlic powder and freshly chopped thyme or rosemary into the dough.
Dairy-Free Yeast Dinner Rolls: If you don't consume dairy, use a vegan butter and skip the egg wash (brush the dough with dairy-free milk instead.) As a substitute for regular buttermilk, stir 1 tablespoon of FRESH lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to a cup of non-dairy milk. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until you can see the reaction.
Sweet Yeast Rolls: Serve with honey butter, cinnamon butter, my homemade strawberry jam, or homemade blueberry preserves for a sweet take on these.
How to Make Homemade Yeast Rolls
Step 1: To begin, bloom your yeast by adding it to a bowl of warm water and sugar. After about 5 minutes, it should look fluffy like this.
Step 2: Add the bloomed yeast mixture, melted butter, buttermilk, salt, and all-purpose flour to a mixing bowl.
Step 3: Use a dough hook attachment on your stand mixer to knead for about 8 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Step 4: Add to a large bowl, coat with vegetable oil, and cover the bowl with a towel. Allow the dough to rise for two hours, or until it's doubled in size.
Step 5: Punch down the dough to release air, then separate into 12 equal pieces. Create round balls, then set on a greased cast iron skillet and cover with a towel. Let rise once more for another 45 minutes.
Step 6: Finally, brush the dough balls with egg wash and bake. They'll have a beautiful golden-brown color on top. When you remove from the oven, brush with extra butter and top with flaky sea salt.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Use fresh yeast where possible. If your yeast has been sitting in the back of the pantry for a while, it may not bloom correctly and will affect the final texture. Try and grab a new pack whenever possible.
- Don't add too much flour while kneading. Pouring in too much extra flour during the kneading process can cause dry dough, which equals a tough dinner roll. You should only need about 1 tablespoon of flour if the dough is much too sticky to form a ball.
- How you place the dough matters. For the second rise, if you place the dough balls with space in between, they will rise outward first to create a wider roll. If you place them touching each other, they will rise upward to create a taller roll. In these photos, I used the 2nd method for a tall, airy dinner roll!
Recipe FAQs
You can use one of two visual methods: The finger test or the windowpane test.
For the finger test: Simply poke your finger into the dough. It should feel soft and pillowy. If the dent from your finger slowly springs back, you know it's ready to rise.
For the windowpane test: Take a small piece of dough and slowly stretch it thin. Take it to a window and hold it up. If you're able to see light shining through the stretched dough, without it tearing, you're ready to move on to the next step.
Egg wash helps create that shiny, golden-brown top. You can brush a bit of milk on the raw dough instead, if you don't want to use eggs.
Yes - I put the detailed instructions in the recipe notes below, but can briefly explain here as well.
If you're freezing after baking, let the rolls cool completely, then add to a freezer-safe container.
If you want to freeze the raw dough, follow the instructions up until it's time for the 2nd rise. Add them to a lined baking sheet and freeze until solid, then store in a freezer-safe container.
Other Bread Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this Yeast Dinner Rolls Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Easy Homemade Yeast Dinner Rolls
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Dough Hook Attachment
- Mixing Bowl
- Clean Kitchen Towel
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast or one single-use packet
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk see recipe notes for substitutions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 count egg to make an egg wash
- 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.
- Using a dough hook, knead the dough for 8 minutes.I like to use the stand mixer for 3 minutes until the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl and it isn't too sticky to pick up. Then, I hand knead for another 5 minutes. You may need an extra tablespoon of flour while hand kneading to get to the perfect consistency.To check, poke the dough with your finger. If the dough is soft and bounces back slowly, it's ready. Or do the windowpane test - take a small piece and slowly stretch the dough, then hold it up to a window. If light can pass through the stretched dough without it tearing, it's ready!
- Add some vegetable oil to a large bowl and place the dough ball inside. Using your hands, rotate the dough ball until it's completely covered in oil.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for two hours until it has doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down to release air, and then separate the dough into 12 even pieces; they don't have to be perfect!
- Roll each piece into a sphere and place them in a buttered oiled cast-iron skillet or baking pan.
- Cover the skillet with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough pieces rise for another 45 minutes, until very fluffy.
- Whisk the egg with a little water until smooth. Brush the uncooked rolls with egg wash.
- Bake the rolls on the bottom rack of the oven at 350℉ for 25-28 minutes, until golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through your cook time.
- Remove, brush with extra butter, and top with flaky sea salt if preferred. Enjoy!
Notes
- Try to find a warm place in your kitchen for the rolls to rise - like a counter or tabletop.
- When creating the dough balls for your second rise: If you place them in the skillet touching each other, they will create taller rolls because they have nowhere else to rise but upwards. If you place them with a little space in between each other, they will bake into wider rolls.
- Are your rolls browning too quickly? Loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil.
Bea says
Can you freeze the dough?
Shani W. says
You can! After the first rise, shape them into dough balls and add to a parchment-lined tray. Freeze them until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag. Then, just let them thaw in the fridge overnight when you're ready to bake. I'll update the recipe post with these instructions - thank you for commenting!
Stan Marshall says
Can't wait to try, my wife loves home made rolls and bread.
Shani W. says
I think you both will love it, Stan! Thank you for visiting my site!