rollin’ into the holidays with an easy dinner roll recipe for you guys!
light and fluffy dinner rolls are my FAVOURITE part of any dinner and they pair so well with all the cozy meals during the holiday and winter season.
When I was a kid my great aunt ALWAYS had homemade rolls either ready to eat or freshly frozen. I was always excited to go visit because I knew there would be warm, buttery rolls waiting. I learned to bake from my grandmother June but she wasn’t one to make breads so I learned all about dough from my mom’s aunt. Her go-to recipe was very similar to this and they were always shaped like a cloverleaf and pulled apart in three pieces (I’ll share this recipe in the future!). These are great because you can make them the same day or the day before, even freeze them for later, keep reading for more info and a few ways to change them up.
let’s get rollin’ !
ally’s tip for making rolls, buns & breads
- make sure that your yeast mixture is the right temperature. The yeast itself is usually added to a water or milk and it should be at about 110-114 F so that it is warm enough to rise but not so hot that it will kill the yeast.
- whenever you place your dough to rise it need to be warm, cozy and draft free. Preheat ahead of time, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a damp towel that is warm to make sure that it doesn’t cool off.
- don’t over mix or over knead – this can make bread tough and dense in texture.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer & dough hook, you can knead the dough together. Be careful not to over-knead, only do so until everything is combined. Avoid doing so on a marble surface or any other natural material that is cold to the touch, the trick to breads is keeping the dough warm and cozy!
making ahead? skip the second rise – cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
When cookng, place in cold over and let them warm up with the oven, add 5 mins to the cooking time and repeat as needed.
a few ways to change these up:
- brush melted garlic butter on top instead of regular butter
- before cooking, add fresh rosemary in between rolls. the flavour and smell as they cook will be delicious !
- prefer whole wheat? substitute 1/2 the flour for whole wheat flour, substituting all of it can make them too tough so I recommend only changing up half.
- love the flavour of a warm salted pretzel? add only half the amount of sugar, add 1 tbsp of honey and then once cooked, brush melted butter and top with sea salt. This will make it taste just like a warm pretzel!
storage:
these rolls are always best served warm! However if you have any left you can store them in an airtight container, lined with paper towel. If you need a few extra days then wrap them in aluminum foil.
need to freeze them? Wrap in aluminum foil then place in a freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months.
follow along below if you get stuck:
Light & fluffy dinner rolls
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Liquid measuring cup
- cooking thermometer
- 9×13” pan
- Plastic Wrap
- Dish towel
- Mixer Bowl
- Dough hook
- Electric Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cup milk warmed to 110 F
- 2 Tbsp instant yeast
- 4 Cups flour spooned and levelled
- 1/3 Cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- 1/3 Cup salted butter melted
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 Tbsp Butter (optional) melted
Instructions
- In a liquid measuring cup, warm milk to 110-114 F
- Add instant yeast and set aside for 7 minutes. Mixture should become foam-like on the top and milk on the bottom.
- Meanwhile in a large missing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Whisk together and push mixture away from the middle so that you can see the bottom of the bowl, a space about 2-3 inches wide.
- Melt butter and pour in the middle of the flour mixture where you cleared a space in the middle of the bowl.
- Add room temperature egg to the melted butter. Whisk together carefully to not include the dry ingredients.
- Once the yeast and milk mixture have reached approx 7 minutes (see above pictures to know when ready), add to the egg and melted butter. Carefully whisk all wet ingredients together.
- Once wet ingredients are combined, use a spatula to combine the wet mixture and dry mixture. Mix by starting along the edge of the bowl, mixing inward.
- As dough starts to form together, transfer to mixer bowl and dough hook or gently start kneading dough until combined and dough is in a ball.
- Cover in plastic wrap and a warm, damp towel. Place in a warm place or in a warmed oven for one hour.
- Remove dough from bowl and gently spread into a rectangle and divide into desired equal parts (12 large or 24 small).
- Place into a parchment paper lined or greased pan and cover with plastic wrap.
- Place in warm place or warmed oven for one hour. If making ahead then place in fridge for up to 15 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350. Cook for 14-18 minutes. See above for cooking instructions if made ahead.
- Melt 2 tbsp butter and brush on top.
- Cool 5-10 minutes and serve.
