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Dinner Roll Recipe (Soft and Fluffy!)

The BEST Dinner Rolls with zero hand kneading!  These Dinner Rolls are soft and fluffy, double brushed with butter and topped with garlic salt for the best Dinner Roll recipe ever!  These Homemade Dinner Rolls will be the only rolls you will ever want to make.  or eat.  Out of everything I could be making for Thanksgiving, I am making these perfect, tantalizing pillows of deliciousness. And soon you'll taste why!   I've included how to make ahead, how to freeze and how to customize your homemade dinner rolls!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 50 minutes
Servings 28 rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 7 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • Garlic salt

Instructions

  • Add milk to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup butter and sugar until melted. Place in the refrigerator to cool.
  • Meanwhile, in the bowl of your standard mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit 5-10 minutes or until foamy. (If it doesn't foam, start again)
  • Fix mixer with dough hook and generously spray hook with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Add milk mixture, eggs, salt and 5 cups flour to the mixer and mix until combined. With the mixer running on low, gradually mix in 2 more cups of flour until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Once dough has pulled away from the bowl, knead on medium-low speed (dial 4) for approximately 5 minutes (or by hand for 10) until dough is smooth and barely sticks to your fingers.*
  • Shape the dough into a ball and place back into your mixing bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 -2 hours.
  • After dough has doubled, remove to a floured surface (or nonstick mat) and punch down then lightly shape into rectangle of uniform thickness (overall dimensions don’t matter) using your hands. Cut the rectangle into 28 roughly even pieces then shape into balls by folding the corners under. Place balls about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with a nonstick mat or parchment paper. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, 45-60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Brush rolls with approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.
  • ENJOY!

Notes

*If your dough is too wet, add 1 more tablespoon of flour at a time until dough barely sticks to your fingers.

MAKE AHEAD

  • After First Rise:  You can let the dough have its 1st rise in the refrigerator overnight. Cover the dough tightly and place in the refrigerator for up to 18 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to fully rise for 2 more hours.  This comes in handy when you want the dough to rise slowly or you won't be home once the dough rises as it is not good to let dough rise for too long at room temperature.
  • After Shaping: You can also pause dough making after forming the balls. Cover the shaped rolls tightly and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. At least 3 hours before you need them, remove the rolls from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours before baking. This not only finishes proofing the yeast, but takes the chill off so the yeast is active when the rolls enter the oven.

HOW TO FREEZE 

  • Shaped, unbaked rolls:  after you have assembled the rolls in the baking pan, cover tightly with two layers of plastic wrap and freeze.  You can either leave them in the baking pan or remove the slab of rolls to a freezer bag to free up freezer space once frozen.  Freeze for up to two months.
  • How to Reheat Frozen Rolls:  remove rolls from freezer and from the freezer wrapping to prevent excess condensation.  Let rolls thaw and rise for about 4-6 hours then continue to brush with butter, garlic salt and bake  per recipe instructions.
  • Baked Dinner Rolls:  You can also freeze completely baked dinner rolls as well. Thaw the dinner rolls on the counter, then reheat in foil at 300 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until completely warmed thorough.

FLAVOR VARIATIONS

  • Cheddar Dinner Rolls – add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Other cheese varieties work like pepper Jack or Gruyere, but avoid super soft cheeses as they will make the dough too doughy.  Along with cheese, you can also add chives, green onions, jalapenos, etc.
  • Garlic Parmesan Dinner Rolls:  add 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan and 1 teaspoon garlic powder to the dough before kneading.  You can also add in additional Italian herbs like rosemary, basil and parsley.
  • Garlic & Herb Dinner Rolls – add 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 2 teaspoons of each of three of your favorite dried Italian herbs to dough before kneading.
  • Rosemary Sun-Dried Tomato Dinner Rolls –  add 2 Tablespoons fresh or 2 teaspoons dried chopped rosemary and 1/2 cup rinsed, dried and chopped sun-fried tomatoes to dough before kneading.  You could also add Parmesan and/or olives as well.
  • Honey Butter Dinner Rolls- I recommend bread flour for the added gluten if making honey butter rolls. Add 1/3 cup honey and omit the 1/2 cup sugar and garlic competently from the recipe.  When baked, add 2 tablespoons honey to melted butter and brush on tops of rolls.