A simple no fuss recipe for fluffy, soft and completely homey dinner rolls. Easy to perfect and the hardest part will be just waiting for the dough to rise! These freeze and reheat very well.
Besides never really nailing mashed potatoes until this perfect recipe, I had the same problem with dinner rolls. They were usually too dense and heavy, and I wanted that perfect fluffines of restaurant rolls, you know the type that come in a basket with butter before your main is served.
I did my research, and tried out this great recipe by the Stay at Home Chef. They turned out great, so I’m sharing them with you today!
Homemade fluffy dinner rolls: The cast of ingredients
Very simple every day things. You’ll need:
Milk: (I used fresh and full fat). The milk needs to be warm to activate the yeast. Not so hot that you’d burn a finger if you stuck it in the milk, but noticeably warm. I usually just microwave mine.
Flour: Regular all purpose flour. I always prefer measuring flour with a kitchen scale as it is much more accurate, but feel free to use measuring cups. Spoon the flour into the cups- it’s more accurate than scooping the measuring flour directly into the flour bag.
Instant dry yeast, sugar (which feeds the yeast), eggs to enrich the dough, salt and butter.
The mixing:
You can knead the dough by hand, until the texture is as described in the recipe. A stand mixer just makes it easier. You’ll add all your ingredients except the flour to the bowl of the stand mixer, mix, then add your flour until the dough forms.
The resting:
The dough rises best in a warm place, so if you have a very cold air conditioned environment, you might want to try one of these hacks. Either turn on your oven for just 2 minutes until it just warms, then have the dough rise in the turned OFF warm oven, or do the same with your washing machine! As usual with yeast dough, there are two resting stages, one with the ball of dough, and one after the dough is shaped into balls.
The bake:
You bake in a hot 190 C (375 F) oven until the tops are lightly browned, then immediately brush with the melted butter- it’ll soak right in.
Storing the rolls:
They’ll last a few days well wrapped in the fridge or at cool room temperature, or can be frozen in a freezer safe bag for 1-2 months.
Serve with:
I went a little extra and made the garlic herb compound butter in the recipe below, but these would be great with just normal butter, or dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Fluffy Homemade Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 2 cups warm milk
- 2 tbsp instant dry yeast
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 6 cups all purpose flour 750 g
- 1 tbsp melted butter
For the herb butter:
- 1 stick butter, softened 100 g
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped I used chives, rosemary and parsley.
Instructions
- In the bowl of as stand mixer, add the warm milk, the yeast, sugar, salt, butter and eggs. Mix briefly to combine.
- Add 5 1/2 cups of flour and using either a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix on low speed until flour starts to incorporate into the dough. Increase speed to medium. Add the remaining 1/2 cup flour slowly until dough pulls away from side of the bowl.
- The dough should be soft and a little bit sticky. If it is too sticky to handle, add a little more flour at at time until you reach the desired consistency.
- Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes. It should double in size.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet and form the rested dough into 24 even sized balls. Place on the baking sheet in 6 rows of 4. It's ok if they touch a little. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for another 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F), and bake the bread after it's second resting time for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.
- As soon as it's out of the oven, brush the bread with the melted butter.
To make the herb butter:
- Make sure the butter is very soft- if necessary, put some plastic gloves on and smush the butter between your fingers a little. Add the crushed garlic and minced herbs and stir to distribute evenly.
- Transfer the herb butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap then cover with plastic wrap and roll it into a cylinder shape. Twist either end of plastic wrap up tight (like a candy wrapper) and place butter in fridge for at least 1 hour to chill properly. You serve by slicing thin slices directly off this butter log.
Made these last night for dinner. This is now my favorite dinner roll recipe, thank you!
So glad you liked them!!
That garlic herb butter sounds divine! Such a perfect compliment to these rolls. Well done!
Thanks so much Demeter! It really adds a lot of flavor
These dinner rolls were really amazing! My kids loved it!
So glad to hear that Toni!! Thanks for letting me know
Those rolls definitely looks so soft and fluffy! Perfect pairing with the garlic butter!
Thanks Annissa! Doesn’t get much better than warm rolls and butter
OK that first pic?! Made my stomach growl and my mouth start salivating! And I just ate! Love how fluffy and delicious these look – saving to try asap!
Thanks Emmeline! Let me say that I love your website name! Very fitting