Is there anything better than warm bread smeared with melty butter? Thousands of people across the country have fallen in love with these dinner rolls, and for good reason- they truly are THE BEST! They are beginner friendly, so if you’re nervous about working with yeast, don’t be. This recipe makes two full pans of rolls and will definitely fill a standard Kitchenaid mixer to the absolute brim, so feel free to cut it in half if you are feeding a smaller crowd.
Ingredients Needed
- Milk – Whole milk is best. You can use 2% in a pinch, but avoid 1% or skim.
- Active Dry Yeast – This recipe calls for active dry yeast. I have not tried using rapid rise yeast, where the first rise is replaced by a 10 minute rest of the dough. If you feel like experimenting feel free to give it a try, just know it hasn’t been tested for this particular recipe. If you’re nervous about working with yeast, check out this post on tips for working with yeast dough.
- Eggs – You’ll notice the recipe calls for beaten eggs. Why should you beat your eggs first? Same reason you should combine your dry ingredients before adding them to moist ingredients when making cookies and cakes–it ensures everything is well-mixed and can be evenly-distributed through your dough or batter. If you add the whole eggs, your dough may not be as consistent.
- Sugar
- Butter
- Salt
- Warm water
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs
How to Make the World’s Best Dinner Rolls
- Combine milk, sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. It’s salty. It’s sweet. Yum.
- Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
- While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes or until the yeast is very bubbly and the mixture has risen significantly. If the yeast hasn’t bubbled, you’ll need to repeat this step–moving on with yeast that hasn’t been activated properly will only end in heartache.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.
- Crack your eggs and give them a good whisking (this little heart whisk is one of my favorite tools for jobs like this). Add to dough mixture and mix until well combined.
- Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don’t worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they’re so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense.
- Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.
- Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.
- Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side (a plastic bowl scraper is also fantastic), so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.
- Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375°F.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown. When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls. You must now eat one. Now. While it’s hot. Then pop the rest into a bowl and no one will ever know that you cheated.
Storing and Other Tips
- Homemade rolls are best eaten the same day as baking. If you do need to make them a day ahead of time, make sure they are cooled completely before storing in an airtight container.
- For best results, consume rolls within 1-2 days.
- P.S. Using this cinnamon roll filling or these cinnamon or orange roll filling, this dough makes fabulous cinnamon or orange rolls. Just bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these ahead and freeze?
While I do think rolls are best fresh and hot the day you make them, you can in fact prepare these ahead of time. Make dough through the roll-shaping step. Place your shaped rolls on parchment paper in a single layer and place in freezer. Once frozen solid you can place them in a bag together. When ready to cook, leave at room temperature, lightly covered with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray. They will need to defrost and then also have time to rise (think store-bought Rhodes rolls) so you will want to leave plenty of time for that (I’m guessing 3-5 hours). You can also cook the rolls, cool completely, and then freeze immediately.
My rolls are dense and doughy. What happened?
There could be a few culprits here. If your yeast is old or not activated properly, the dough will fail to rise and create air pockets, leaving the final product flat and dense. Too much flour will do the same thing. Make sure your yeast is fresh and active and refer to the pictures above to see how your dough should look when it has the perfect amount of flour! Lastly, don’t rush the rise. If your house isn’t very warm, it will take longer for your rolls to proof and be ready to bake!
Can I use rapid rise yeast and skip the first rise?
In theory, this would work ok, but I have not personally tried that method with this recipe. If you feel like trying it out, give it a go! If you’re looking for a recipe designed for use with rapid rise yeast, try out these One-Hour Dinner Rolls.
World’s Best Dinner Rolls
These reader favorite dinner rolls are soft and fluffy. Perfect for holiday dinners!
Servings rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk if you’re in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don’t use 1% or skim.
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar divided
- ⅓ cup butter 5 ⅓ tablespoons
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 packages active dry yeast or 4 ½ teaspoons
- ⅔ cup warm water 105-115℉
- 8-9 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 3 beaten eggs
Instructions
- Combine milk, ½ cup sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. I usually rub some ice cubes along the sides of the pan or pop the entire pan in a sink full of ice cubes to cool the mixture down because this step can take forever. This step is really important because if the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
- While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn’t bubbled, you’ll need to repeat this step–moving on with yeast that hasn’t been activated properly will only end in heartache.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.
- Add beaten eggs.
- Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough, about 5 – 6 cups. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don’t worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they’re so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.
- Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.
- Spray two 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. I like to use a pizza cutter because it has a blade on each side, so it cuts right through dough without sticking to the blade. This dough should be very easy to work with, almost like playdough. Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.
- Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375℉.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.
- When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls.
Notes
- MAKING AHEAD: We have received tons of comments and emails asking about making these rolls ahead, or freezing the dough, etc. Note that we have never before tried any of these methods so we can’t give you an answer for sure. You can try freezing the dough after they have been shaped (but before the second rise) and you can certainly try cooking and cooling completely and then freezing. Just keep in mind we only make these fresh and eat them hot from the pan so that’s all the info we can give you.
- For best results, consume rolls within 1-2 days.
- P.S. Using this cinnamon roll filling or these cinnamon or orange roll filling, this dough makes fabulous cinnamon or orange rolls. Just bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
Serving: 1roll, Calories: 214kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 231mg, Potassium: 89mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 141IU, Vitamin C: 0.002mg, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 214kcal
Cost: $8
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Questions & Reviews
I love these rolls and have made them many times. I was thinking for Christmas that I would make them into mini bread loaves and give them with your honey butter. Do you think they would turn out as little bread loaves? Just thought I’d see if you had ever tried that and if you had any tips…thanks!
emergency question: how much yeast do i need exactly? please help! lol kinda in the process now. never made bread before…wish me luck! gracias!
yeah, i got it–rolls! 🙂
Do you have a printable version of this recipe? Or maybe I just can’t find it on page? Thanks!
Hi there, my dough isn’t rising and my yeast mixture activated absolutely fine, milk mixture Luke warm, and 8 cups of flour. Can you over mix the dough in a stand mixer? I’ve got the bowl in a cool place but just not sure?? Thanks. :/
I meant to say warm place ***
These were incredibly easy in the bread machine. I halved the recipe. Added water, sugar, bread machine yeast in machine pan and let sit 10 min. Melted butter in microwave and added all ingredients to pan. Put on dough setting. When finished, made this 1/2 batch into 16 rolls (just halving and re-halving dough with pizza cutter). Put rolls in pan and let rise 30 min, then cooked according to directions. Thanks for the great recipe. Turned out wonderful.
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a hit. I just wanted to say thanks for all your great recipes. I actually discovered your book first before I realized you had a blog (I’m a little out of touch, I know) I have made almost 1/2 of the recipes in the book and love every one of them. I’m excited to look through your blog and find lots more. I just found that no-rise cinnamon roll recipe that I think I’ll try today instead of doing laundry 🙂 thanks!
Kate & Sara,
Wanted to let you know that I made these for Thanksgiving and they were a HUGE hit, especially with the kids. You are right: these are THE best yeast roles. Poor Grandma, “my” recipe is better than hers! Thanks, again!
Fantastic! I made these to go with my homemade (left over Turkey) Turkey Noodle Soup from yesterday’s Thanksgiving meal. I sprinkled the top with Kosher Salt after putting lots of butter on top… so good! I ate each and every bite like it was my last! Thanks so much! ~Amy
Made these rolls for Thanksgiving dinner. They were heavenly! Thank you so much for sharing!
I was so excited to try this recipe. I am in no way, shape or form a baker by nature (not fond of waiting and measuring) I tried these today for our family dinner and made one huge mistake. I didn’t bake them in a big enough pan. I used 8×11 and they were clearly too close together. The outside was perfect and brown, but the inside was gummy. Ended up buying rolls for dinner, but my daughters and I enjoyed the heck out of the tops and bottoms. Will definitely make these again, only next time in a 9×13 dish.