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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