The Fluffiest Homemade Dinner Rolls

16 rolls
2 hr 45 min

Thanksgiving is this week and y'all I could not be more excited! Today's recipe is definitely one of my favorites not only during the holiday season but throughout the year. These dinner rolls are so fluffy, soft and buttery. It's perfect for smearing with butter and jam, as a side for your saucy dinner (yumm!), with a bowl of soup, and any other delicious homestyle food. As you can see this bread is pretty versatile and can be paired with basically everything. That's how you know you just have to make them!


If I'm going to be honest with you, making bread scared me a little. Working with yeast... yeah no thank you. But these dinner rolls were so fun to make, the process was even therapeutic. You got this, have fun friends!


If you'd like more tips and tricks, like working with yeast and how to knead dough, check out the full post on my blog here.

Happy baking! :) If you make this be sure to tag us on Instagram @sarahskitchenofficial

The Fluffiest Homemade Dinner Rolls
Recipe details
  • 16  rolls
  • Prep time: 140 Minutes Cook time: 25 Minutes Total time: 2 hr 45 min
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup room temperature milk
  • 1/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
  • 4 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, divided
  • 1/4 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour; more for dusting your work surface
  • Vegetable oil to grease your pan and bowl
Instructions

In a measuring cup or medium sized bowl: pour in your milk, water and sugar. Slightly stir and sprinkle the yeast on top of the mixture. Stir again and cover the bowl, letting the mixture sit for about 5-15 minutes. You'll know you're ready to go to the next step when your mixture is foamy on top. When it becomes foamy, pour in your melted butter (make sure it is not extremely hot), stir it in.
In a large bowl, add your flour and salt. Mix until incorporated.
Add 1 egg (beaten) to the yeast mixture and then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Using a spoon, mix the wet and dry ingredients until it becomes a slightly sticky dough.
Lightly flour a clean surface and place the dough on it. Knead it for about 7-10 minutes by hand or until the dough becomes smooth. You can add flour to the dough to make it less sticky. You'll know you're done kneading when you press your finger onto the dough and it rises back.
Lightly grease a large bowl using oil, and put the dough ball into it. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it rise for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
When it is done rising, punch the dough to release air, (okay this part is just satisfying but it's fun anyways), and take it out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Knead for 2-5 minutes.
Divide the dough into equal balls using a bench scraper or knife. You'll do this by firstly separating your first dough balls into 2 dough balls. Then, shape them into circles again in order to separate them into equal pieces. Then cut the 2 dough balls in half, making 4 dough balls. Continue this until you have 16 balls of dough, each the size of a tangerine.
Knead all the balls of dough pinching the bottom to create a round, smooth top. Transfer them into a greased pan(s). They shouldn't be far away to each other, just lightly touching. Cover the pan(s) using cling wrap and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes. You can preheat your oven to 350º F during this time.
Egg-wash time! Beat an egg and brush it over the dough balls after they have risen. Transfer the pan(s) into the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and have doubled in size. Enjoy!
Tips
  • When allowing the dough to proof, make sure that your environment is pretty warm (around 75ºF-90ºF as this is the optimal temperature where yeast activity is at its peak). Too low of a temperature and you might have to wait a lot longer for your dough to rise, too high of a temperature and your dough may potentially not rise at all.
  • Please make sure your yeast is not expired before you start, this may ruin the end result.
  • To make sure your dinner rolls are ready to come out of the oven, you can use a thermometer to check the inside temperature. It should be around 220ºF
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Comments
  • Nicole Nicole on Nov 23, 2020

    Can you freeze these before the second rise?

    • Sarah’s Kitchen Sarah’s Kitchen on Nov 23, 2020

      Hi Nicole, yes you can! After you're done kneading the rolls you are not going to let them rise and instead shape them into dough balls. Then, place them into a freezer safe bag and into the freezer. Once you'd like to bake them, take them out of the freezer and allow it to thaw and rise (this will take about 4 hours). Then after they have risen, just pop them into the oven to bake. Hope this helps :)

  • Mary Mary on Nov 23, 2020

    Can these rolls just be refrigerated overnight? I might forget to allow 4 hours & wind up with no rolls!!

    • Sarah’s Kitchen Sarah’s Kitchen on Nov 23, 2020

      Hi Mary! Hmm I don't quite get your question. If you bake them then wrap and refrigerate, and heat them up again the next day, they will taste just fine although they might not taste like fresh-baked. However, if you were to refrigerate them overnight it'll end up over-rising in the fridge which is why I suggested to freeze them. Here's a resource to guide you more with this problem since I have not myself refrigerated the dough before putting it in the oven. Happy baking!

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