Ultimate Dinner Roll Recipe
Introducing the ultimate dinner roll recipe! Just ONE soft and buttery base recipe is all you need to make the best homemade dinner rolls in an ENDLESS variety of roll shapes and delicious flavor combinations.
These soft and buttery dinner rolls require just 7 basic ingredients and are a lot easier to make than you may think. If baking homemade rolls intimidates you, then this tutorial is exactly what you need to get started! I’m sharing all my best tips, and I’ll walk you through each step, so you can bake the perfect batch.
Plus, this basic dinner roll recipe actually comes with a variety of ways to make them! You can choose traditional white rolls or honey-whole wheat, shape them into crescents or cloverleafs. And more! Let’s get started, shall we?
Table of Contents
- One base recipe, endless options!
- Ingredients you’ll need
- Making the dough
- How to shape dinner rolls
- Dinner roll flavor variations
- How to make dinner rolls ahead of time
- Get the recipe
One base recipe, endless options!
What I love about this dinner roll recipe is that there are so many ways to make them. The options really are endless!
I’m going to walk you through classic white dinner rolls, step-by-step. But then I’ll show you how to make them into different shapes— like crescents, cloverleaf and knots. And then I’ll give you options for changing up the flavor— honey wheat rolls, garlic and herb, cheddar, and “everything spice” rolls.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Bread flour: For the highest rise and best texture, though all-purpose flour will work in a pinch too)
- Yeast: Platinum Yeast by Red Star is my favorite, but you can use any active-dry yeast or instant yeast.
- Milk: Using milk instead of water adds richness and fat, which helps with flavor and tenderness.
- Butter: Similarly, butter adds a lot of flavor and makes the rolls really soft.
- Eggs: Provide structure, but also even more fat for the best possible flavor and texture.
- Granulated sugar: Adds a touch of sweetness and feeds the yeast, improving rise.
- Salt: For flavor.
- Add-ins/substitutions for flavor variations: Keep reading for more info!
Making the dough
To make rolls, first we need to prepare the dough. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook, or if you plan to knead by hand you can use any large bowl.
- Heat butter and milk. This activates the yeast, but we don’t want to till it with temps over 140°F. Use a digital thermometer, or make sure it’s warm, but not hot, to the touch.
- Make a wet dough. Combine dry ingredients and then add warm milk mixture and eggs. Use a dough whisk or spoon to combine with the flour mixture to make a very wet dough.
- Add more flour a bit at a time while kneading. Wait until it’s incorporated into the dough before adding more, and stop when dough mostly clears the bowl and is tacky to the touch. The exact amount of flour you’ll need may vary slightly!
- Knead until smooth. It should be very soft and elastic, and not break immediately when you pull it.
- Let it rise in a warm place. It should roughly double in size, which will take about 1 hour (30ish minutes with instant yeast).
baking tip:How to help your dough rise faster
- Oven: Heat your oven to its lowest setting for a few minutes, then turn it off. Place the covered dough on the center rack and close the door.
- Microwave: Heat 1 cup of water in your microwave for 2 minutes. Remove water and place the covered dough in the microwave and close the door.
- Other: I’ve also risen bread on top of a warm oven, running dryer machine, and even on a chair set over a heater vent.
How to shape dinner rolls
Now that the dough is prepped and risen, we’re ready to shape it into rolls. You can’t go wrong with classic round dinner rolls, but sometimes it’s fun to switch things up!
Tip: Before shaping, I always first make sure all my rolls are portioned to be the same size with the help of a kitchen scale. Weigh the bulk dough, then divide weight by 12, and use the scale to ensure each portion is same weight.
- Traditional round rolls: Use your hand and counter surface to roll into a smooth ball. Here’s a video!
- Crescent rolls: Divide dough in half instead of 12 portions. Roll each half to ½ inch thick. Cut into 6 triangular pieces and roll up, starting at the wider end, with the point facing down.
- Cloverleaf rolls: Divide each portion into 3 additional portions and shape into rounds. Place 3 rounds in each cup of a greased muffin tin.
- Knotted rolls: Roll and stretch each portion into a 6-8 inch rope. Use your hands to tie into a knot.
For step-by-step instructions and photos, see my full tutorial on How to Shape Dinner Rolls.
Let the shaped rolls rise right on their baking pan for another 30ish minutes until puffed slightly, then brush with an egg wash made of whisked egg and water (this makes them super shiny with lots of color). Finally, bake in a 350°F oven until golden brown.
Then, enjoy! I love these homemade dinner rolls (any shape or variation) with just about any meal, any time of year. They’re great with soups, roasts, pastas, and more. And of course these rolls are perfect for special holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.
Dinner roll flavor variations
Honey Whole Wheat Rolls— 1½ cups whole wheat flour replaces some of the bread/all-purpose flour, sub ¼ cup honey for sugar.
Garlic and Herb Rolls— 1 tablespoon fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) herbs like rosemary, thyme or basil, 2 cloves minced garlic, added to the warmed milk.
Cheddar Rolls— Add 2 cups cheddar cheese to the wet dough, before adding additional flour.
“Everything” Spice Rolls— 1 tablespoon Everything Bagel Seasoning, added to the dry ingredients. Sprinkle more on the rolls before baking.
More roll recipes: Sweet Potato Rolls with Whipped Honey Butter, Easy No-Knead Fairy Crescent Rolls, Potato Dinner Rolls.
How to make dinner rolls ahead of time
- Rise in the fridge overnight (bulk dough or shaped rolls): Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 12 hours. If chilling bulk dough, portion and shape into rolls the next morning, rise, and bake. If chilling shaped rolls, bring it to room temperature for 1 – 1 ½ hours until puffed, then bake.
- Freeze shaped rolls up to 2 months in advance: Place shaped rolls on a pan lined with parchment paper so they aren’t touching. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour. Transfer frozen rolls to a heavy duty ziplock bag and store for up to 2 months. When ready to use, place frozen rolls in prepared pan and thaw at room temperature for a few hours, let rise, then bake.
- Freeze baked rolls up to 1 month in advance: Bake rolls as normal and cool completely. Wrap in foil and then place in a ziplock bag. When ready to serve, remove from bag and warm in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes until warmed through.
Get the recipe
The Ultimate Dinner Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (56 grams) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (170 grams) milk
- 3-3 ½ cups (360-420 grams) bread flour (exact amount varies)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 grams) Active-dry yeast , or instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg , beaten with 2 tablespoons water, for egg wash
Equipment
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the milk and warm for a minute more, or until temperature is 120-130°F (Be careful it's not too hot, over 140°F, or you will kill the yeast).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or in a large bowl if planning to mix by hand), combine 2½ cups of the flour, the yeast, sugar and salt. Add the warm water mixture, followed by the eggs, mixing on low speed until incorporated, or use a dough whisk.
- Add the remaining bread flour 2 tablespoons at a time while mixing on medium-low speed until dough almost clears the bowl and is tacky to the touch (It's okay if some dough sticks to your fingers). You may not need all of the remaining flour, or you may need more than is called for. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes more.
Rise & shape:
- Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour (30 minutes if using instant yeast).
- Punch down dough and let rest for a few minutes. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls or desired shape (see Notes).
- Place shaped rolls in a 9×13-inch pan or quarter sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Spray some plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and place over the shaped buns/rolls. Return to a warm place and continue to rise for an additional 30 minutes until doubled.
Bake:
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Brush rolls with egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm from the oven or allow to cool.
- These rolls are at their absolutely best when served fresh the day they're baked, but will keep in an airtight container for several days.
Video
Notes
- Flavor variations:
- Honey Whole Wheat Rolls— replace 1½ cups of bread flour with whole wheat flour, sub granulated sugar for ¼ cup honey, and heat with milk and butter.
- Herb Rolls— add 1 tablespoon fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried) herbs like rosemary, thyme or a combination to the dry ingredients.
- Cheddar Rolls— stir in 2 cups cheddar cheese to the dough once it has been initially mixed, before adding additional flour.
- Garlic Rolls— add 2 cloves of minced garlic to the butter and milk as they heat.
- “Everything” Spice Rolls— a 1 tablespoon everything bagel seasoning to the dry ingredients. Additional spice may be sprinkled over the rolls before baking.
- To form these dinner rolls into other shapes, see my tutorial on How to Shape Dinner Rolls.
- Check out 4 ways to prepare rolls in advance (including overnight and freezing instructions.
- A note about flour in this recipe: Bread flour is preferred for it’s superior ability to produce soft, fluffy rolls, but all-purpose will work in a pinch too. The exact amount you’ll need may vary, which is why a range is given.
Disclosure: This recipe was originally developed in 2021 in partnership with Red Star Yeast. All opinions are my own, as always. Thank you for supporting partnerships with brands I believe in.
