Make any dinner feel like a special occasion with these Soft Dinner Rolls. Made with simple ingredients and straightforward instructions, these rolls are perfect for anyone who loves the comforting taste of freshly baked bread.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and substitutions for Soft Dinner Rolls
- Yeast: Yeast doesnโt just help give our rolls that fluffy bread texture, it also help it rise to create a nice crumb.
- Milk: Whole milk helps give our rolls a soft crumb and the golden crust. You could substitute with water in equal measure if you prefer, though would likely result in a tougher finished crumb due to the lack of fat that is given to our dough from the milk.
- Bread flour: This one matters because bread flour has a higher protein which helps to produce the gluten content which we need to give our babka that firm dough which is easier to shape. If you donโt have any on hand you can substitute all purpose or plain flour in equal measure, however, if you live in the UKโฆyou will notice the difference in texture of your dough โ it will feel incredibly soft in your hands and be a little harder to work with.
- Egg: Adding moisture and binding the dough together, the egg helps with rising as acting as a leavening agent as well as giving our rolls that nice light crumb thanks to the fat from the yolk.
- Butter: We add room temperature butter, ideally salted (if your butter isnโt salted, add ยฝ teaspoon to your dough), to give our rolls that nice soft texture thanks to the fat alongside our whole milk. You could substitute with non dairy butter in equal measure, however, I have not tried this and do not recommend substituting in oil because of the different texture it would lend to the finished rolls.
- Honey: The sweetness of natural honey adds a nuance to our dough, however, if you donโt have it on hand, you can substitute with plain superfine or caster sugar.
- Salt: Sea or kosher salt balances out the sweetness in our rolls and the sprinkle on top after brushing the butter mixture over as this is what really gives these rolls their savoriness that is perfect to accompany any dinner.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Soft Dinner Rolls:
Step 1: Bloom: The yeast in the warm milk until bubbly.
Step 2: Form your dough: Once bubbling, add the flour, sugar, egg and salt and beat on low to form a dough.
Step 3: Butter: Toss in 1-2 cubes of butter and combine until the dough looks slightly glossy and is pulling away at your bowl.
Step 3: Rise: Place the dough into the fridge to rise until doubled in size.
Step 4: Divide: Equally into 12 portions.
Step 5: Roll: And fold edges inwards together and place seam side down into your baking dish.
Step 6: Rise: Cover and allow to rise until doubled.
Step 7: Bake: Place in the oven and bake until golden.
Step 8: Brush: The honey rosemary butter over the rolls.
Step 9: Serve: Plate up and serve alongside your dinner.
Variations
You can definitely change up the dish by changing the following:
Herbed butter filling - stir finely chopped rosemary or minced garlic through 50 grams / 1.75 ounces butter and placing a teaspoon portion into the center would make a great variation to this.
Garlic butter on top - Brushing minced garlic over the top instead of honey and rosemary is also a nice twist.
Grated cheese - Adding 60 grams / ยฝ cup of grated cheese on top of your rolls would be great, particularly if serving alongside potatoes.
FAQโs for the best Soft Dinner Rolls
Yes, the eggs and butter need to be room temperature so that they mix better with the dough and room temp butter will incorporate better into your dough to create that smooth texture.
Yes you can, however, you will have to knead the dough for approximately 20 minutes to achieve the same results as a mixer. You can knead in the mixing bowl directly or if kneading on a work surface, youโll have to make sure it is best done without any additional flour to ensure the butter is properly mixed throughout without drying out your dough.
They are fluffiest the day they are made. The easiest way to make them ahead is to let the dough rise in your fridge overnight, divide the dough and allow to rise at room temperature and bake early in the day.
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Soft Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 5 grams / 1 ยพ teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 160 grams / ยฝ cup + 2 teaspoons whole milk lukewarm
- 60 grams / ยผ cup water lukewarm
- 408 grams / 3 cups bread flour
- 30 grams / 1 ยฝ tablespoons honey
- 14 grams / 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
- 55 grams / 1 large egg room temperature
- ยผ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 70 grams / 5 tablespoons butter cubed and room temperature
Rosemary butter
- 20 grams / 2 ยฝ tablespoons butter melted
- 5 grams / 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons rosemary finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Place the yeast, milk and water in a bowl and allow to dissolve for 3 minutes.
- Once bubbling, add the flour, honey, sugar, egg and salt and beat on low until you haveย formed your dough.
- Let rest for 10 minutes.
- On a low setting with your mixer, add in 1 cube of butter or 2 (if your cubes are small, no more than 10 grams or โ tablespoon of butter at a time) and incorporate until you cannot see any butter remnants in your dough.
- Continue by repeating with pieces of butter and mixing until it is fully incorporated into your dough.
- Beat for a further 5 minutes until the dough it looks slightly glossy and is pulling away at the sides of your bowl.
- Lightly butter a bowl and place the dough therein, placing in the fridge to rise until doubled, for 2 hours or preferably overnight.
- Remove the dough and divide equally into 12 portions.
- Take one piece of dough in your palm and fold the edges inwards, rolling to create a nice smooth top.
- Place each roll seamside down into your baking dish.
- Repeat with the remaining dough and allow a gap around each roll as you place it into your baking dish.
- Cover and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
- Preheat your oven to 190C/30F and place the rolls into the oven to bake until golden for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, stir the melted butter, honey and rosemary together in a small bowl.
- Remove the buns from the oven and brush with the melted butter mixture over the entire tops of your buns.
- Sprinkle over a little pinch of salt on top of each bun and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
- Serve up and dig in!
Notes
- Butter: We add room temperature butter, ideally salted (if your butter isnโt salted, add ยฝ teaspoon to your dough), to give our rolls that nice soft texture thanks to the fat alongside our whole milk. You could substitute with non dairy butter in equal measure, however, I have not tried this and do not recommend substituting in oil because of the different texture it would lend to the finished rolls.
- Honey: The sweetness of natural honey adds a nuance to our dough, however, if you donโt have it on hand, you can substitute with a further 26 grams / 2 tablespoons superfine or caster sugar.
- Best served: They are fluffiest the day they are made. The easiest way to make them ahead is to let the dough rise in your fridge overnight, divide the dough and allow to rise at room temperature and bake early in the day.
Nutrition
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