Soft Dinner Rolls are the kind of dish you want on hand for any family gathering. Whether it’s the holidays or you are expecting a bunch of people for a special event.
These are light, but not so soft that they feel like brioche, because dinner rolls need to be a little sturdy because a dinner roll is different from a burger bun after all.
Why you'll love these
Savory with a little sweet
The best dinner rolls have an undertone of sweet and these are a fantastic balance.
Fluffy without being too soft
The balance of a dinner roll is that it isn't a brioche bun because we want a little more stability and these have been recipe tested to achieve just this.
Ingredients and substitutions for Soft Dinner Rolls
- Yeast: Yeast doesn’t just help give our babka 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 don’t have any on hand you can substitute all purpose or plain flour in equal measure, however, if you live in the UK…you will notice the difference in texture of your dough – 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 they act 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 isn’t salted, add ½ 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 don’t 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.
Variations
You can definitely change up the dish by changing the following:
Herbed butter filling - stirring 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 / ½ cup of grated cheese on top of your rolls would be particularly great if serving alongside potatoes.
Equipment needed to make a batch
Mixing bowl: You’ll need a large mixing bowl to prepare the dough.
Stand or hand mixer: A stand mixer is best due to the length of kneading time. Though a hand mixer will do the job if you use the lowest setting and work slowly so as not to overwork it. You can also make the dough by hand.
Bench scraper or knife: This isn’t the easiest way to evenly distribute your dough.
FAQ’s for the best Soft Dinner Rolls
Do my ingredients need to be room temperature for my dough?
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.
Can I make the dough by hand?
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, you’ll 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.
Can I make the dinner rolls ahead?
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.
How to make:
Place the yeast and milk in a bowl and allow to dissolve for 3 minutes.
Once bubbling, add the flour, sugar and egg and beat on low until you have 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 ⅔ tablespoon of butter at a time) and incorporate until you cannot see any butter remnants in your dough.
Continue by adding another piece 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!
Soft Dinner Rolls
- Prep Time: 1 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: + chill time 5 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 12 1x
- Category: Sides
Description
Dinner rolls that are between a burger bun and a brioche are the perfect accompaniment to any special dinner, the best part is that these rise overnight in the fridge to make preparing them ahead a breeze!
Ingredients
Dough
7 grams / 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast
130 milliliters / ½ cup + 2 teaspoons whole milk, lukewarm 123 grams
60 milliliters / ¼ cup water, lukewarm
408 grams / 3 cups bread flour
30 grams / 1 ½ tablespoons honey
14 grams / 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
70 grams / 2.46 ounces butter, cubed and room temperature
Rosemary butter
20 grams / 2 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
5 grams / 1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Instructions
- Place the yeast and milk in a bowl and allow to dissolve for 3 minutes.
- Once bubbling, add the flour, sugar and egg and beat on low until you have 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 ⅔ tablespoon of butter at a time) and incorporate until you cannot see any butter remnants in your dough.
- Continue by adding another piece 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
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 203 calories per roll
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