Quick dinner rolls made from scratch, light and fluffy, freezer friendly, and perfect with any meal, especially a holiday dinner From flour to rolls in an hour!
Dinner rolls are one of the must-haves at our holiday table. When we have tons of time, we like to make our homemade dinner rolls, and they’re also great for freezing, but when we want them quickly, these quick dinner rolls are just what we’re craving!
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Milk – You can make this with regular milk, or we use Oatly full-fat milk to make these into dairy free dinner rolls.
- Granulated Sugar – This adds a bit of sweetness to the rolls, but it’s not overly sweet.
- Active Dry Yeast – Yeast is a must to make our rolls rise. Make sure you’re using yeast that is fresh.
- Butter – We use butter in the rolls and brush on after baking. To make dinner rolls dairy free, we use Country Crock Plant Butter.
- Eggs – If you’re egg-free or vegan, you can omit the eggs, but the egg does help add structure to the bread. We only use one in this recipe, so if you omit it, it will be fine.
- Salt – We use salted butter since we’re using dairy free. Make sure to use less or more depending on if you’re using salted or unsalted butter.
- All-Purpose Flour – We use all-purpose flour, but you could also use bread flour for dinner rolls.
How to make Dinner Rolls
Mix the warm milk with the yeast and sugar.
Mix the mixture and let it sit for a few minutes for the yeast to bloom.
While you wait for the yeast to bloom, combine the salt with the flour.
When the yeast is bloomed, you can add 1 cup of flour, the egg, and butter and mix until combined, then mix while adding the remaining flour.
The dough should be nice and soft. Add more flour if needed, up to 3 1/2 cups total. We usually do about 3 1/4 cups.
Place the dough in a greased bowl with enough room to rise.
Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and set in a warm area for 15 minutes.
Grease a 13×9 baking pan and then set aside.
Remove the covering from the dough and portion it into 15 dough balls; you can use a scale to ensure even-sized dinner rolls.
Place the rolls into the prepared baking pan and then cover them with a damp cloth for 15-20 minutes.
Once the rolls have risen, bake them for 15-20 minutes.
After they’re done baking, carefully remove them from the oven.
You can brush them with melted butter, but my tip is to just use a stick of butter you’re going to be using up on them. It melts right onto the warm rolls.
Adding the butter gives them a nice shiny exterior.
Recipe tips and variations
- We use a scale to get uniform-sized dinner rolls. You can weigh the entire batch and divide it by 15 to see how many grams each roll should be.
- You do not need a stand mixer to make dinner rolls. We also do this by hand with a danish whisk which works very well.
- Want to go bold? Make delicious garlic butter with fresh herbs to drizzle over the top of the rolls when they come out of the oven.
- You can easily freeze these to enjoy at another time.
Storage and reheating tips
- Refrigerate: Store any leftover rolls in an air-tight container on the counter for 2-3 days or 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Reheat: We like to toast for a minute or two, or you could warm them up in the microwave for 10-30 seconds, depending on how powerful your microwave is.
How to freeze dinner rolls
Do not let the dough rise in a bowl. Instead, portion the rolls and then place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and flash freeze. Once the rolls are fully frozen, you can place them into a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
To bake frozen dinner rolls, you’ll take the desired amount of rolls out of the freezer. Place the rolls into a prepared baking pan, then let them defrost and rise in a warm area. This should take an hour or two.
You can also freeze dinner rolls after baking by wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap and then placing them in a freezer-safe container for up to 2-3 months.
How to serve
We love serving dinner rolls with holiday meals like our Roast Turkey Breast on Thanksgiving or with some soup or chili. They’re also great with breakfast or sandwiches for lunch.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! You can add fresh herbs or even some bloomed herbs. We do not recommend adding anything with moisture to the dough. If you wanted to do a garlic butter, we suggest doing that once the rolls are fully baked by brushing it over the dinner rolls.
Add a bit more flour if the dough is sticky, about 1 tablespoon at a time. We typically use about 4 1/3 to 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour or 3 3/4 to 4 cups of bread flour. We highly recommend using a food scale.
This recipe uses a bit more yeast to help with the shortened rise time. We usually do a 1-hour rise on the dough and then another hour rise on the rolls. For this quick dinner roll recipe, we do a 15-minute rise on the dough and a 15-30 minute rise on the rolls.
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Quick Dinner Rolls
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Print Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup milk warmed, about 110 degrees F, we use oatly full fat for dairy free
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- 4 tablespoons butter softened – we use salted country crock plant butter
- 1 egg room temperature
- 3 – 3 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon teaspoons salt use 1 teaspoon if using unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Mix the mixture and let it sit for a few minutes for the yeast to bloom. Once the yeast has bloomed the mixture will be foamy.
- Add the egg, butter, and 1 cup of flour mixed with the salt to the bowl and knead in a mixer on low speed (or use a Danish whisk) until the mixture starts to come together. Slowly add the remaining flour and knead (or use your Danish whisk) on medium speed until the dough starts to form into a ball. If your dough is too sticky, you can add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. The bread dough should be soft.
- Use olive oil or avocado oil to grease a large bowl. Add the dough and toss in the oil to coat the bowl and the dough. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set it in a warm area for at least 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Once the dough is ready, you can grease a 9×13 baking pan or casserole dish.
- Lightly flour your hands and pinch off a bit of dough to make dough balls. Use a food scale if you want them to be the same size. You'll need 15 rolls formed to fill the baking pan.
- Roll the balls in the palm of your hands or with one hand on a pastry board until they're smooth on the top, and then place them into your prepared baking dish in 5 rows with 3 rolls.
- Cover the dinner rolls with a damp cloth and allow the dough to rise for 15-20 minutes.
- Bake the rolls for 15-18 minutes or until the rolls are nicely golden brown on top.
- Remove the rolls from the oven once done, and brush them with melted butter if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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