These dinner rolls are soft and fluffy, easy to make, and practically melt in your mouth. They are truly the most amazing dinner rolls ever. Just read all the rave reviews!
This dinner roll recipe took Chef Rachel Farnsworth over 5 years of testing to develop. It has since been enjoyed by millions of people around the world with thousands and thousands of rave reviews, heralded as the best dinner rolls on the internet. In addition to being published in her best-selling cookbook The Stay At Home Chef Family Favorites, this dinner roll recipe is used in restaurants and bakeries around the world.
Whether you are new to bread making or an experienced baker, this recipe is sure to please. Be sure to review the frequently asked questions for any troubleshooting and watch the included video demonstration so that you too can enjoy these famous rolls at home.
What if I don’t have a stand mixer?
No mixer? No problem! You can knead your dough by hand! Start out by stirring with a spoon until it becomes too difficult to stir. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead it with your hands, gradually adding in more flour and folding, pressing, and working the dough (kneading) until you have a soft and smooth dough ball that is tacky, but not sticky enough to stick to your hands.
What is the difference between active dry yeast and instant dry yeast?
Instant dry yeast can be added straight to dry ingredients and doesn’t require any waiting period or proofing. It also rises a bit quicker. Active dry yeast is a bigger size of granule and generally needs to be dissolved in a liquid before adding to a recipe. It activates a bit slower so expect 10-15 minutes extra in rise time.
What should the dough feel like?
The dough should be smooth and slightly tacky, but still very soft and pliable. If it is sticking to your hands or the sides of the bowl, you need more flour. If you add too much flour and the dough stiffens, your rolls will also get a little stiff so always add additional flour a small amount at a time. The exact amount of flour you add in bread making can vary a great deal so it’s important to go by feel. I like to say you can feel a soft roll just by touching the dough.
How should I measure the flour? Should I sift it?
The flour you buy at the store these days is generally pre-sifted. There is no need to sift your flour. I prefer the scoop and sweep method as it is ultra-convenient. Simply give your flour a fluff, use your measuring cup to scoop out the flour, and level off the top. Weighing your flour using a kitchen scale is the only way to ensure complete accuracy. Even then, bread making is both fickle and forgiving and the actual amount of flour you add can change just due to the humidity in the air. When making this roll recipe, it is best to go by the touch and feel of the dough. 1 cup of flour is approximately 125 grams.
Can I substitute gluten-free flour?
This recipe was not designed to be gluten-free. Gluten free baking involves completely different chemistry. In general, you cannot substitute gluten-free flour in baking recipes and expect it to work, however, several people have reported that a blend like Cup for Cup will work.
How do I make my rolls equal in size?
The best way to ensure that your rolls are equal in size is to weigh them. Weigh the entire batch of dough using a kitchen scale and divide that weight by 24. This will give you your target weight for each roll. Usually, this is somewhere around 2.5 ounces.
How do I shape dinner rolls so that they are round?
Once you have your dough divided into 24 pieces you can shape your rolls. Place your hand into a cupping shape parallel to a clean countertop. Place the dough ball between the palm of your hand and the countertop. Roll the dough in a circular motion between your palm and the countertop for approximately 30 to 45 seconds until you have a smooth, round roll.
Does this roll recipe make a good loaf of bread? What about cinnamon rolls?
We love a good loaf of bread and we know that the amazing results of these rolls will quickly have you wondering if you can turn it into a loaf of bread. Unfortunately, the incredibly soft and melt-in-your moth results of this roll does not produce a sturdy loaf. Instead, we worked tirelessly to bring you the ultimate guide to homemade bread instead.
This recipe does make an incredible batch of cinnamon rolls. Be sure to check out the best homemade cinnamon rolls ever!
Freezer Instructions
You can freeze dinner rolls for later baking immediately after you shape them into rolls. When ready to eat, remove them from the freezer and allow to thaw and produce their second rise until double in size before baking. This can take anywhere between 1 to 2 hours, depending on the temperature in your home.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Need to make your dough ahead of time while you are busy doing other things? Make your dough as directed and let it rise for the initial 90 minutes. Shape the dough into rolls and place them on your baking sheet. Instead of letting them rise for an additional 60 minutes, cover the shaped rolls with plastic wrap and place the pan directly into the refrigerator. While it doesn’t stop it completely, the cool temperature of the fridge will slow the growth of your yeast. Your rolls will only rise slightly while refrigerated and you can hold them this way for up to 24 hours.
When ready to bake, remove them from the fridge and allow the rolls to rise at room temperature while your oven preheats, about 30 minutes. Continue to bake as directed.
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Best roll recipe ever! We have been making them for several years now. My family wants to know where on my blog they can find these and I send them your link! You are so sweet to watch on video and your daughter is a doll. Getting ready to make these again tomorrow…thanks for the great recipe!
These rolls were easy to make and rose perfectly. I I was making them for my Thanksgiving dinner and was excited when they came out of the oven looking beautiful, but unfortunately, I didn’t think the taste was as good as they looked. I followed the recipe exactly (used King Arthur flour) and fresh ingredients so not sure what went wrong. Just a bland flavor – will not be making them again. Wish they had tasted as good as they looked and as other comments stated.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m not sure what kind of flavor you thought they’d have. White bread is usually fairly bland, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious.
How far in advance can you make this recipe? I see it says you can store in plastic ziploc bags. Can they Ben made more than a day in advance and retail their texture and flavor?
A day in advance works great. 2 days in advance isn’t as ideal, though still pretty tasty.
Awesome! I wanted to get away from those store-bought brown-n-serve rolls my family always buys for Thanksgiving, but am also new to making rolls. So I did a dry run yesterday and they were so simple and so fluffy and so delicious! My husband and daughter literally ate 5 a piece. LOL. I’m sure they will be the star of Thanksgiving next week! Thanks so much!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them!
Your rolls are exactly what I was looking for to take to Thanksgiving dinner. I read all the FAQ’s but didn’t find an anser for this: If I plan to take them (1 hr car ride) should I let them rise at home then cover and transport (it will be cold) and bake them there? I doubt baking them at home and reheating would be quite as good.
Thanks in Advance.
I’d start the rise and let them finish in the car ride. Don’t let them rise completely on the second rise before you leave. Maybe 15 to 20 minutes just to get them started.
Hello,
I want to make this for thanksgiving and I don’t have a stand mixer but I have a hand mixer with the kneeding attachment, I have never used them before. How wouuld j go about using them. Same as your stand or different?
Most hand mixers do not have a strong enough motor to mix dough by hand. You might be able to start out using it, but you’ll most likely need to finish off mixing it by hand the old fashioned way. My mixer was out for more than a year and I made these many times without one. Still works great!
Ok I made these rolls and they came out picture perfect. When I cut them open though, the inside texture was too flaky, like when you cut into old bread and it starts to crumble. I couldn’t even spread butter on it without it breaking on me. What did I do wrong?
It sounds like you may have used self rising flour which is not what this recipe calls for.
These rolls look great. Can I bake the rolls and then freeze them, instead of freezing the dough? Sorry if you answered this already. I tried reading your many comments (sign of a great recipe), but I ran out of time! Thanks.
There’s actually a FAQ section that I wrote above the recipe that will help you out with this.
I have Made these and they are great. Was wondering if you can make them the day before?
You sure can!
I saw that these can be frozen, if I make them on a Friday night, can I freeze them until Sunday?
Yup! They stay good in the freezer for months.