Classic White Dinner Rolls Recipes

SOFT DINNER ROLLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula is a better choice.*
• Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough, similar to the photos and video above. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 full minutes. (See video tutorial above if you need a visual of kneading dough by hand.)
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. You can also bake the rolls in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet.*
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it- doesn't need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a smooth ball. I do this entirely in my hands and you can watch in the video tutorial above. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
• Cover shaped rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the rolls towards the bottom of the oven so the tops don't burn.)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.
• Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

CLASSIC WHITE DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• OLD SCHOOL METHOD: combine 3/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
• Heat the milk, water, and butter until warm, then add to the flour mixture.
• Beat 2 minutes at medium speed with an electric mixer, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
• Add 1/4 cup flour, beat 2 minutes at high speed.
• Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough, knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.
• Cover, let rest for 10 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into balls. Place in a greased 8" pie pan. Cover and let rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Go to Step #9!
• BREAD MACHINE METHOD: Place the ingredients in the order required by your bread machine. With mine, I have to proof the yeast first in the sugar and water for 10-15 minutes. After proofing, do a regular 1-lb dough cycle in your machine. Mine takes 90 minutes. (NOTE- I'd recommend using closer to 2 1/2-3 cups flour for the bread machine method as mine tends to produce runny dough time to time.).
• When the dough cycle's finished, divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into balls. Place them into a greased 8" pie pan.
• Bake at 375F for 20 minutes or until set. Remove from the pan and brush with melted butter if desired, serve warm and immediately.

DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Place water in a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 2 eggs. Whisk in yeast mixture.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir in 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft, shaggy dough (if necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour). Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Butter the inside of a large bowl; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours.
• Butter two 13-by-9-inch baking pans. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 15-inch rope; cut each rope into 15 1-inch pieces. Press each piece into a disk, then shape into a ball. Arrange dough balls in prepared pans. (To make ahead: Wrap pans well, and freeze, up to 2 months.) Cover pans loosely with plastic; let stand in a warm spot until rolls have doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours (2 hours more if frozen).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg until blended; brush onto rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Let rolls cool 15 minutes before serving.