Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls

These Easy Homemade Dinner rolls are soft, tender and are casual enough for a weeknight dinner yet special enough for a holiday meal. This recipe makes 24 pull apart dinner rolls.

Ya know what I love? Rolls.

They are the perfect vehicle for sopping up gravy, slathering with butter or using to sandwich leftovers.

One thing about me you might not know, is that I sort of have a reputation when it comes to dinner rolls. It stems from, well, my whole entire life I guess. When I was younger, I would literally put down a good 6-8 rolls in one sitting, and when I say 6-8 rolls I really mean 8-10. I’m not proud. Well, maybe a little.

Back then, I would gather rolls around my dinner plate (think Christmas wreath). I made sure to have plenty just in case the bread basket ran out. It made me feel safe to have half dozen rolls surrounding my plate. Nowadays, I really don’t collect rolls around my plate, okay maybe three (four) tops! But with out fail, at Thanksgiving or Christmas I can always count on some one mentioning the time when I use to stockpile all the rolls.

So with the holidays here, I’d thought I’d share for one of my favorite recipes for soft, slightly sweet, yeasty, easy homemade dinner rolls.

To Make These Homemade Dinner Rolls You will Need:

• water – Should be warm and not hot – about 95° to 100°. You can use an instant read thermometer to check.
• active dry yeast – Needed for the dough to rise.
• unsalted butter (melted) – Promises a flavorful and soft roll.
• granulated sugar (white sugar) – Lends flavor and will yield a soft, moist and tender dinner roll.
• eggs – Adds richness and flavor while also yielding soft and fluffy rolls.
• fine salt – Enhances flavor and acts as a yeast inhibitor, basically keeping the yeast from eating up all the sugar. Use pink Himalayan or sea salt.
• unbleached bread flour – Yields a chewier dinner roll. Unbleached all-purpose flour may be substituted, but texture will be different.

Pour 1 cup warm (about 95 to 100°) water into a large bowl and immediately sprinkle 4-1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast (or two .25 ounce packets) over top and let sit for 5 minutes or so to bloom.

Meanwhile add 4-1/4 cups bread flour and 1 teaspoon fine salt into a bowl.

Whisk to combine.

After the yeast has bloomed add in 1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar.

Pour in 1 stick (or 1/2 cup) melted and slightly cooled unsalted butter. The butter should not be hot or it could cook the eggs when you add them.

Then add in 3 large eggs.

Whisk these together.

Gradually add in 1/3 of the flour mixture.

Stir until just combined and then repeat with another third of the flour mixture. Stir and repeat one last time with the remaining flour.

When the dough comes together, form it into a large ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or tea towel and pop it in the refrigerator to rise for 2-3 hours or overnight. This is called cold-proving or a cold rise.

What is a cold rise?

Although we all know bread tends to rise in a warm spot, but it can also rise in the fridge. This technique (cold rise or cold-proving) slows down the fermentation process, allowing the yeast to work on the sugars over a longer period of time. Even though this does take longer, it will produce a better, stronger flavor. In this recipe, the first rise takes about 2 to 3 hours. However you could also leave it overnight and finish making the rolls the next day.

When just about risen, line a 9×13 baking pan and grease or spray with nonstick baking spray with flour.

Preheat your oven to 375°.

After the 2 to 3 hours your dough should have risen. Uncover and dust your work surface with some bread flour.

Knead the dough a few times until the dough is smooth.

Gently roll and shape into symmetrical 12-inch log.

Use a knife or bench scraper to divide the log in half lengthwise.

Working with the first half of the log, cut in half and then each half into 6 equal pieces – yielding twelve pieces. Repeat this with the second half of the log so you have 24 pieces of dough total.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, gather the ends, pulling it back and pinch to expose a smooth surface.

Roll each piece of dough into a ball between the palms of your hands.

Place into the prepared pan and repeat. You should have six dough-balls going along the longer side of the pan and 4 along the shorter side of the pan.

Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise a second time for 1 hour in a warm spot.

Meanwhile position an oven rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 375°.

Once risen, bake the easy homemade dinner rolls for 20 to 22+ minutes or until golden brown. Be sure to rotate the pan-o-rolls half way during the baking time for even baking.

How do you Know When the Dinner Rolls are done?

Besides being golden brown, you can use a digital instant-read thermometer to check the internal temp. When inserted into the center of middle roll it should read about 190°. Be mindful not to have the thermometer touching the bottom of the pan.

They should come out of the oven a deep golden color. Let them cool before removing, using the parchment paper for handles.

These pull apart dinner rolls pull apart so easy! Serve slightly warm in a towel lined basket.

One pan yields 24 dinner rolls so this recipe will feed a small crowd!

Enjoy! And if you give this Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!