Fast Dinner Rolls

closeup of homemade dinner rolls with butter and sea salt

4.91 from 20 votes

If you've never made homemade dinner rolls, this is the recipe for you. Follow these easy step-by-step instructions on how to knead, shape, proof, and bake the best dinner rolls you've ever had!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Rising Time1 30

Total Time2 5

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Servings: Rolls

Calories: 191kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

Stand Mixer
dough hook
Thermometer

Ingredients

Soft Dinner Rolls

16 ounces whole milk warmed to 109ºF
1 large egg room temperature
1 Tablespoon sugar
10 grams active dry yeast or instant yeast (see notes)
30 ounces Bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon salt
5 ounces butter softened but not melted

Egg Wash

1 large egg
1 Tablespoon water

For the rolls

2 Tablespoons butter melted
1 Tablespoon flakey sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Egg Wash Instructions

Combine 1 egg with 1 Tablespoon water and whisk until smooth

Dinner Roll Instructions

First, warm your milk in the microwave or on the stovetop until it reaches 109ºF.
Combine the warm milk with your sugar, and then add the dried yeast.
Give it a stir and set it aside for about 5 minutes.
Next, in the bowl of your stand mixer, add your flour to the bowl with the egg and your yeast mixture.
Mix with the dough hook on low speed (setting 1 on my Bosch Mixer, setting 2 on a KitchenAid) until everything is blended.
Then, add your butter and salt to the bowl.
Continue mixing on low speed (setting 1 on my Bosch Mixer, setting 2 on a KitchenAid) for 10-12 minutes or until the dough ball pulls away from the bowl and is firm and elastic. Touch the side of the dough ball, does it spring back? It’s ready. If it still seems very soft and oozes between your fingers, it has not developed enough gluten. Keep mixing.
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set it in a warm place (but not too warm) for 60 minutes or until it doubles in size. Too much warmth will kill the yeast. And if it’s too cold, it won’t grow quickly. The ideal environment is about 80ºF.
Once the dough is done rising, poke two fingers down into the top of the dough. If the hole stays and the dough does not spring back, then the dough has risen enough. If the dough bounces back, then it needs more time to rise.
Take the dough out of the bowl and divide it into thirty, 2-ounce pieces of dough. I weigh mine, but you can eyeball it if you want.
Fold the edges of the dough under itself until all the top of the dough is smooth.
Place into the pan in four rows.
Next, cover them with a towel and let them rise for one hour or until they have doubled in size.
Once the rolls are nice and puffy (about 30 minutes).
Brush the tops of the dough with your egg wash.
Bake them in the oven at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes or until nice and golden brown. Don’t under-bake them or they will be doughy in the center.
When they’re done baking, brush them with melted butter and add a sprinkle of sea salt. Serve warm!

Video

Notes

Important Things To Note Before You Start

Use a scale to weigh your ingredients (including liquids) unless otherwise instructed (Tablespoons, teaspoons, pinch etc). Metric measurements are available in the recipe card. Scaled ingredients are much more accurate than using cups and help ensure the success of your recipe.
Practice Mise en Place (everything in it’s place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start mixing to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.
When proofing the dough, I turn my oven on to 170ºF and open the door. Then, I place my dough on the oven door near the opening of the oven to proof (i.e. not INSIDE of the oven).
You can use Instant yeast, but you will want to let your dough proof for only 30 minutes the first time and then 10 minutes after you shape your rolls before baking.
There is no need to bloom instant yeast in milk. Just add the yeast to the flour, and add the milk mixture to the flour mixture before you mix as directed.

Nutrition