Baking your own bread is deliciously rewarding. These ultra-soft, ultra-fluffy dinner rolls are the perfect recipe for beginners and pros alike.
These are the type of rolls you can just tear apart and slather with butter for the perfect side to any meal.
The secret to fluffy rolls is in the rising and the kneading stages. The dough needs to rise twice for at least one hour each time. You also have to knead the dough for longer than you think!
It may sound daunting, but these dinner rolls are easy peasy. Get ready to say goodbye to supermarket rolls once and for all!
How To Make Dinner Rolls
Once you have your shaggy dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured bench top.
Knead for at least 8 minutes (and up to 10 minutes) by stretching out the dough with the palm of your hand and folding it back in on itself. Slowly incorporate just enough flour to make the dough elastic and workable.
Your dough should be smooth, elastic and springy after kneading. Shape your kneaded dough into a ball and place into a well greased bowl. Grease the top of the dough ball and cover with clingwrap (or a damp teatowel).
Allow it to rise in a warm place (40-45 C / 105-115 F) for at least 1 hour! This is important to make the rolls fluffy! I just put the bowl of dough in the oven on the lowest heat.
Punch out any excess air and lightly knead the risen dough into a rectangle. Divide into 12 even pieces.
Use the pinching technique to shape the dough pieces into rolls: grab the outer edges of a piece of dough and pull then inwards then 'pinch' them together at the top. Repeat until the underside of the dough ball is smooth.
Place pinch-side-down in the floured baking tray.
Grease the top of the rolls and cover, then allow to rise in a warm place for another 1 hour.
Look how fluffy they are! Glaze the risen rolls with a combination of whisked egg yolk and warm milk.
All shiny!
Bake at 200 C / 390 F until golden brown. When you tap the top of a roll, it should sound hollow inside.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tray before serving - then tear straight into them!
Dinner Rolls
These light and fluffy dinner rolls are the perfect accompaniment to any meal. They're perfectly soft and squishy with a shiny glaze. Making your own rolls requires a little bit of patience but the results are well worth it!
Ingredients
For the Rolls
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar (use ¼ cup if you like sweeter rolls)
- 2 teaspoon (7 g / 1 sachet) dried active yeast
- 60 g (2 oz / ¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 3 ½ cups plain flour (high-protein flour or bread flour is preferable)
- 2 teaspoon salt
For the Glaze
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Sift 3 cups of flour and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate heat-proof jug, microwave the milk for 30 seconds on high power or until quite warm (around 40°C / 105°F) . Stir in the caster sugar and yeast. Cover with clingwrap or a damp tea towel and set aside for 5 minutes or until the yeast becomes frothy and rises to the surface.
- Stir the melted butter and egg into the yeast mixture. Pour into the centre of flour and salt.
- Stir together to form a shaggy dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured benchtop.
- Knead for 8-10 minutes by hand (see notes if using a dough hook), slowly incorporating the remaining ½ cup of flour only as needed. You may not use the entire ½ cup. As you knead the dough, it will become smoother and less sticky. The dough is ready when it is smooth and elastic. If you gently poke the dough ball, it should spring back.
- Rinse out the bowl and grease well with butter or cooking spray. Shape the dough into a ball and place into the greased bowl. Lightly grease the top of the dough ball. Cover the bowl with clingwrap or a damp tea towel and place in a warm place (40-45°C / 105-115°F) to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size (I put the bowl in my oven on the lowest heat).
- Meanwhile, grease a large casserole dish. Dust evenly with flour. This will stop the bread rolls from sticking to the dish.
- Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured bench. Punch out the excess air. Knead lightly and shape into a rectangle. Divide into 12 even pieces. Cover the pieces with a damp teatowel to keep them fresh while not using.
- Take one piece of dough and pull the outside edges into the centre, 'pinching' them together to form a roll. Turn the ball over so the pinched edges are on the under-side and the top of the roll is smooth. Place into the prepared dish. Repeat with remaining dough to make 3 x 4 rows of rolls in the dish.
- Lightly grease the top of the rolls and cover with clingwrap or a damp teatowel. Return to a warm place to rise for another 1 hour or until doubled in size again.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. For the glaze, microwave the milk for 15 seconds or until warm. Whisk in the egg until very well combined.
- Using a pastry brush, gently brush the glaze over each roll. Bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top and sound hollow when tapped. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tray before serving.
Notes
Storage
- These dinner rolls are best served fresh. However, you can keep these rolls stored un-refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Substitutions
- Flour: I have used regular plain flour to make these rolls with excellent results. High-protein bread flour will give you a flakier result.
- For sweet, Hawaiian-style dinner rolls, increase the amount of sugar to ¼ cup.
Tips for Light and Fluffy Bread Rolls
- Make sure to let the dough rise for at least the full hour in both the first and second rise. If your house is colder, it may even take longer. Make sure the dough doubles in size.
- It is very important to knead the dough for at least 8 (and up to 10) minutes. This allows the strands of gluten to develop in the dough and makes the bread rolls flakier and fluffier.
- Using a dough hook: sift the flour and salt directly into the bowl of an electric mixer (fitted with a dough hook). At step 3, pour the yeast mixture into the flour and mix on low speed for 10 minutes, slowly adding the extra ½ cup of flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 RollAmount Per Serving: Calories: 196Total Fat: 5.9gSaturated Fat: 3.1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1.8gCholesterol: 41.6mgSodium: 7.2mgCarbohydrates: 29.2gFiber: 1.2gSugar: 3.4gProtein: 5.3g
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