Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls

Delightful Dinner Rolls Made Quick and Easy

This homemade dinner rolls recipe is as easy as it is delicious.

While it doesn’t technically qualify as a “quick bread,” or a “no rise” roll recipe, the dough is quick to prepare.

There are only 5 minutes of kneading time and 45 minutes of total rising time.

And, if you have a food processor using the dough blade… or standing mixer with a dough hook… it’s virtually effortless.

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor

KitchenAid Artisan Tilt-Head Mixer

Sure, you can purchase fairly good fresh roll dough in the freezer section at the grocery store, let it rise and bake. But there are no time savings… as the rolls must be thawed and allowed to rise.

In fact, all things considered, those pre-made frozen rolls will actually take more time.

And there is nothing like homemade dinner rolls fresh out of the oven. It’s fresh comfort food at its finest!

Pro Tips

While many recipes call for bread flour, don’t use it for this recipe.

Bread flour has a higher protein content because it’s milled from hard spring wheat vs hard winter wheat used in all-purpose flour.

Bread flour is better is for a chewier, dense texture… great for a rustic loaf. But not a great choice for yeast rolls, known for their soft texture.

Choose all-purpose flour for this recipe.

Check the temperature of your water before adding your yeast.

Yeast is a living organism. People often make the mistake of adding the yeast granules to water that’s too hot. This actually kills the yeast.

A range of 100 – 110 degrees Fahrenheit is the Goldilocks zone. Use a reliable instant-read thermometer to gauge the temperature. 

Thermoworks Thermapen MK4 Instant Read Thermometer

Choose from a variety of baking pan options.

We love the pretty clover presentation and pull-apart nature that a round baking dish or pie dish provides.

However, you can use a square or rectangular baking dish. You can also use a 1/4 pan rectangular baking sheet to maintain a pull-apart formation.

For standalone dinner rolls,  you can use a 1/2 sheet pan. Place the roll dough 2 inches apart and serve them up in a nice bread basket.

Make-Ahead Friendly

You can definitely bake these rolls in advance, and gently warm for 8-10 minutes before serving.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and place the rolls on the middle rack, so they don’t get overly browned on the top or bottom.

We like to make 2 to 3 batches of this recipe to allow for leftover rolls. Particularly at Thanksgiving. These little gems make for the best mini leftover turkey sandwiches!

Jump to recipe Check out the 2018 Thanksgiving Menu