Homemade Dinner Rolls
This homemade dinner rolls recipe is perfect for a family meal, during the week, or during the holidays!
There are certain dinners that just are not complete without a dinner roll. You know the dinners I’m talking about. The kinds that have gravy and sauces and all kinds of good stuff to sop up. I mean, who in their right mind would leave those fabulous liquids behind on their plate??!!
HOMEMADE DINNER ROLLS RECIPE
Few things beat a good homemade dinner roll. And nothing store-bought will ever make your kitchen smell as wonderful as homemade bread baking in the oven.
A good dinner roll should feel satisfying and easily pick up any sauce left behind on your plate. These accomplish both of those things on top of being really tasty!
Yeast Bread
Don’t be intimidated by the yeast process. It’s super simple. The only thing you want to make sure of is that you have fresh/new yeast. Don’t use yeast that’s been in the back of your pantry for the last decade. Beyond that, it’s a very simple process.
If you can let a bowl of water sit on your counter without too much effort, you can deal with yeast. I promise!
How Do You Make Rolls Taste Better?
If your dinner rolls are bland, you have a couple of options. Add fat, and add seasoning. This recipe does both, and as a result, they have great flavor.
You can also mix in dry or fresh herbs, garlic powder, or even grated parmesan cheese. Rosemary is a favorite around here.
What Makes Bread Moist And Fluffy?
The easy answer is fat. Fat makes bread moist and fluffy. The more you use (within reason), the fluffier your bread will be. (Note that I’m talking about homemade bread. Not pillow-soft Wonder bread that is made with chemicals galore.)
Tips For Making The Best Dinner Rolls
Making the best homemade dinner rolls isn’t complicated if you keep a few things in mind.
- Kneading the dough enough to activate the gluten in the flour is important. Don’t skimp on the kneading.
- If your dough is really sticky, you can continue to knead it on a lightly floured surface, adding small amounts of flour and kneading well in between each addition.
- For extra fluffiness, you can add 1 large egg yolk to the dough.
What Are Dinner Rolls Eaten With?
There are so many ways to enjoy dinner rolls!
- Use them as slider buns
- Enjoy them with sausage and eggs for breakfast
- Make kid-sized sandwiches for school lunchboxes
- Sop up all that sauce on your plate (these are great for Thanksgiving!)
- Plain with butter or melted butter
Ingredients Checklist
3 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour – You can also use white whole wheat flour if it’s easier to find.
1 packet rapid-rise, highly active yeast
1 tbsp. honey – You can also use pure maple syrup.
¾ cups warm water – Between 105-115 F.
1 tsp. sea salt – I used pink Himalayan salt. Use whatever salt you normally cook or bake with.
2 tsp. onion powder – Onion granules work too.
¾ cup almond milk – dairy milk or rice milk work too.
2 tbsp. olive oil + extra for coating dough ball. You can also use butter if you prefer.
How To Make Homemade Dinner Rolls
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the honey and water and stir until honey is dissolved.
Add yeast to water/honey mixture and let stand until foamy (about 10 minutes)
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, onion powder, and salt.
Once the yeast mixture is foamy, add the oil and milk and stir briefly.
Add the flour to the liquid mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it gets thick enough to knead with your hands (if you have a mixer, you can add all of this to the bowl of a stand mixer and knead with a dough hook on medium speed).
Knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, but firm and smooth. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
For the first rise, coat the ball of dough in oil (do not use cooking spray.), cover the bowl with a towel, and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
Once the dough rises, break it into 12 equal pieces and roll them into balls.
Place on an oiled cookie sheet, cover with a towel, and let the dough proof for 1 more hour in a warm place
Brush the rolls with a small amount of milk (whichever type you used), using a basting brush.
Bake rolls for approximately 40-50 minutes. They should have a nice golden brown crust when done.
Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack (if you can wait that long. Mine were half gone before they got cool enough to put in storage).
How to Store Homemade Dinner Rolls
Store these in an airtight container or food-grade bag with a tight closure. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Can You Freeze Homemade Dinner Rolls?
You can! Pack them in an airtight container and store them in a freezer for up to 4 months.
More Healthy Bread Recipes
Homemade Dinner Roll Recipe
Homemade Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 packet rapid-rise, highly active yeast
- 1 tbsp. honey
- ¾ cups warm water (105-115 F.)
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- ¾ cup almond milk (diary milk or rice milk work too)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil (+ extra for coating dough ball)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the honey and water and stir until honey is dissolved.
- Add yeast to water/honey mixture and let stand until foamy (about 10 minutes)
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, onion powder and salt.
- Once the yeast mixture is foamy, add the oil and milk and stir briefly.
- Add the flour to the liquid mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until it gets thick enough to knead with your hands (if you have a mixer, you can do this all in one bowl with a dough hook).
- Knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, but firm and smooth. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Coat the ball of dough in olive oil, cover the bowl with a towel and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
- Now break the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls.
- Place on an oiled cookie sheet, cover with a towel and let rise for 1 more hour.
- Brush the rolls with a small amount of milk (whichever type you used), using a basting brush.
- Bake rolls for approximately 40-50 minutes. They should have a nice golden brown crust when done.
- Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack (if you can wait that long. Mine were half gone before they got cool enough to put in storage).
First of all, thank you so much for putting these recipes on the internet. I am so excited to have a completely CLEAN Thanksgiving dinner with my family. I love your blog and have used many of your recipes. GO YOU!
Anyways, I am trying to prep/cook as many dishes as I can before the day of the dinner. I was considering making these early and then maybe freezing them or something? I really want them to be as fresh as possible. What do you suggest? (Just a side note: We are celebrating on Friday and I was planning on preparing the meals on Wednesday- so two days ahead of time). I am also going to make your pumpkin pie recipe, whipped coconut cream recipe, corn bread recipe and cranberry sauce recipe ahead of time.
Thanks again!
Larissa – Out of all of those, the ones you can prep ahead of time would be the pumpkin pie, corn bread and cranberry sauce. You can prep the rolls ahead of time as well, but I would bake them and then just leave them in the fridge in a well sealed container. I would not freeze them for that short amount of time. The whip cream you’ll need to do the same day. It won’t hold up for that long. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi. Pretty new here just wanted to make sure that yeast is clean?
Becca – As far as I know it should be just fine. I use it all the time when I bake bread.