Basic Soft Bread Rolls Recipes

SOFT NO KNEAD DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Place the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a medium bowl, then pour in water. Leave for 5 minutes until it froths.
• Place flour, remaining sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine.
• Make a well in the centre. Add milk, butter, eggs and pour in the yeast liquid, including all froth.
• Mix until combined with wooden spoon - it will be like a thick muffin batter. Not pourable, but thick and sticky.

SOFT DINNER ROLLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula is a better choice.*
• Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough, similar to the photos and video above. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 full minutes. (See video tutorial above if you need a visual of kneading dough by hand.)
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. You can also bake the rolls in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet.*
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it- doesn't need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a smooth ball. I do this entirely in my hands and you can watch in the video tutorial above. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
• Cover shaped rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the rolls towards the bottom of the oven so the tops don't burn.)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.
• Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

SOFT DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Place bread flour, water, sugar, egg, 2 tablespoons softened butter, yeast, and salt into the pan of your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle and press Start. When the cycle is complete, remove the dough and press down to deflate.
• Divide dough into 15 equal pieces and form into rolls. Place rolls in prepared baking dish, brush with melted butter, and cover dish loosely with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake rolls in the preheated oven until the tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

GRANDMA RITA'S SOFT BUTTER ROLLS

Steps:

• Pour milk into a glass 2-cup measuring cup and heat in the microwave until it starts to boil and climb the sides, about 1 minute. Add butter, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt to the scalded milk; set aside to cool until it gets below 110 degrees F (45 degrees C).
• Dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water in a large bowl. Let stand until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 10 minutes.
• Pour milk mixture into the yeast mixture; add 2 cups bread flour and egg. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition, until the dough is smooth and a little tacky.
• Turn dough out onto a sheet of flour-dusted waxed paper and lightly knead to pull dough together; shape into a ball. Place dough in a large, lightly-oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough into thirds. Break each third into six evenly sized balls and arrange onto prepared baking sheet. Cover balls with a towel to rise further for another 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven until browned, about 15 minutes.