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These Dinner Rolls are so light and fluffy and are the best homemade dinner rolls ever! These homemade rolls are made with only 8 ingredients and are so easy.
The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls are buttery, fluffy, and taste heavenly! These homemade rolls will be gone in no time in your home.
It is SIDE DISH week on Modern Honey so I can’t wait to share everything I have been whipping up in my kitchen.
My Mom is the Roll Master. She will shake her head and say, “no honey, I am not”….but I am here to tell you she is wearing the crown. She has always said in her perfect world, she would live on homemade bread and rolls. She is always in her kitchen making up some sort of baked good to deliver to a neighbor in need. Her heart is made of gold, I tell you.
When I was teaching cooking school for kids, I had her come over and teach them everything she knows about bread. So when I wanted to learn how to make homemade rolls, I called up my Mom and she was ready to teach me all the tricks of the trade.
These BEST Homemade Dinner Rolls are heaven sent.
These rolls are made with simple ingredients — yeast, water, sugar, butter, milk, flour, and salt. It’s the ratios that matter. The dough has just the right amount of butter to make them melt-in-your-mouth rolls and enough yeast to help them rise and make them fluffy. 
Dinner Roll Ingredients:
- Yeast — I suggest using instant yeast in this recipe but you can also use active dry yeast. More details about the differences between yeast are listed below.
- Water — using warm water (approximately 110 degrees) is the best way to active the yeast and let it proof, foam, and bubble
- Sugar — yeast loves sugar so this is a good way to ensure the yeast is working by adding it to the yeast and water mixture
- Butter — softened salted butter gives these rolls the perfect amount of richness and flavor
- Milk — use whole or 2% milk because of their fat content. It is best to slightly warm the milk to help it incorporate into the dough
- Eggs — the perfect binder to bring the dry and wet ingredients together
- Flour — you can use all-purpose flour or bread flour in this roll recipe
- Salt — this is one of the most important ingredients when baking bread. It is what brings out the flavor of all of the ingredients.
What type of yeast should I use in the dinner rolls recipe?
The most popular types of yeast used in baking are traditional active dry yeast and instant fast-rising yeast.
Active dry yeast has been around for ages and is sold in packets and in jars. It is a slower-working yeast. It can be added directly to the dough with the dry ingredients and doesn’t need to be proofed or activated with warm water.
Fast-rising or Instant Yeast is a finer granule and is known to work 50% faster than active dry yeast. The most popular brand is Fleishmann’s instant dry yeast. This yeast can be proofed or be added to the dry ingredients.
I always prefer to activate my yeast with warm water or warm milk and a sprinkle of sugar to ensure the yeast is working.
There is a Fleishmann’s RapidRise Yeast that only requires one quick rise.
Buttery, light, fluffy homemade dinner rolls are a must in our home! I am sharing all of the tips and tricks to make perfect dinner rolls every single time.
How to make the BEST Homemade Dinner Rolls:
- Let your YEAST PROOF. The key is to use very warm water (about 110 degrees). Adding sugar to the yeast helps it proof even faster. Let the yeast proof for at least 5 minutes. Remember to always use fresh yeast. You will know the yeast is working when it starts to form a creamy foam on the surface.
- Use BUTTER and EGGS. The butter and eggs are what adds richness to the homemade rolls dough.
- Use a STAND MIXER. This bread recipe is easiest with a stand mixer such as aBosch or Kitchenaid. This is a huge time saver as you knead the rolls for 5 minutes in the mixer. It saves you from doing it yourself! If you don’t own a stand mixer, you can knead the bread dough by hand. Watch for the dough to start pulling away from the sides. You still want the dough to be slightly sticky but begin to pull away from the sides.
- Let RISE until DOUBLE in size. This can be done in a warm place. If you want the dough to rise faster, place the dough covered in a warm oven. Set the oven to 200 degrees, turn it off, and then place the dough in the oven and let it rise until double in size. This expedites the rising process and cuts the time in half.
- Roll into BALLS and brush with softened BUTTER. Roll into desired size and place in baking pan. Place close together so as the rolls rise, they rise upwards and not out. It keeps them from spreading. Brush with softened butter.
- BAKE until GOLDEN BROWN. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake until light golden brown. Remove from oven and spread butter over the top of rolls to give moisture and shine.
Frequently Asked Questions:
HOW TO KNOW IF THE YEAST IS WORKING?
The key to making any type of homemade rolls recipe is to ensure the yeast is working and activated.
I suggest mixing the yeast, warm water or milk (about 105-110 degrees), and a touch of sugar into a bowl. The sugar will help to “feed” the yeast and help it to activate quicker. Yeast loves sugar! The warm water or milk also helps to activate the yeast.
If the water or milk is too hot, it can kill the yeast, but if it is too cool, it won’t incorporate with the other ingredients.
The yeast should start to become foamy or bubbles will begin to surface. This is a great sign that the yeast is working. Let it work for at least 5 minutes to see if it begins to proof.
If nothing happens, start again with a new batch of yeast, warm water, and sugar.
One other tip when trying to get the yeast to begin to foam and bubble, make sure to keep it away from salt as the salt can kill the yeast.
How to know if my roll dough has risen enough?
The rule of thumb with bread baking is to watch for the dough to double in size. If possible, place it in a warm place to expedite the process. You want it to look light and airy. 
POPULAR HOMEMADE BREAD RECIPES:
- Knotted Buttery Rolls
- Homemade Garlic Butter Rolls
- One Hour Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
- Miracle One Hour White Bread Recipe
- Easy Soft French Bread Recipe
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The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Yeast
- 1/4 cup Warm Water
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1/2 cup Butter softened
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup Whole or 2% Milk best warmed
- 4 3/4 cups Flour may need to add more
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- Brush on top of rolls:
- 4 - 8 Tablespoons Butter softened
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add yeast, warm water, and sugar and set aside to proof. Let the yeast bubble and foam for 10 minutes.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 1 minute. Add eggs and milk and mix for 2 more minutes. Add in proofed yeast mixture.
- Pour in flour and salt. Mix for 5-7 minutes. Watch for the dough to start to come off the sides of the bowl. Add 1-3 Tablespoons of flour, if needed.
- Cover bowl and set aside to rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1-2 hours. If you want to expedite the rising process, heat the oven to 200 degrees, turn off the oven, and place the oven-safe bowl to rise until double in size.
- Once the dough is doubled, roll into small balls, about 16 - 20 depending on size preference. Place on greased or buttered baking sheet, close together to ensure the rolls rise upward and not spread, and brush rolls with softened butter. Cover and set aside to rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake for 14 - 18 minutes or until golden brown. Brush rolls with remaining melted butter.
- Serve warm or store in air-tight container.
Video
Notes
What type of yeast should I use in the dinner rolls recipe?
The most popular types of yeast used in baking are traditional active dry yeast and instant fast-rising yeast. Active dry yeast has been around for ages and is sold in packets and in jars. It is a slower-working yeast. It can be added directly to the dough with the dry ingredients and doesn't need to be proofed or activated with warm water. Fast-rising or Instant Yeast is a finer granule and is known to work 50% faster than active dry yeast. The most popular brand is Fleishmann's instant dry yeast. This yeast can be proofed or be added to the dry ingredients. I always prefer to activate my yeast with warm water or warm milk and a sprinkle of sugar to ensure the yeast is working. There is a Fleishmann's RapidRise Yeast that only requires one quick rise.HOW TO KNOW IF THE YEAST IS WORKING?
The key to making any type of homemade rolls recipe is to ensure the yeast is working and activated. I suggest mixing the yeast, warm water or milk (about 105-110 degrees), and a touch of sugar into a bowl. The sugar will help to "feed" the yeast and help it to activate quicker. Yeast loves sugar! The warm water or milk also helps to activate the yeast. If the water or milk is too hot, it can kill the yeast, but if it is too cool, it won't incorporate with the other ingredients. The yeast should start to become foamy or bubbles will begin to surface. This is a great sign that the yeast is working. Let it work for at least 5 minutes to see if it begins to proof. If nothing happens, start again with a new batch of yeast, warm water, and sugar. One other tip when trying to get the yeast to begin to foam and bubble, make sure to keep it away from salt as the salt can kill the yeast.Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Happy Baking, my friends! xo
I’m a great cook and I’m being modest. These are THE BEST ROLLS EVER! This recipe is amazing!
Thank you so much for making them Joyce!
Can the dough be prepared a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator until the next day?
And can you freeze the rolls and let sit out to rise?
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for this recipe. These taste just like my Aunt used to make when I was a young child. How long will these last in the freezer? Also can you make them ahead, like a few hours, and then bake? Only problem I have is getting them to turn a little brown after 15 minutes.
First recipe where I’ve gotten the rolls to rise the second time. Great flavor and very soft. Will keep using this recipe. Thank you for the helpful tips. I knew when the dough had enough flour.
Really good flavor and easy recipe to follow. Apparently, my flour had too little protein (3%); therefore, the dough was really sticky even with nearly an extra cup of flour and the rolls didn’t raise much on the second time. The loaf came out fine. 🤷♀️ My yeast bubbled up, so that wasn’t the problem. I need to get all purpose flour with more protein or use bread flour next time. Problem wasn’t with the recipe.
I’m a dang good cook, and this is one of my favorite recipes! Everyone LOVES it!
So easy and tastes amazing!
EXCELLENT RECIPE! Easy to prepare, dough was super easy to work with. I did have to add about half a cup more flour while it was kneading in the stand mixer. I let it rise for and hour due to my time constraints and then formed into 18 balls and another hour rise. I was able to fit 15 in a glass 13×9 pan and then remaining 3 in a smaller sheet pan. Baked for 15 mins for the small pan and additional 3-4 mins for the others. After I brushed butter on the tops, I took it out immediately from the pan to cool on a rack to prevent soggy bottoms (happened to me before with a other recipe). They were perfect for my dinner of sliders later same day. Cut them in half just like you would with Hawaiian rolls, added meat and cheese and then the lid and the butter/seasoning sauce on top. So good! These will be my go to for regular rolls or for when I need to make sliders again!
They are very good!
These are the best rolls ever, my whole family loves them. I make them all the time 🙂