Homemade Dinner Yeast Rolls
servings: 12
There’s something about a basket of warm, buttery homemade yeast dinner rolls that instantly makes a meal feel special. If you love tender, pull-apart rolls with a soft crust and buttery finish, this recipe is worth trying.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water about 110°F
- 1/4 cup whole milk warmed to about 110°F
- 1 package active dry yeast about 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature or melted and cooled to about 110°F
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 1/3 cups all purpose flour or bread flour
- 3 tablespoons salted butter melted
Instructions
Proof the Yeast
- Pour your packet of yeast into a large mixing bowl and add warm water. Stir gently, then cover the bowl with a lid, plate, or clean kitchen towel.
- After about 10-15 minutes, the surface should look foamy. If no foam appears, the yeast is no longer active. Just start over with a fresh packet.
Mix the Dough
- Add salt, sugar, warm milk, and butter to the yeast mixture and stir with a fork or dough whisk until well combined. Add the flour and mix until all of it is incorporated. The dough should be shaggy and slightly sticky, but your whisk or fork should pull away easily.
- If the dough seems too wet, sprinkle in a bit more flour. If it’s too dry, add a tablespoon of water at a time.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and Fold the Dough
- After 30 minutes, lightly wet your hands to prevent sticking. Perform a few stretch-and-folds:
- Pull one side of the dough up and fold it over the center
- Rotate the bowl
- Repeat with the next side
- You don’t need to pull the dough very high. Even a short stretch helps develop gluten and strengthen the loaf.
- Cover the bowl again and let rest another 30 minutes. Repeat a second round of stretch-and-folds.
Shape the Dough
- Lightly flour your countertop and gently turn the dough out of the bowl.
- Separate the dough into roughly 12 equal portions.
- Gently fold them into a ball shape, pinching the seam together on the bottom of the roll.
- Place the dough seam-side down on a piece of parchment paper on a baking pan or spray the pan with cooking oil.
- Lightly sprinkle the roll tops with flour and rub across the tops. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for a final 30 minutes.
Preheat the Oven
- During the final rise, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Butter and Bake
- Brush the tops of the rolls with melted salted butter.
- Place pan in oven and bake 20-24 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown on top.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and brush the tops with more melted butter if desired.
Notes
- For standard-sized dinner rolls, divide the dough into 12 portions. Dividing into 8 portions creates larger, sandwich-style rolls.
- Brushing the tops with butter before baking helps create a soft, tender crust.
- Bake on a lower oven rack to help prevent over-browning on top.
- Brush the hot rolls with melted salted butter immediately after baking for extra flavor and softness.
- These rolls are best served warm but remain soft for several days when stored in an airtight container.
- For a slightly sweeter finish, stir a small amount of honey into the melted butter before brushing the rolls.