Best Dinner Bread Recipe

This simple recipe for homemade ultimate dinner rolls makes beautifully golden brown rolls with a soft and fluffy texture! Tons of baking tips, video for how to shape rolls, and make ahead instructions included.

There’s no need to be intimidated by homemade yeast bread baking – especially with a practically foolproof recipe like this one for the best-ever Ultimate Dinner Rolls.

I promise this dinner roll recipe is way easier than it may seem. These will become the surprise star of your Thanksgiving dinner table, Easter brunch, or just your Sunday night family dinners!

The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls Ever!

I actually originally developed this recipe in 2013 after testing tons of tweaks on dinner rolls for my Ultimate Dinner Roll Guide post here. I learned exactly what made homemade dinner rolls fluffy or hard, tender or crusty, and compiled my favorite tweaks to create this recipe for Ultimate Dinner Rolls!

I hope you give this dinner roll recipe a shot soon. If you’re still nervous about working with yeast, get my *free* Beginner’s Quick Guide to Bread here.

Bread flour has a higher level of protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps create tall dinner rolls with a nice chewy, fluffy texture. If you don’t have bread flour, use the same amount of all-purpose flour – but your rolls may just be slightly shorter and less chewy, and may take longer to knead and rise.

World's Best Dinner Rolls

Whole milk produces the absolute best flavor and texture. I don’t recommend using a non-dairy or low-fat milk unless you absolutely must.

I recommend using fine sea salt inside the dinner rolls, and I also love sprinklingflaky sea salt on top of the freshly baked and buttered rolls, for even more flavor. Learn more about different types of salt here.

Yes! I call for a stand mixer to make easy work of kneading in this dinner roll recipe, but you can also knead by hand. Be sure to knead the dough properly, until the dough is smooth and elastic, to get rolls that hold their shape and bake up nice and fluffy. You can see my full tutorial on how to knead dough here.

Old Fashioned Dinner Rolls

After kneading, shape the dough into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. I like to use glass so I can see how much it’s rising. I’ll even snap an iPhone picture of the dough before rising so I can compare later. The dough should be turned over to oil the top so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, foil, or a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free location. Ideal rise temperatures are between 80°F and 90°F. Lower temperatures will require more rising time; warmer temperatures will mean a shorter rising time.

The dough is done rising when it’s about doubled in size and passes the “ripe” test: gently stick two fingers in the risen dough up to the second knuckle and then take them out. If the finger marks remain, the dough is ready for shaping into balls. If not, cover and let the dough rise longer until it is.

The same finger test can be done again when the rolls are shaped before baking. Here’s what my dough looked like before and after rising:

Dinner Roll Recipe

You can also get creative with shaping this dinner roll recipe! Check out my article for 5 Ways to Shape Bread Rolls here.

This recipe was written to use a9×13-inch baking pan. While I usually prefer metal baking pans over glass or ceramic (metal conducts heat more efficiently), I actually prefer the table presentation ceramic pans offer when making dinner rolls. Also, because ceramic (and glass) conduct heat more slowly than metal, it allows these rolls to stay soft in the centers.

Most yeasted doughs can be made ahead of time and baked off later by simply chilling the dough. Refrigerating basically stunts the rise time and can actually allow more flavor to develop!

Mom's Best Dinner Rolls

Show us! If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with # so we can all see!

This recipe was originally published in 2013 and has been updated with new photos and more baking tips. Photos by Joanie Simon.

This recipe was the November 2021 selection for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes!Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here .Check out everyone’s dinner rolls:

Homemade Milk Rolls

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I’m a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!).There is truly no smell as amazing as fresh warm bread or rolls coming out of the oven! I remember coming home from school to the smell of freshly baked buns or bread, ready and waiting as the perfect after school snack! To this day when I smell fresh baking, I am immediately transported to that happy time and place of my childhood.

Fast forward to today with busy work schedules, running to kids activities and trying to simply keep up with life, it is difficult to put together a meal – let alone add on the extras!

This 30-Minute Dinner Roll recipe is wonderful because it is truly so easy to prepare, the buns take a short time to rise and the result is such a delicious treat that it is worth the extra effort! What a great side to enjoy with a hot and tasty bowl of soup or chili!

The Best Dinner Rolls (tips, Tricks, Make Ahead & Freezer Instructitons)

I love the convenience of buying dinner rolls from the store and the quality is very nice. In most cases however, store bought items have additives or preservatives in order to keep a longer shelf life. Making these homemade dinner rolls from scratch ensures that nothing is added except wholesome goodness! And these tasty little buns never last long enough to have to worry about shelf life!

If you are lucky enough to have any left over the next day, they do stay fresh and are so wonderful served with butter and jam in the morning! I love to enjoy this special treat with my morning coffee – it is comfort food at it’s best!

Our sense of smell is one of the most highly acute of all our senses and tends to influence our mood. It is no small wonder that when we smell freshly baked dinner rolls, it makes us feel happy and excited in anticipation of these tender, tasty treats!

Best Bread Rolls Recipe

There is truly no smell as amazing as fresh warm bread or rolls coming out of the oven! These 30 minute dinner rolls are the perfect addition to any meal!

Calories: 134 | Carbohydrates: 19 g | Protein: 3 g | Fat: 5 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 11 mg | Sodium: 76 mg | Potassium: 32 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 3 g | Vitamin A: 36 IU | Calcium: 7 mg | Iron: 1 mg

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Delicious Bread Recipes For Dinner

Whether it’s a special occasion or you simply want a delicious addition to your weeknight meal, 30-Minute Dinner Rolls are perfect! Absolutely delicate, delicious and simple to make, you will want to bake them often. And your family will ask for them even more!

Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!You only need 7 ingredients to make these dinner rolls. Flaky, soft, and buttery, these fresh dinner rolls outshine any main dish. If you’re a bread beginner, read this blog post to learn more about the yeast rolls recipe, including how to prep the rolls ahead of time. You can also reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.

I’m teaching you how to make homemade dinner rolls. These are the best homemade dinner rolls I’ve ever had and it all starts with a straightforward 7-ingredient dough. I make these rolls whenever I get the chance and even brought a pan to our friends who just welcomed a baby. They’re pillow-soft with the most delicious flaky and buttery texture. Everyone will demand you bake them on repeat.

Best Yeast Dinner Roll Bake Off

As shown in the video tutorial, the dough comes together with a mixer. You can use a paddle attachment or a dough hook. You can also make the dough by hand, but it requires a bit of arm muscle. After the dough comes together in the mixing bowl, it’s time to knead. You can simply continue beating the dough with the mixer for this step or you can knead the dough by hand. I chose to knead the dough by hand so you can see me doing it in the video above.

If you’re new to bread making, my How