Recipe: The Best Buttery Dinner Rolls (2024)

Jump to Recipe -

This is our all-time favorite best Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe made with instant yeast in your bread machine or by hand. This is definitely a staple for holidays and family dinners in our house!

Like many young people, who leave the nest and head off to college, I gained the “Freshman Fifteen”. I can pinpoint my extra pounds to one thing… it certainly wasn’t from the not so great dorm food. It wasn’t even because I partied hard and consumed my calories in beer. Just about every single extra pound came from the most delicious, fluffy, buttery soft dinner rolls at the restaurant where I waitressed.

I think I have bad eating habits now…when I was in college my eating habits were pretty awful. The restaurant I worked at had a bakery with these giant dinner rolls that were served fresh from the oven, with loads of melted butter dripping off the golden brown tops. The aroma of the homemade rolls wafted through the restaurant and man… it was impossible to resist. On my short breaks, I would always grab a roll (or a couple) to quickly snarf down so I could get back to my tables.

Homemade bread, especially homemade rolls, has always been my weakness.

As soon as I had a home and kitchen of my own, I decided to try and perfect making the rolls from my college days. I scoured the internet for the perfect homemade dinner rolls recipe and finally came upon an easy recipe that seemed very doable. I loved that I could use my bread machine to make the dough or I could use my stand mixer with a dough hook to make the process easier as well.

This Buttery Dinner Roll Recipe is from Food.com and is one I’ve been using for the past 10 years for our family Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts. It is simply the best dinner roll recipe I’ve ever tried so I haven’t felt the need to stray too far looking for anything better. In fact,I really really love these other yeast bread recipes, but this recipe I’m sharing today is the one my family begs for the most.

What Type of Yeast Should I Use When Making Dinner Rolls?

Red Star Yeast recently launched a revolutionary yeast they have called “Platinum Superior Baking Yeast“. They sent me some to try out and I am so amazed! Each loaf of bread I’ve made using this yeast has risen and yielded the most amazing loaves of bread. From the Red Star Yeast website: “This simple-to-use yeast strengthens and improves your dough, increasing oven spring and finished volume of any recipe.” I love this yeast for bread baking perfection, but you can use any other active dry yeast as well.

I know so many of you might be scared of working with yeast but trust me. Yeast wary friends can rejoice as this yeast seems to be the no fail answer to your bread baking prayers! You can feel comfortable knowing that with this recipe, you’ll produce some of the best yeast rolls without a lot of effort the very first time. It’s a great beginner recipe and one that you’ll keep forever and ever.

What Equipment Does This Recipe Require?

The following list may contain affiliate links where if a purchase is made we’d earn a small amount at no additional cost to you.

For best results, the following equipment is recommended when making this dinner rolls recipe:

Automatic Bread Machine With a Dough Setting OR…
Stand Mixer With a Dough Hook
Large Bread Board
9×13 Glass Baking Dish
Silicone Basting Brush for Melted Butter
Cute Apron so you aren’t covered in flour

If you decide to use your bread machine for this recipe, it’s best to simply follow the instructions for the order of ingredients from your ABM’s manufacturer.

Here Are Some Ideas for Additional Items To Serve

I personally think there’s nothing better than soft and fluffy dinner rolls and would be happy to call this dinner. However I know not everyone is as bread obsessed as I am. For additional recipes to make your table complete, check out these links:

Oven Roast Turkey Breast by The Flavor Bender
Broccoli Salad from Belly Full
Banana Cream Pie from Dine & Dish
Cheesecake Fat Bomb from Oh My Sugar High

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family has and it becomes one you make time and time again! Enjoy!

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

The Freshman Fifteen {Recipe: The Best Buttery Dinner Rolls}

The best buttery dinner roll recipe around. Bread Machine version can be found on this post Original recipe can be found at Food.com

Ingredients

1 cup water plus
1 tablespoon water 70-80 F
1 large egg
4 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons shortening optional

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients, minus the shortening and butter, in the bowl of your stand mixer in the order listed in the ingredients. Knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.
Once dough has risen, remove from bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into 15 uniformed sized balls (you may have to have shortening on your hand as you do this to keep from sticking)
Lightly butter a 9x13 baking pan. Place rolls onto baking pan, cover and let rise until double in size (approximately 30 minutes).
Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until a light, golden brown.
After removing from the oven, brush with melted butter. Serve warm.

FAQs

Should you brush butter on rolls before baking? ›

Butter basting: Rolls can be brushed with butter before, during, or after baking. While it doesn't brown the surface as much as egg wash will, it does promote browning and adds a lot of flavor.

Get More Info Here ›

Why are my homemade dinner rolls hard? ›

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

Should I use parchment paper for dinner rolls? ›

I suggest using parchment paper to line the baking dish to ensure that the rolls are easy to remove from the pan to serve. Once the homemade dinner rolls are formed and placed in the baking sheet, let them rise again until they are doubled in size (30-60 minutes).

Learn More ›

Is it better to use egg wash or butter on bread? ›

The advantage to using butter instead of egg wash is that it yields a tender texture. This may not be something you'd want if you're aiming for a crusty exterior, but it can be beneficial for breads that call for an extra soft, pillowy texture. Butter also has a much more rich, decadent flavor compared to egg wash.

Find Out More ›

Should I put an egg wash on my bread? ›

There are no “shoulds” with using egg washes. Use them if you wish or not. The shiny surface an egg (or egg white or yolk) mixed with a little water does give a very nice appearance to loaves and rolls as Effie May stated. They can also be used to help a sprinkle of sesame seeds or other toppings stay on the crust.

Get More Info Here ›

How can I make my bread fluffier instead of dense? ›

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

See Details ›

What is the secret to a soft and fluffy bread? ›

Add Milk

To make your bread soft and fluffy, another trick used by commercial bakers is replacing water with milk. Milk has fats which make bread softer.

View Details ›

Is bread flour or all-purpose flour better for rolls? ›

You can also use all-purpose in many bun or roll recipes, which tend to have lower hydration and rely less on strong gluten and more on butter and sugar for texture. (Though bread flour can still give you a fluffier, almost cotton-candy-like texture in most buns and rolls.)

Show Me More ›

What kind of pan is best for baking rolls? ›

Cast iron can be used on the stove top or directly in the oven. If you don't have a large 11 inch cast iron pan, you can use a glass baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. A 9×13 size would work well. It's best to have the rolls all touching each other when you arrange them in the pan, and I'll tell you why…

Learn More Now ›

Which side of parchment paper do you bake on? ›

Since parchment paper doesn't have a helpful “this end up” sign with an arrow, it takes a little detective work. Just hold the paper up to the light and look for the side that's slightly glossier or shinier. It is the shiny or glossy side of the parchment paper that should be face up on your baking sheet or cake pan.

Explore More ›

When should you brush bread with butter? ›

It's best to brush on melted butter after your bread is baked in the oven, but while it is still warm and cooling on a wire rack.

Find Out More ›

Why brush rolls with butter? ›

For matte rolls, brush the tops with salted butter.

They won't be shiny, but that salted butter gives the tops a little boost of flavor that I can't resist. These are also the softest.

View Details ›

Should you put butter on bread before baking? ›

According to Food52, that is exactly what happens when you butter bread first and then put it in an oven or toaster oven. Instead of just melting on the outside, the butter will sink into the entire slice of bread, soaking every little bread molecule in delicious fat, while still crisping up the outside.

Keep Reading ›