These yeast rolls are warm, buttery, fluffy, and utterly irresistible! If you ever wanted to try your hand at homemade bread, this recipe is the easiest way to get started.
Why You’ll Love These Yeast Rolls
- Easy to make: Traditional bread making can take ALL DAY long. These yeast rolls only take about 2 hours before they meet your mouth and your stomach!
- Perfect Side Dish: These buttery, light, golden on top yeast rolls make the perfect companion to any meal. Or turn these rolls into Ham & Cheese Sliders for a fun appetizer or entree!
- Make Ahead: These rolls save well for 3-5 days. Just warm them to refresh. Or freeze the baked rolls for 2-3 months until it’s time to reheat.
Yeast Rolls Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: Provides the foundation and structure for the rolls, giving them a soft texture.
- Granulated sugar: A bit of sugar adds a touch of sweetness to enhance the flavor of the rolls. Sugar also activates the yeast.
- Salted butter: Do I need to say more!? Butter adds richness and a savory element.
- Whole milk: This is the key ingredient that provides moisture and richness to the dough.
- Instant yeast: Instant yeast helps the dough rise, creating a light and airy texture.
- Egg: Make sure it’s room temp!
Equipment Needed for Yeast Rolls
- Electric stand or hand mixer: A stand mixer is not required for this recipe, as you can also make the rolls by hand. However, using a stand mixer can save you time and effort, and consistently mix your dough for the perfect yeast roll.
- 9×13 inch glass baking dish: This size dish comes in handy and perfectly fits about 16 rolls.
How to Make Yeast Rolls
Learn how to make yeast rolls. Full instructions in the recipe card; this is just an outline!
- Combine Dry Ingredients.
Slowly bring together flour, sugar, and yeast in your stand mixer until combined.
- Add Wet Ingredients.
Add your room temperature egg, butter, and warm milk. Whisk it all together.
- For Warm Milk.
Microwave for 75-90 seconds until a meat thermometer reads exactly 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix.
Use the dough attachment on your mixer to combine ingredients, starting at a low speed and then increasing to medium speed. Continue until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a ball.
- First Rise.
Leave dough in the bowl of the mixer and cover tightly with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Say goodnight for 40 minutes.
- Knead.
Time to knead the dough with floured hands for 4 minutes.
- Grease.
Take your glass pan and grease it fully with butter or cooking spray.
- Roll and form.
Pinch off a handful of dough using a ¼ measuring cup and form a ball.
- Second Rise.
Once all of your dough balls are in the pan, cover tightly again and let them rise again for 40 minutes.
- Bake.
After your second rise, it is time for the oven! Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Finish with melted butter of course!
How to Shape Yeast Rolls
- Pinch off a handful of dough.
- Roll it between your hands thoroughly and make sure that it is ¼ cup in size, tucking any folds underneath the roll for a smooth top.
- See my Youtube video below for step-by-step visual instructions!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
There could be a few reasons for this. Not enough time allowed for the dough to rise. It needs a total of 80 minutes, 40 and 40! Measurements could be slightly off. An oven temperature issue and it not being properly preheated. Under-kneading. Kneading helps gluten to develop in the dough which makes them fluffy and smooth. Under-kneading can lead to dense rolls.
Both a yeast roll and dinner roll are often used interchangeably! While dinner rolls are usually meant for dinner, yeast rolls have plenty of uses in sandwiches, sliders, or on their own, and more.
Yes, you likely can but I have not tested this recipe with wheat flour. You may need to adjust the amount of liquid used in the recipe.
Yes! After the first rise, form into a large dough ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Yeast roll dough will last for about 2-3 months in the freezer.
Absolutely! Once you’ve shaped the dough into rolls, store them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Be sure to thaw at room temperature before reheating in the oven.
Yes, you can. It will require some patience however as you will need to knead for more time!
More Bread Recipes You’ll Love!
Easy Yeast Rolls Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer (or hand mixer)
- 9"x13" baking pan
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sub bread flour for chewier rolls, or whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature (or sub unsalted butter + 1 teaspoon salt)
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 1 egg, at room temperature for 20 minutes
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment, add 4 ½ cups flour, sugar, and yeast, and stir on low until combined.
- Add room temperature butter, egg, and warm milk. For warm milk, microwave for 75-90 seconds until a thermometer reads exactly 110-115℉. The milk needs to be in this temperature range to activate but not kill the yeast!
- Use the dough attachment on your mixer to combine ingredients, starting at a low speed and then increasing to medium speed. You can do this by hand on a well-floured surface if you prefer, but I find the mixer to work better for this step! You want to aerate & knead the dough so don’t be afraid to mix the dough super well! Leave the mixer on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once with a spatula, until dough naturally pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky and doesn’t pull away from the sides of the bowl, add ¼ cup to a ½ cup more flour, until the dough pulls away and forms a ball.
- For first rise: Leave dough in the bowl of the mixer, and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and then a clean kitchen towel. The goal is the tightly seal the bowl to keep in the warmth and keep the dough in a dark place to rise. This atmosphere is the best for the dough to rise properly! Let dough rise for 40 minutes. The dough should double in size.
- After 40 minutes, place roughly ¼ cup flour on a large, clean surface to knead the dough. Remove plastic wrap and kitchen towel, and use your fist to punch down dough and release the air from the dough.
- Gently roll the ball of dough out of the bowl. Flour your hands and knead dough for 4 minutes by folding over dough and pushing the dough away from you with the palm of your hands. If dough is too sticky on the surface or on your hands, use more flour! Watch my YouTube video below for step-by-step instructions! After kneading, form a large ball of dough with your hands.
- Grease a 9×13" glass pan.
- Pinch off a handful of dough, and use a ¼ measuring cup to form ¼ cup ball of dough. Roll the ¼ cup ball of dough in your hands. Watch my YouTube video from instructions on how to form super smooth balls of dough! Place each dough ball in the greased pan. The balls should be touching each other in the pan! You should have roughly 16 rolls after all dough is rolled.
- For second rise: Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and kitchen towel, and let dough rise a second time, for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, remove kitchen towel and plastic wrap. The dough balls should look puffy and large.
- To bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes until the tops of the rolls are golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Let rolls stand for 10 minutes before cutting.
Video
Notes
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Warm rolls in oven at 350℉ for 8 minutes before serving!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
