Best Homemade Dinner Roll Recipe

These easy dinner rolls are amazingly delicious! Eat them fresh and warm from the oven, or make them ahead for dinner and pull them out when needed.

Soft, golden and lightly sweetened with honey, this recipe makes 12 pull apart rolls with a simple dough of milk, butter, honey, bread flour and an egg. Keep them simple or add fresh rosemary for even more flavor.

The Best Dinner Roll Recipe (Soft, Honey Sweetened and Easy)

This is simply one of the best dinner roll recipes, and it can be changed up so easily! So whether you are keeping them super simple with the hint of honey or making them into rosemary dinner rolls, you and your family won’t regret making these.

Oh, and did I mention they are super easy to make? Seriously, just get the yeast going, mix all the other ingredients, combine the yeast with the other ingredients, knead and then let rise twice!

These were fun to make and did take a few batches before I was happy with the result. I even got advice from my amazingly talented friend who went to culinary school. She helped me understand things like the texture and knowing how to tell if the yeast developed enough. It was a lot of fun, and I sure learned a lot about bread!

You can then brush the tops with a little melted butter, which gives them a beautiful shine, and then you have amazingly delicious butter dinner rolls. Honestly though, the rolls don’t even need that, and you can see in the pictures that I skipped the butter and just enjoyed them with my meal. They sure make the house smell good, and it’s hard to wait for them to cool before diving into one!

Why You’ll Love These Homemade Dinner Rolls

• Soft, pull apart sides. Baking the rolls just touching gives them super soft sides that tear apart easily.
• A hint of honey. Honey adds gentle sweetness and helps the tops turn golden.
• Easy to change up. Add fresh rosemary, or shape the dough into loaves or bread bowls.
• Make ahead friendly. Bake them early and pull them out when dinner is ready.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here is what goes into these honey dinner rolls and why each one matters. Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Dry yeast: One package of regular rise dry yeast. It gets bloomed in warm milk first, so you can see that it is alive and working before it goes into the dough.
• Milk: Warm milk wakes up the yeast and makes the crumb soft and tender. Make sure it isn’t hotter than 110°F, or it will kill the yeast and you won’t get a rise. It should feel comfortably warm on your wrist, not hot.
• Salt: Seasons the bread and keeps the yeast from working too fast, which gives the rolls a better flavor and a more even texture.
• Butter: Melted butter in the dough keeps the rolls soft and rich. A little extra brushed on top after baking gives them a beautiful shine.
• Honey: Adds a gentle sweetness, keeps the rolls moist and helps the tops brown. It also gives the yeast a little food to get started.
• Bread flour and white flour: Bread flour has more protein, which builds the gluten that gives the rolls their chewy, airy structure. The all purpose white flour keeps them from getting too tough, so you get a soft roll that still holds its shape.
• Egg: Adds richness and color and gives the rolls a tender, slightly fluffy crumb.
• Fresh rosemary (optional): Chopped fine, it turns these into fragrant rosemary dinner rolls. Fresh herbs have a brighter flavor than dried, and they look pretty speckled through the bread.

How to Make Easy Dinner Rolls

1. Activate the yeast. Combine the yeast with 1/4 cup of warm milk, no hotter than 110°F. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. It should get bubbly and a thick layer of foam will appear, which means the yeast is working.
2. Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine the salt, remaining milk, butter, honey, both flours, the egg and the rosemary if using. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
3. Knead. Knead on a clean surface for about 10 minutes, until the gluten is developed enough to pass the window pane test. A stand mixer with a dough hook makes the job even easier.
4. First rise. Form the dough into a large ball, return it to the bowl, cover lightly and let it rise for about 50 minutes in a warm place. A warmer or cooler house will change how much it rises.
5. Shape. Punch the dough down. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, pinching and folding each one under itself for a smooth, round top. Place them almost touching, cover lightly and let rise for about 50 minutes.
6. Bake. Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes, until golden brown on top. Brush with melted butter for shine if you like.

Ways to Customize These Dinner Rolls

• Rosemary dinner rolls. Add chopped fresh rosemary to the dough, or try another fresh herb you love.
• Bread bowls. Shape larger rounds and don’t let them touch on the baking sheet, so the whole bowl gets a nice crust and holds any soup or stew. Filling them with my green chile stew would be amazing!
• Loaves. Shape the dough into loaves and adjust the baking time a little.
• Butter dinner rolls. Brush the warm tops with melted butter for a soft, shiny finish.

Dinner Roll FAQs

• What is the window pane test? Stretch a small piece of dough apart. If it doesn’t tear but lets light pass through, the gluten is developed enough.
• How do I know my yeast is working? After about 5 minutes in warm milk, it should look bubbly with a thick layer of foam on top. If nothing happens, the milk may have been too hot or the yeast too old.
• Can I use a stand mixer? Yes. A mixer with a dough attachment can do the kneading and makes the job even easier.
• Do I need both kinds of flour? The mix of bread flour and white flour gives a soft roll with good structure. Bread flour adds chew, and white flour keeps them tender.
• How many rolls does this make? The dough is divided into 12 rolls.
• Why didn’t my dough rise? Usually the milk was too hot and killed the yeast, or the kitchen was cool. Keep the milk at 110°F or below and let the dough rise somewhere warm, since a cold house slows the rise.
• How should I shape bread bowls? Make larger rounds and space them apart on the baking sheet instead of letting them touch, so the whole bowl forms a nice crust. They will need a little longer in the oven.
• Can I make them ahead? Yes. Bake them earlier in the day, let them cool and keep them covered, then pull them out when dinner is ready. Warm them briefly in the oven if you like.
• How do I store leftovers? Keep cooled rolls in an airtight bag at room temperature for a couple of days, or freeze them for longer storage.

Honey Rosemary Dinner Rolls

Honey dinner rolls made with warm milk, butter, honey, bread flour and an egg, risen twice and baked until golden with soft, pull apart sides. Add fresh rosemary for rosemary dinner rolls.

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

  

• 1 package dry yeast regular rise
• 1 ¾ cup milk warm, divided
• 1 tbs salt
• ¼ c butter melted
• ½ cup honey
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 cups white flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tsps fresh rosemary chopped (optional)

Instructions

 

• Combine active dry yeast with ¼ cup warm milk. Make sure the milk isn’t hotter than 110°F or else it will kill the yeast and you won’t get a rise. Let mixture sit for ~5 minutes. It should get bubbly and a thick layer of foam will appear, that is a sign the yeast is working!
• While the yeast is activating, combine in a large mixing bowl the salt, remaining milk, butter, honey, flour, egg, and rosemary if using.
• Add yeast mixture to flour mixture and combine.
• After combining knead dough on a clean surface for ~10 minutes or until the gluten is developed enough and you get the window pane effect.* If you have an upright mixture with a dough attachment you can use that to knead the dough and will make your job even easier!
• Once kneaded, form dough into a large ball and return to mixing bowl. Cover lightly and let rise for ~50 minutes in a warm place. Depending on how warm or cold your house is will affect how much the dough rises.
• After ~50 minutes, punch the dough back down. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 12 rolls, pinching and folding the dough over itself to make a smooth round top. Place the rolls almost touching on the baking sheet.* Cover lightly and let rise for ~50 minutes.
• Bake in oven preheated to 350°F for ~25 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can top with some melted butter to give a nice shine!
• Enjoy

Notes

*The window pane effect is where you stretch the dough apart and if it doesn’t tear, but allows light to pass through then the gluten is develop enough!

*If they don’t rise, during the second rise, to the point where they are touching after ~50 minutes, go ahead and gently push them together just so the edges lightly touch before popping them in the oven.

Made these dinner rolls? Leave a star rating in the recipe card and let us know in the comments below how they turned out. These dinner rolls go great with soup and stews!

More Recipes You’ll Love

• Green Chile Stew
• Turkey Chili
• Lentil and Vegetable Soup
• Chicken Tortellini Soup
• Eggnog Cheesecake Bars

This recipe was shared by Lisa. Visit her blog, A Table Full of Joy, for more recipes.