Bready or Not: Soft Dinner Rolls

Back when I first started Bready or Not in 2011, one of my first recipes was for Soft Dinner Rolls. I’m featuring it again today because it’s still a family favorite, and one I make regularly.

I used to be very intimidated by working with yeast. Would the dough rise? How would I know when it was ready? I used box mixes for a while and built up my confidence to handle the stuff from-scratch.

These soft rolls have never failed me. Other doughs are persnickety; this dough is not. The result is soft, and it bakes up into soft, luscious rolls.

These are the rolls I make every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can make them weeks in advance. They thaw fast. They keep for as long as six days in a sealed bag. Most importantly, they reheat and taste as fresh as ever (and can even be reheated another time, too).

If you’re shy about yeast rolls, give these a try! If you’ve already mastered yeast bread, add these to your repertoire–they are worth making again and again.

On the subject of yeast, the only kind I use is SAF Instant Yeast. I store it in a sealed plastic tub in the freezer; the yeast granules don’t freeze, but the cold preserves the yeast.

Print Recipe

Bready or Not: Soft Dinner Rolls

A Bready or Not Original! This straightforward yeast roll recipe produces soft, tender dinner rolls. They keep for about a week in sealed bags, and can be frozen and reheated later with delicious results! Recipe makes 12 to 15 standard dinner rolls.

Course: Bread, Side Dish

Keyword: yeast bread

Author: Beth Cato

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water 110 degrees (temperature especially important if mixing by hand)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons white sugar
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or 1 packet bread machine yeast

Instructions

If making by hand

• Mix all ingredients together and knead until soft. Place the dough in a bowl and lightly cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise 45 minutes to 1 hour; knead down again. Let rise another 45 minutes to 1 hour.

If making in a bread machine

• Add ingredients in the order specified. That often means the liquids first. Set the machine on dough cycle and start; this should run for about 2 hours.
• Prepare a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan by greasing lightly with butter. When the dough is done, lightly flour a mat or flat surface. Gently flatten the dough with hands. It's so soft, a rolling pin isn't necessary. Use a biscuit cutter or other round shape to cut out rolls. Place them spaced out a bit on the pan; it should produce 12 to 15 rolls, depending on the cutter. Lightly cover pan with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour, or until rolls have doubled in size.
• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Bake the rolls for 10 to 15 minutes, watching them for desired brownness. Let cool a few minutes before serving.
• Completely cooled rolls can be frozen in gallon freezer bags for several months. Sealed rolls will keep well at room temperature for at least 6 days.
• OM NOM NOM!