Sarah's Kitchen
Nov 21, 2020
Updated: Apr 6, 2021
Thanksgiving is this week and y'all I could not be more excited! Today's recipe is definitely one of my favorites not only during the holiday season but throughout the year. These dinner rolls are so fluffy, soft and buttery. It's perfect for smearing with butter and jam, as a side for your saucy dinner (yumm!), with a bowl of soup, and any other delicious homestyle food. As you can see this bread is pretty versatile and can be paired with basically everything. That's how you know you just have to make them!
If I'm going to be honest with you, making bread scared me a little. Working with yeast... yeah no thank you. But these dinner rolls were so fun to make, the process was even therapeutic. You got this, have fun friends!
One of the things that could seem intimidating about working with dough is yeast. It literally can make or break this entire recipe. BUT it's also fairly simple once you know how to use it properly. When you get the hang of it, it will not be scary anymore... trust me on this one.
For this recipe, working with yeast is fairly simple just follow the tips below and you'll be good to go!
Use lukewarm water- Using lukewarm water is the best way to activate your yeast properly. Water too hot and your yeast might die, too cold and your yeast might take ages to activate.
If it's too hot to touch, it will probably be too hot for the yeast too- It's better to be safe than sorry! Temperature is crucial when working with yeast.
If it's not bubbling or turning foamy throw it away- If you don't see the water, milk, sugar, and yeast mixture starting to foam or bubble at the top after 15-20 minutes, it's best to throw it away. This could mean that your yeast is expired or dead and will not work if you continue on with the recipe.
Kneading is a very important aspect of bread-making, if not the most important. When making bread, it is important to get it to form gluten. This allows it to become the light, fluffy goodness it is when it comes out of the oven. When you knead dough, you are essentially helping it create gluten, giving it the ability to form a strong structure. If you don't knead it, the bread will come out of the oven dry and will not be light.
There are many different ways to knead; you can even use a stand mixer. I prefer putting in the arm-work because you can guarantee you won't be overworking the dough. My favorite method, is pushing it away from me using the heel of my palm, and pulling it back. This allows for it to fold over itself and is one of the most efficient ways to knead dough. You'll know you're done kneading when the dough is smooth and bounces back after you press your finger on it.
Yield: 16 dinner rolls
Time spent
Prep time: 140 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Total time: 2 hours 45 minutes
1 cup room temperature milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
4 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 eggs, divided
1/4 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
1 tsp. salt
4 cups all-purpose flour; more for dusting your work surface
Vegetable oil to grease your pan and bowl
In a measuring cup or medium sized bowl: pour in your milk, water and sugar. Slightly stir and sprinkle the yeast on top of the mixture. Stir again and cover the bowl, letting the mixture sit for about 5-15 minutes. You'll know you're ready to go to the next step when your mixture is foamy on top. When it becomes foamy, pour in your melted butter (make sure it is not extremely hot), stir it in.
In a large bowl, add your flour and salt. Mix until incorporated.
Add 1 egg (beaten) to the yeast mixture and then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Using a spoon, mix the wet and dry ingredients until it becomes a slightly sticky dough.
Lightly flour a clean surface and place the dough on it. Knead it for about 7-10 minutes by hand or until the dough becomes smooth. You can add flour to the dough to make it less sticky. You'll know you're done kneading when you press your finger onto the dough and it rises back.
Lightly grease a large bowl using oil, and put the dough ball into it. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it rise for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
When it is done rising, punch the dough to release air, (okay this part is just satisfying but it's fun anyways), and take it out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Knead for 2-5 minutes.
Divide the dough into equal balls using a bench scraper or knife. You'll do this by firstly separating your first dough balls into 2 dough balls. Then, shape them into circles again in order to separate them into equal pieces. Then cut the 2 dough balls in half, making 4 dough balls. Continue this until you have 16 balls of dough, each the size of a tangerine.
Knead all the balls of dough pinching the bottom to create a round, smooth top. Transfer them into a greased pan(s). They shouldn't be far away to each other, just lightly touching. Cover the pan(s) using cling wrap and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes. You can preheat your oven to 350º F during this time.
Egg-wash time! Beat an egg and brush it over the dough balls after they have risen.
Transfer the pan(s) into the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and have doubled in size. Enjoy!
Please make sure your yeast is not expired before you start, this may ruin the end result.
When allowing the dough to proof, make sure that your environment is pretty warm (around 75ºF-90ºF as this is the optimal temperature where yeast activity is at its peak). Too low of a temperature and you might have to wait a lot longer for your dough to rise, too high of a temperature and your dough may potentially not rise at all.
To make sure your dinner rolls are ready to come out of the oven, you can use a thermometer to check the inside temperature. It should be around 220ºF