Food & Cooking Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Recipes Bread Recipes Soft, Buttery Dinner Rolls 3.6 (1,123) 31 Reviews These homemade dinner rolls are so good you'll want to make them for every special meal. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 18, 2023 Rate PRINT Share Prep Time: 30 mins Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins Yield: 30 Use our dinner rolls recipe to make soft, buttery dinner rolls, rich with milk and eggs. Served warm from the oven, they are a treat year round and a must for the Thanksgiving table. They use all-purpose flour and active dry yeast, and are made and kneaded by hand—you won't need a stand mixer with a dough attachment. Plus, you can make and form the rolls ahead of time, then freeze the dough balls for up to two months. There truly is nothing like homemade rolls, fresh from the oven, and with this recipe, they're easy to make. Dana Gallagher Use the same dough in this recipe to make our Cinnamon-Nut Buns. Tips for Success Make sure your yeast hasn't expired by checking the use-by date on the package. If in doubt, test the yeast by adding a small amount of lukewarm water combined with a little bit of sugar in a small bowl. If the yeast is still active, it will begin to foam near the top of the bowl once it has dissolved. Measure the flour by spooning and leveling it into the measuring cup, not by sticking the measuring cup into the bag of flour. (We repeat this advice often because it is vital for any recipe that uses flour.) When you leave the dough to rise, it needs to be in a warm place. Between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal. Your kitchen may be warm enough or the warmest spot in our kitchen, such as on top of your oven if it has a pilot light (and the stove is not being used). Another good warm spot might be the top of your refrigerator. Make Ahead To make these dinner rolls ahead of time, follow the recipe through covering them in step 7. Freeze dough balls in the baking pans, wrapping pans well. Rolls can be frozen for up to two months. When defrosting rolls, allow about 3 1/4 hours for rolls to double in size before baking. Soft, Buttery Dinner Rolls Ingredients ¼ cup warm water (115 degrees) 2 packets (¼ ounce each) active dry yeast 1 ½ cups warm whole milk (115 degrees) ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for bowl and pans ¼ cup sugar 2 ¼ teaspoons salt 3 large eggs 6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface Directions Dissolve yeast: Place water in a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Combine milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 2 eggs: In a large bowl, whisk together milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 2 eggs. Whisk in yeast mixture. Stir in flour: Using a wooden spoon, stir in 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft, shaggy dough (if necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour). Knead dough: Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Butter bowl, place dough in bowl, cover and let stand: Butter the inside of a large bowl; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours. Butter the underside of the plastic wrap to prevent the dough from sticking to it if it rises that much. Butter baking pans, divide dough, roll, and form balls: Butter two 13-by-9-inch baking pans. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 15-inch rope; cut each rope into 15 1-inch pieces. Press each piece into a disk, then shape into a ball. Let dough balls rise; preheat oven; then brush rolls with egg: Preheat oven; brush egg on balls: Arrange dough balls in prepared pans. Cover pans loosely with plastic; let stand in a warm spot until rolls have doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours (2 hours more if frozen). Preheat oven to 375°F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg until blended; brush onto rolls. Bake: Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Let rolls cool 15 minutes before serving. Dana Gallagher How to Store Homemade Dinner Rolls Store the rolls in a freezer bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. Reheating Reheat the dinner rolls in a warm oven for about 10 minutes, or until they're warmed through. (We prefer reheating in the oven to microwaving.) Frequently Asked Questions Why are my dinner rolls not light and fluffy? Rolls that are not light and fluffy can be the result of using too much flour (not measuring the flour correctly, as we mention above), or not using the type of flour your recipe calls for. Another reason for dense tough rolls is overmixing, which will produce too much gluten. What type of pan is best for dinner rolls? We bake our rolls in two 13-by-9-inch rectangular baking pans. If you don't have pans that size, you could use three 8- or 9-inch round pans. Using a pan produces uniformly shaped pull-apart rolls. Other Bread Roll Recipes to Try: Parker House Rolls No-Knead Dinner Rolls Jalapeno-Cheddar Rolls Barley-Malt Pull-Apart Rolls Yeasted Cornmeal Rolls Potato Rolls Originally appeared: Everyday Food, December 2008 Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.