Homemade Yeast Rolls

We love diner rolls… the light, fluffy rolls from late-night diners we used to spend a lot of time at in our 20's and these Homemade Yeast Rolls is our absolute favorite. We can never get enough of these rolls, they takes us right back to those good diner rolls, and they are easy to make at home!

Serve these rolls with Easy Bacon Butter Spreador with solid Spatchcocked Turkeysolid Creamy Mashed Potatoesand Classic Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving, or with The Best Easy Prime RibPerfectly Broiled Lobster Tailsand The Best French Onion Soup for Christmas!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Yeast Rolls

To make this recipe, we will need:

• Unsalted Butter. Butter gives us a solid fat content for rolls, allowing the rolls to be light and flaky, with a rich and creamy flavor that is classically comforting.
• Granulated sugar. Granulated sugar gives a touch of sweetness to dinner rolls without making them too sugary – that iconic diner roll flavor that is a touch sweet is from a bit of plain white sugar!
• Kosher salt. Kosher salt has a solid salty flavor and light crunch, without additional sodium like table salt, making it suited to baking.
• Whole milk. For this recipe, we're relying on the fat content in whole milk and butter to provide a solid base for bread dough that won't dry out, and instead give a solid, moist crumb.
• Active dry yeast. Since we're relying on yeast to make these rolls, using the right kind of yeast is critical to get the proper lift, so your rolls are light, airy, and soft. Opt for active dry yeast to get perfectly puffy, never dense yeast rolls.
• Egg. To give our rolls a bakery-style solid shine, we're giving them an egg wash – this helps the top develop a lovely caramelized brown hue and picture-solid glisten!
• All-purpose flour. As these rolls rely on yeast for their lift, all purpose flour is suited to this recipe. Self rising flour will rise too much, and bread flour's gluten profile will be off.
• Vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is used to keep your dough from sticking to the bowl as it rises – you can swap for another oil if you prefer (go for something with a neutral flavor profile – olive oil might have too much of a flavor unless you use an incredibly mild olive oil.)

Use this Method

Prep

Assemble all the ingredients.

Slice Butter

Take half of the butter and slice it as thin as you can, add the slices to the bottom of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and salt to the mixer.

Add warm Milk

Warm the milk in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. We like to do this in 15 second intervals. Temp the milk, it should be 105-110°F (do not warm to over 110°F). Pour 1 cup of the warm milk into the bowl with the butter, no need to stir, let it sit.

Yeast

Add the yeast to the remaining milk and give it a stir. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy. Add this mixture to the mixer. Add in the egg and stir everything to combine.

Knead

Using the hook attachment, start stirring in the flour 1 cup at a time, scrape down the sides as needed. Do this until you add 3 & ½ cups of flour. Once the mixture resembles a dough, turn the speed to medium-high and start to knead it. Knead for 3 minutes.

Rise

In a large bowl, add the vegetable oil. Take the dough out of the mixer and add it to the bowl with the oil, turn it around in the oil so it is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.

Prep Dish

Melt the remaining ¼ cup of butter. Brush a 9×13 baking dish with some of the butter, you will only need a small amount, set aside.

Punch

Punch down the dough to release the air bubbles. Divide the dough into 15 sections. We like to weigh the dough then divide by 15 to see how many ounces each roll should be.

Form Rolls

Take each dough ball with your hands and stretch it out, tuck the ends of the dough around itself to form a smooth ball and pinch the seams together, gently roll it between your hands to form a ball.

Arrange Rolls

Place the ball seam side down into the prepared baking dish, 5 rows of 3 rolls. Cover again with plastic wrap and let them double in size, about 1 hour.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Take the plastic wrap off the baking dish and insert a probe thermometer into the side of the center roll. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the internal probe registers 190 degrees F. You may need to add a tin foil tent 20 minutes in to keep the tops from getting too brown.

Butter and Enjoy

Immediately brush the rest of the butter all over the hot rolls. Let cool and serve.

Kitchen notes

Light and fluffy, buttery rolls, the best alongside any meal! Follow these tips for a slightly sweet, solid dinner roll.

Don't have a mixer? Do it by hand. You can also stir/knead the dough by hand, you will need more flour to keep your work surface floured. Do steps 1-3 the same way except use a large bowl instead of a stand mixer. Stir the flour in with a wooden spoon until a dough is formed. Then, place the dough on a clean floured work surface and knead the dough by hand for about 3-4 minutes until it is smooth. Go on to the next steps as stated.

Add more flavor! You can add seasoning, cheese, chopped jalapenos, and more directly into the dough before kneading to mix up the flavors!

Make them ahead. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. These freeze beautifully and defrost in the fridge overnight. Warm them for a few minutes in the oven.

Homemade Yeast Rolls Recipe FAQs

What temperature do you bake yeast rolls at?

Bake yeas rolls in a well preheated oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

How long do yeast rolls bake?

Rolls take about 20-25 minutes to bake.

When are yeast rolls done?

Rolls are done when they are light, airy, and browned on top and sides.

How long do yeast rolls last?

You can store yeast rolls in an airtight container or bread bin for up to five days in a cool, dry place.

You can find the rest of our favorite easy side dishes here.

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Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter, divided
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ¼ cup whole milk, divided
• 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, you may need as much as 4 cups if your dough is too loose.
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Method

1. Take half of the butter and slice it as thin as you can, add the slices to the bottom of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and salt to the mixer.
2. Warm the milk in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. We like to do this in 15 second intervals. Temp the milk, it should be 105-110°F (do not warm to over 110°F). Pour 1 cup of the warm milk into the bowl with the butter, no need to stir, let it sit.
3. Add the yeast to the remaining milk and give it a stir. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until foamy. Add this mixture to the mixer. Add in the egg and stir everything to combine.
4. Using the hook attachment, start stirring in the flour 1 cup at a time, scrape down the sides as needed. Do this until you add 3 & ½ cups of flour. Once the mixture resembles a dough, turn the speed to medium-high and start to knead it. If it doesn't start to clean the sides of the bowl, add a little flour at a time (up to a half cup) until the sides of the bowl are clean, if the dough is still attached at the bottom of the bowl that's okay. Knead for 3 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, add the vegetable oil. Take the dough out of the mixer and add it to the bowl with the oil, turn it around in the oil so it is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
6. Melt the remaining ¼ cup of butter. Brush a 9×13 baking dish with some of the butter, you will only need a small amount, set aside.
7. Punch down the dough to release the air bubbles. Divide the dough into 15 sections. We like to weigh the dough then divide by 15 to see how many ounces each roll should be.
8. Take each dough ball with your hands and stretch it out, tuck the ends of the dough around itself to form a smooth ball and pinch the seams together, gently roll it between your hands to form a ball. Place the ball seam side down into the prepared baking dish, 5 rows of 3 rolls. Cover again with plastic wrap and let them double in size, about 1 hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Take the plastic wrap off the baking dish and insert a probe thermometer into the side of the center roll. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the internal probe registers 190 degrees F. You may need to add a tin foil tent 20 minutes in to keep the tops from getting too brown. Immediately brush the tops with butter and enjoy!