Food & Cooking Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Recipes Bread Recipes Soft, Buttery Dinner Rolls 4.0 (914) These homemade dinner rolls are so good you'll want to make them for every special meal. Prep Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Total Time: 3 hrs 35 mins Servings: 30 Jump to recipe Learn how to make rolls—soft, fluffy, and rich with milk and eggs—with our easy, no-fuss recipe. 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 dinner rolls, fresh from the oven—and with this recipe, they're easy to make. 19 Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes That'll Save You Time on the Big Day Credit: Dana Gallagher 3 Tips for Success Make sure the 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. Equipment Needs (and Helpful Swaps) You won't need a stand mixer for this recipe, just a few basic pieces of kitchen equipment you likely already have handy, including: Mixing bowls: You'll need two bowls for these rolls: a small one for activating the yeast and a large one to mix the dough in. Wooden spoon: A wooden spoon is an ideal tool for stirring together the shaggy dough, but you can use a sturdy rubber spatula instead. Baking pans: Reach for two 13-by-9-inch baking pans for this recipe. You can use glass, ceramic, or metal with equally good results. If you don't have two pans of the same size, swap in two 9-inch round or 8-inch square pans for one of the larger ones. Pastry brush: A pastry brush makes quick, efficient work of applying the egg wash, but if you don't have one handy, reach for a coffee filter: Simply scrunch it up so the edges are facing out, then dip and brush. 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 2 months. When defrosting rolls, allow about 3 1/4 hours for rolls to double in size before baking. 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. (Save the remaining egg for the egg wash.) 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: 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. How to Store Homemade Dinner Rolls Store the rolls in a freezer bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 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.) 5 More Bread Roll Recipes to Try Parker House Rolls No-Knead Dinner Rolls Potato Rolls Airy Angel Biscuits Kaiser Rolls Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.