What could be better than freshly baked, soft and fluffy, buttery dinner rolls? How about totally simple, all you need is a bowl and a spoon no-knead dinner rolls? You need these amazing rolls in your life right now!
Hello, all! Today I have for you my new favorite dinner roll recipe! It’s a combination of my old favorite roll recipe and the no-knead, wetter dough technique to make even better rolls.
A dinner roll awesome enough that my daughter is now lobbying for me to make them for Thanksgiving, Christmas, her birthday, and all other holidays.
I’ll admit right now that we do usually have store bought rolls for Thanksgiving. Mom puts on a great spread, but rolls aren’t a high priority. We’re all about the mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pies. Yum!
With these easy rolls, though? I think I might have to take my daughter up on her suggestion.
And I know it’s not even November yet, but I can’t help but be thinking about pie recipes (same as usual or should I mix it up?), baked brie in puff pastry, Thanksgiving cocktails, and all the other yummy foods coming my way soon.
As you may know, I love no-knead breads.
Maybe you don’t? Let me just say then: I LOVE them. š I mean, how could I not love breads so easy that all I need is a bowl, a spoon, and container to bake them in?
A lot of people call no-knead breads magic or miracle bread and I get that. When every bread you know requires a mixer and kneading time or it’s going to be a sad mess of a bread, being able to just stir and wait and *BOOM* yummy bread (okay, you do have to shape into rolls) seems miraculous.
But it’s science, really.
Instead of us doing the work, we are using a wet dough and letting the yeast do the work. Little freeloaders, it’s good to put them to work. As they make gas and bubble up the dough, the gluten lines up and we get yummy rolls at the end. Isn’t science awesome?
How do you make super soft no-knead dinner rolls?
To make no-knead dinner rolls, mix together flour with yeast, sugar, warm milk, butter, and eggs. Let rise until doubled, then shape into rolls. Once the rolls have risen, bake them until golden brown.
- Heat up the milk and melt the butter, then add them along with an egg to a bowl with flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Mix everything together with a big spoon until the dough is all stretchy and soft.
- Let the dough rise in a warm spot and then punch it down and divide it into 12 rolls.
- Shape each roll by pinching the dough and then place it into a baking pan.
- Let the dough rise again, then bake them in a 375F oven until golden brown.
Let me just say right now: this is EASY. You’ve got this. Let’s go through the steps in a little more detail before I send you off to the recipe.
Making the bread dough
First up, you’re going to mix together all the dry ingredients – the flour, the sugar, the yeast and salt. Do this in a fairly large bowl since your dough is going to more than double (I’d say about 2 1/2 times in size) and you’ll need the space.
Since this is one of those recipes where the exact amounts of things is important, make sure you know how much flour you are adding. If you have a kitchen scale great! You are all set.
If you don’t, use the scoop and sweep method of measuring. Scoop that measuring cup right into the flour then sweep off the excess. This will give you ~5 oz cups. But, really, get a kitchen scale if you like to bake at all.
Once your dry ingredients are combined, add the wet ingredients to the bowl – the milk, butter, and egg. Stir it all together with large spoon until everything is combined and you have no dry flour left.
Now it’s time to let the dough rise. Cover the bowl with a cloth or some plastic wrap set it in a warm place for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. (I use plastic wrap and then reuse the piece to cover the baking pan later.)
Tip: I like to put the dough into my oven for the first rise. Turn on the oven for a few minutes while you’re mixing the dough, then shut it off and put the bowl in there. It’s warm and draft free.
Forming the dinner rolls
Once your dough is all puffy and bubbly, it’s time punch it down, cut it up, and pinch it. Sounds a little violent, doesn’t it? š But it’s all in the service of yummy rolls.
But anyway, punch down the dough and then move it to a well floured board. I have a large wooden board my husband made me, but any large pastry board or cutting board will work great.
Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. (Here is another great time to use a kitchen scale!)
Take each piece and gather up the dough and pinch it to make a ball. Then put it pinch side down and gently roll around a little.
Baking the dinner rolls
Take a 9×13 baking pan and spray it with some vegetable oil then line it with parchment so the parchment paper overhangs the sides.
Place each formed roll into the baking pan, spreading them out so they are equally spaced. Then cover the pan and let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes. Once they are ready they will be all puffed up and touching each other.
Bake the rolls in a 375F oven for 17-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Then take them out and brush them with a little melted butter.
Move them to a cooling rack, and (here comes the HARD part), wait until they are just warm before eating them. This gives the crumb time to finish forming and the rolls time to firm up. (Yes, they are soft, but there is such a thing as too soft!)
Want a few other no-knead breads? I have a few!
No-Knead Bread Recipes
- Garlic Thyme No-Knead Focaccia
- Olive Oil and Rosemary No-Knead Bread
- No-Knead Sage and Olive Focaccia
If you try my recipe for No-Knead Dinner Rolls, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Baking, Annemarie
Super Soft No-Knead Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 4 cups (20 oz) bread flour or all-purpose flour, see note for measuring
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast, or one packet
- 1 1/2 tsp table salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
For brushing on the rolls
- 1 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
Instructions
- Heat the milk in a saucepan (or in the microwave) until it is just warm, 100-110F.
- Mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a large bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the warm milk, melted butter, and egg. Stir vigorously with a large spoon until combined. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Cover the bowl with either a damp cloth or plastic wrap and put it in a warm, draft free place to rise. Let rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. The dough will more than double in size.
- Prep a 9x13 baking pan by spraying it with vegetable oil and cutting a piece of parchment to line the bottom and overhang the sides.
- When your dough is ready, punch it down and then turn it out onto a well floured board.
- Work it a little bit to deflate the bubbles, then divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Dust with flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
- Gather up each piece of dough, pulling the dough up and pinching it to make a ball. (The process photos in the post show how that's done.)
- Once you've pinched up the dough into a ball, put it pinch side down onto the floured board and gently roll it around a little keeping the same side down. Then place the roll into the prepared baking pan. Continue until you have made 12 rolls.
- Cover the rolls with a damp cloth or plastic wrap set it into a quiet spot in the kitchen to rise for 30-40 minutes. Or until just about doubled and the rolls fill the pan.
- After the rolls have risen for 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 375F.
- Bake the rolls for 17-20 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
- While they are still hot, brush the rolls with melted butter.
- Use the parchment paper to lift the rolls onto a cooling rack and let cool until warm or room temperature.
Notes
- Measuring the Flour: To measure the flour, either use a kitchen scale for perfect accuracy or use the scoop and sweep method of filling the measuring cup. To scoop and sweep, scoop the measuring cup into the flour so that it's full, then sweep off the excess. This will give you cups which weigh approximately 5 oz each.
- Heating the Milk: You can use a thermometer to test the milk if you wish, but it's easier to use your finger. It should be warm, not hot to your skin.
- Rising the Bread: I like to turn on my oven to about 200F for a few minutes (3-4), then shut it off and put the bowl in there for the first rise.
- Dividing the dough: If you want to be accurate in dividing up the dough, use a kitchen scale and weigh the pieces. Each roll should weigh about 3 1/4 oz.
- Equipment: I like to use my kitchen scale and my bench knife for this recipe.
Gabby says
Hi! I love these. I baked them today and Iām pretty new to bread making but they turned out amazing! I was just wondering – how did you get the calorie count? It says 250kcal, is that correct?
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m glad you enjoyed them! As for the calorie count I should note it is always an estimate and just there for general information. I put the info into a calorie counting site, round it to the nearest 25, and put it into my recipe form. So they are 250ish in calories depending how you measured, and the exact size of the roll you ate. I hope that helps!
JamGirl says
I made this recipe for the second time today but subbed 1 Cup (5 Oz) of rye flour and used 12 Oz of bread flour.(as per your comment that you usually used 17 oz rather than 20. The result was a fantastic soft and delicious bread. I prefer baguettes but in this case, I made 8 rolls and formed the remainder into a baguette. I placed the 8 rolls in a row on one side of my double baguette pan, and the baguette on the other. The rolls baked at the 17 mins perfectly and “broke” apart easily when removed from the pan. I returned the baguette to the oven for an additional 3 mins but could prob have gone 3-5. It also baked perfectly. To add a bit of taste “treat”, I sprinkled the baguette with a bit of rosemary and some pumpkin seeds on the top prior to the 2nd proofing. Each were a wonderful taste treat – the rosemary wasn’t too strong just being on the top, and the seeds crisped up nicely. I have to give credit where it is due, however, to you, Annemarie, for all of your hard work testing and perfecting your recipes. It makes my job so much easier being such a novice bread maker. Kindly Yours, JamGirl
justalittlebitofbacon says
That sounds wonderful and I’m glad I could help you get started in your explorations! Thank you for the long and detailed comment, since I’m sure other readers will find it helpful to see your alterations.
JamGirl says
Tks for your kind comments. I forgot to mention it was light rye flour that I used. Happy baking – JamGirl