Sweet homemade soft dinner rolls are the best to go with cinnamon honey butter or cranberry sauce. This sweet homemade soft dinner rolls recipe is great to serve with HK borscht soup and chicken gnocchi soup too! Also, these homemade sweet soft dinner rolls are great for making pull pork sandwiches, any slider sandwiches or serve as a side for prime rib roast and roasted turkey. It is similar to Japanese milk bread rolls, but they are slightly different in texture and taste. Let's learn how to make homemade sweet soft dinner rolls for your meal or feast!
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What are dinner rolls?
Dinner rolls are a type of small, round, and soft bread. Usually, it is served with dinner or other meals. In America most people call it dinner rolls because they often serve it as a side for a meal with prime rib roast and roasted turkey. They can be in various shapes and sizes although the most common shape is round.
For a traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas feast, dinner rolls are a must side dish. Also, dinner rolls are the best to serve with cinnamon butter, jam, cranberry sauce, or lunch meat to make sandwiches.
The texture of dinner rolls is usually soft, light, fluffy, and slightly chewy. The rolls are often made from basic bread ingredients like flour, water, oil, yeast, sugar, and salt. Sometimes, milk, butter or eggs are added to enrich the dough and give the rolls a softer texture.
When the dough rises and is ready to bake, bake them until they develop a golden brown color on the outside. Dinner rolls can be served warm or at room temperature. Often, brush with butter after baking to add flavor and give them a shiny appearance.
Baking is chemistry. When you miss some ingredients, it doesn't turn out good. Although you have the same recipe, every time you make it, the rolls are slightly different because temperature and weather changes. In fact, I tried many different dinner rolls recipes before. However, this homemade sweet soft dinner rolls recipe is the best homemade dinner rolls! My friends and kids love them so much.
What is the taste like for sweet dinner rolls?
Sweet dinner rolls have a delightful balance of sweetness that complements their soft and fluffy texture. It depends on the recipe and ingredients, sweet rolls can vary in taste from mildly sweet to rich.
In general, the sweetness in sweet rolls comes from ingredients like sugar or honey. The sweetness is usually subtle enough to enhance the flavor of the rolls without overpowering them. Also, the texture of sweet rolls is typically soft, tender and fluffy. It is perfect for tearing apart and enjoying on its own or as a side dish to complement savory meals such as prime rib roast, roasted turkey, roasted chicken, roasted duck, or Chinese BBQ pork char siu.
What is the secret to making soft dinner rolls?
In order to make dinner rolls soft and fluffy, the ingredients and technique will make the difference. Use bread flour instead of all purpose flour because bread flour has a higher protein. The content helps create a stronger gluten network and gives the rolls their structure and contributes to a soft texture.
Also, I like to add two magic ingredients: vital wheat gluten and dough conditioner in this soft dinner roll recipe. Vital wheat gluten is a powder form. It is produced and sold as an additive for baking or used to make seitan. And, vital wheat gluten is nearly all gluten and almost no starch. When it is used as an additive in baking, it adds elasticity to flours and improves the rise of the raw dough. It improves the texture and chewiness of the final product. Besides, a dough enhancer or dough conditioner is a flour treatment agent. It is a bread improver that strengthens the dough's texture.
In addition, kneading and proofing the dough are crucial for soft and fluffy dinner rolls. It is because properly mixing and kneading the dough develops the gluten network. It ensures the rolls have the right structure and rise properly.
Allowing the dough to rise at the appropriate temperature and right amount of time is essential as well because it gives the yeast enough time to do its job and create those air pockets that result in a fluffy texture.
What is the difference between active dry yeast and instant dry yeast?
To make dinner rolls, you can use either active dry yeast or instant yeast. Both types of yeast will work well, but they are slightly different in how they are used in recipes.
In this soft dinner roll recipe, I use active dry yeast. It comes in granules and needs to be bloomed or activated before using in the dough. First, you dissolve the yeast in warm water (around 105°F to 115°F or 40°C to 46°C) along with a small amount of sugar and oil. Let the mixture sit for about 5-10 minutes. Once the yeast has bloomed, you can add other ingredients in the recipe.
On the other hand, instant yeast (also known as rapid-rise yeast or bread machine yeast). They are more finely ground yeast. It can be added directly to the dry ingredients in your recipe without blooming it. However, you can still bloom instant yeast if you prefer. Instant yeast tends to rise faster than active dry yeast, so it can speed up the rising time in recipes.
What to serve with dinner rolls?
Dinner rolls are a versatile side dish that use a wide range of meals. A classic and simple dinner rolls served with butter and jam allows their soft and fluffy texture to shine. Whether it's plain butter, cinnamon honey butter or along with your favorite jam this combination is always a hit!
Also, it pairs well with a wide variety of main courses such as HK borscht soup, chicken gnocchi soup, beef stews, pasta, salads, roasted turkey, prime rib roast, roasted chicken, Thai satay chicken, Chinese BBQ pork char siu, BBQ ribs and baked salmon fillet. Besides, it is great to make sandwiches with meats like pulled pork sandwiches or sliders.
These sweet and soft inner rolls are a staple at holiday dinners such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Serve them alongside traditional dishes like roasted turkey, crispy roasted potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.
Some like to serve dinner rolls with a variety of dips and spreads, such as hummus, spinach artichoke dip, cinnamon honey butter or cranberry sauce.
What if I don’t have a stand mixer?
No problem! You can still use your hands to mix and knead the dough. It just takes a little time and energy to knead and work on the dough.
What type and size of pan should I use?
I used a half sheet size of pan or tray. It’s around 18 inches x 13 inches.
How do I make the rolls equal in size?
In order to make dinner rolls equal in size, using a kitchen scale is essential. Weight the dough and divide the weight by 30 if you want to make 30 rolls. Then, divide each small dough and weigh them and make sure they have the same weight. For example, the total weight of the dough is 60 oz divided by 30. Each small dough should be 2 oz.
Can I make sweet dinner rolls ahead of time?
Yes, you can prepare the dough for sweet dinner rolls ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight for slow fermentation. Also, you can freeze the shaped rolls and bake them when you need to.
What are the ingredients for homemade sweet soft dinner rolls?
The ingredients for homemade soft dinner rolls recipe are very basic and simple: active dry yeast, water, sugar, vegetable oil, salt, bread flour, vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer.
In this homemade soft dinner rolls recipe, I like to add vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer because these two ingredients have some sort of magic to make the dough texture and bread taste even better.
Substitutions:
Is it ok not to add vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer?
Adding vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer really makes the dough texture better, soft and fluffy. It’s the secret of making the best dinner rolls. If you don’t have it, you can replace it with bread flour. However, the result will not be the same.
Is it ok to use other sugar?
Yes, you can use other sweeteners like honey powder. But, add it according to your taste.
Storage:
How long can homemade dinner rolls last?
This homemade sweet soft dinner rolls recipe can last in the refrigerator up to 5-7 days. When the dinner rolls are completely cool off, put them into the plastic ziplock bag. Then, you can either refrigerate or freeze them. If you freeze them and it lasts up to months.
Can I freeze these dinner rolls?
Yes, you can freeze and make dinner rolls ahead of time and simplify your meal preparation. You can shape and freeze the dinner rolls. Prepare the dinner roll dough, follow the recipe instructions, up until the point where it needs to rise. Place them on a baking sheet and space them slightly apart. At this stage, instead of letting them rise, put them in the freezer until the rolls are frozen solid.
Once frozen, they are not sticky and can transfer the rolls. Put them into a resealable freezer bag or airtight container for long-term storage. These frozen, shaped rolls can be stored for up to 1-2 months. When you're ready to bake, take out the desired number of rolls, place them on a baking sheet, let them thaw and rise at room temperature for about 3-4 hours, and then bake them directly.
Reheat:
How to reheat dinner rolls?
Oven:
Wrap the dinner rolls in foil and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Microwave:
Cover the dinner rolls with a moist paper towel and warm it for 10-20 seconds.
Cooking tips for how to make homemade soft dinner rolls:
Dough:
- Personally I like to use a Bosch mixer for mixing the dough.
- Add water, yeast, sugar and oil into the mixer and let it wait for 5 minutes.
- In the other bowl, add bread flour, sugar, salt, vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer. Mix it well.
- Turn on the mixer to the lowest setting #1. Slowly pour the flour mixture into the Bosch mixer with yeast mixture. Let the mixer run until the dough comes together. Then, change the setting to #3 medium/ high speed and let it run for 10-15 minutes.
- My trick to speed up dough rising time is by preheating the oven at 200F, then turning off the oven. Put the dough into the oven and cover with a wet towel. The dough will rise in 30 minutes.
- Spray some oil on the wet towel because this can prevent the dough from sticking on it.
- Roughly divide the dough into 28-30 pieces depending on how big the rolls you want to be. After that, roll the dough into a ball.
- Spray some oil on the parchment paper over the cookie sheet and place the rolls on the parchment paper. Cover the dough with the wet towel for 15 minutes before baking.
Baking:
- Preheat the oven at 350F and bake it for 18-25 minutes until it’s golden brown.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush it on the freshly baked dinner rolls.
FAQs:
Bread flour is a strong flour. It is because of the high gluten protein. (Around 11.5-13.5% protein.) The protein binds to the flour to capture carbon dioxide released by the yeast fermentation process. Therefore, it results in a stronger rise and more chewy crumb.
For this homemade soft dinner rolls recipe, I prefer to use bread flour instead of regular all purpose flour because it has better texture.
Vital wheat gluten is a powder form. It is produced and sold as an additive for baking or used to make seitan. Also, vital wheat gluten is nearly all gluten and almost no starch.
When it is used as an additive in baking, it adds elasticity to flours and improves the rise of the raw dough. Besides, it improves the texture and chewiness of the final product.
A dough enhancer or dough conditioner is a flour treatment agent. It is a bread improver that strengthens the dough's texture.
Brush the rolls with melted butter after baking. It will have a shiny finish on the crust.
Instructions for how to make homemade soft dinner rolls:
Preparation:
1. Put 2 cups of warm water, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of yeast and ⅔ cup of vegetable oil into a Bosch mixer (I prefer using Bosch mixer because the dough mixed evenly.)
2. Turn on the Bosch mixer to the lowest setting #1 and let it mix a little bit, then turn off. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. After that, in another mixing bowl, add 6 cups of bread flour, ½ tablespoon of salt, 6 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of dough enhancer and 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. Mix it well.
4. Next, turn on the mixer to the lowest setting #1, slowly add the flour mixture from step 3 into the Bosch mixer.
5. When the dough comes together. Cover the lid and change the setting to #3 medium/high speed. Let the mixer run for 10-15 minutes until the dough is well mixed.
Dough:
6. The following step, take the dough out and put it into a mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. (Spray some oil on the wet towel because this can prevent the dough from sticking on it ).
7. Wait around 30-45 minutes to rise at room temperature. (My trick to speed up dough rising time is by preheating the oven at 200F, then turning off the oven. Then, put the dough into the oven cover with a wet towel. The dough rises in 30 minutes.)
8. When the dough rises, roughly divide the dough into 28-30 pieces. (I did 28 pieces, depending on how big the rolls you want.)
9. Spray some oil on the parchment paper over the cookie sheet. Then, roll the dough into a ball. Place the dough on the cookie sheet and cover the dough with a damp towel. Let it sit for 15 minutes before baking it. (Spray some oil on the wet towel because this can prevent the dough from sticking on it.)
Baking:
10. Preheat the oven at 350F and bake for 18 -25 minutes until it’s golden brown.
11. Lastly, melt one tablespoon of butter in the microwave for 15 seconds. Then, brush the melted butter on the freshly baked dinner rolls.
Enjoy this simple, delicious and sweet homemade soft dinner rolls recipe! Also, check out these pumpkin spice hot cocoa, hot chocolate bombs, chocolate strawberries, taro ice cream, pad Thai noodles, beef broccoli, caramel popcorn and California rolls recipes.
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Dinner Rolls
Video
Ingredients
Yeast mixture:
- 2 cups Water
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Active dry yeast
- ⅔ cups Vegetable oil
Flour mixture:
- 6 cups Bread flour
- 6 tablespoons Sugar
- ½ tablespoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Vital wheat gluten
- 1 tablespoon Dough enhancer
Instructions
- Put 2 cups of warm water, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of yeast and ⅔ cup of vegetable oil into a Bosch mixer (I prefer using Bosch mixer because the dough mixed evenly.)
- Turn on the Bosch mixer to the lowest setting #1 and let it mix a little bit, then turn off. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- After that, in another mixing bowl, add 6 cups of bread flour, ½ tablespoon of salt, 6 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of dough enhancer and 1 tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. Mix it well.
- Next, turn on the mixer to the lowest setting #1, slowly add the flour mixture from step 3 into the Bosch mixer.
- When the dough comes together. Cover the lid and change the setting to #3 medium/high speed. Let the mixer run for 10-15 minutes until the dough is well mixed.
- The following step, take the dough out and put it into a mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. (Spray some oil on the wet towel because this can prevent the dough from sticking on it ).
- Wait around 30-45 minutes to rise at room temperature. (My trick to speed up dough rising time is by preheating the oven at 200F, then turning off the oven. Then, put the dough into the oven cover with a wet towel. The dough rises in 30 minutes.)
- When the dough rises, roughly divide the dough into 28-30 pieces. (I did 28 pieces, depending on how big the rolls you want.)
- Spray some oil on the parchment paper over the cookie sheet. Then, roll the dough into a ball. Place the dough on the cookie sheet and cover the dough with a damp towel. Let it sit for 15 minutes before baking it. (Spray some oil on the wet towel because this can prevent the dough from sticking on it.)
- Preheat the oven at 350F and bake for 18 -25 minutes until it’s golden brown.
- Lastly, melt one tablespoon of butter in the microwave for 15 seconds. Then, brush the melted butter on the freshly baked dinner rolls.
Notes
Cooking tips for how to make soft homemade dinner rolls:
Dough:
- Personally I like to use a Bosch mixer for mixing the dough.
- Add water, yeast, sugar and oil into the mixer and let it wait for 5 minutes.
- In the other bowl, add bread flour, sugar, salt, vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer. Mix it well.
- Turn on the mixer to the lowest setting #1. Slowly pour the flour mixture into the Bosch mixer with yeast mixture. Let the mixer run until the dough comes together. Then, change the setting to #3 medium/ high speed and let it run for 10-15 minutes.
- My trick to speed up dough rising time is by preheating the oven at 200F, then turning off the oven. Put the dough into the oven and cover with a wet towel. The dough will rise in 30 minutes.
- Spray some oil on the wet towel because this can prevent the dough from sticking on it.
- Roughly divide the dough into 28-30 pieces depending on how big the rolls you want to be. After that, roll the dough into a ball.
- Spray some oil on the parchment paper over the cookie sheet and place the rolls on the parchment paper. Cover the dough with the wet towel for 15 minutes before baking.
Baking:
- Preheat the oven at 350F and bake it for 18-25 minutes until it’s golden brown.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush it on the freshly baked dinner rolls.
Laur
I had to Google what a dough enhancer is. I'd really like to see in a recipe what kind you used - the internet says anything from a purchased mix at a store to vinegar to potato starch to milk powder.
Tracy O.
Hi Laur,
I use this dough enhancer or dough conditioner. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NWBF2WN/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B08NWBF2WN&linkCode=as2&tag=ohmyfoodrecip-20&linkId=552e79e1331e3da0d16dffbc3bce7ae9
In this recipe, I used vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer.