The way to my heart is bread! Well, it’s one of the ways. I mean, when I’m hungry and not sure what to eat? Bread. When I’m making dinner and need that extra side? Bread. When I’m in that first trimester and nothing else sounds good? Bread! It’s a loyal companion. And at the top of that category are these super fluffy and really good rolls. You can ask anyone. Or at least anyone in my house. Because turns out, these rolls forever have won the approval of 5 little boys and Tim! Judging by how many they eat, I’ll give them a 10/10.
Best part? Although the recipe says to let them rise 2-3 times, they are still delicious after the first rise. So if you are in a hurry, these can still be ready start to finish in under two hours and your guests and family will still be wowed! I’ve made them for many friends and they always ask for more.
Also, if you are a beginner baker, rolls are a GREAT place to start. You are taking basic ingredients, mixing them all together (minimal clean up) and then giving them time to rise. So if you want to try your hands at something new, start here! My mom always says “you can’t ruin roll dough”. Because even if you punch it down too much, it will just rise again and be just fine! May we all have the same strength as roll dough to bounce back when we are knocked down a bit.
Ok, on to the recipe now. Oh yes and a TIP: butter makes everything better. Bet you’ve heard that one before. I like to slather these in melted butter before AND after they bake. Because I can. And because there is nothing like a hot fresh roll with a glistening of butter on top. Ok that’s all. Get baking and tell me what you think!
xo, Sarah
Sarah’s super good and fluffy Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Warm Milk
- 4 tsp Active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Butter, softened
- 2 tsp Salt
- 7 cups All-purpose flour, or as needed
- 1/2 cup Butter, melted
- Garlic salt
Instructions
- Pour milk into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle yeast over the surface. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Beat in the sugar, eggs, and 1/2 cup butter, and salt; blend thoroughly.
- Gradually stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover bowl, and set in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough, cover the bowl, and allow to rise again. Repeat this step 2 more times. (In a hurry? Rolls will still be delicious after 1 rise. Once first rise is finished, just move to the next step if needed)
- Lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan, or line with parchment paper. Break off 2-3 inch size pieces of dough, roll lightly into round shape, and place in prepared baking dish, edges touching. Repeat to make 36 dough balls. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. (This rise could also be skipped if you are in a hurry).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Just before placing rolls in the oven, brush with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt. Bake rolls in preheated oven until tops turn golden brown, 10-15 minutes. When rolls are finished baking, drizzle melted butter over the top and serve warm.
Notes
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Megan
I can’t wait to make these. I don’t have a mixer so I will have to do it be hand. Looks super yummy.
Sarah
MeganThat’ll be a good workout too, so double bonus!
Nancy
saw you post this on your Instagram so I’m here now to go over the recipe and gather my ingredients so I can make these rolls!!
Sarah
NancyI’m so glad Nancy! Let me know what you think after you make them!
LuRae Shreves
Do you punch down the dough before you pinch off the ball of dough … or pinch off the dough while it is still “fluffy?”
Sarah
LuRae ShrevesI push it a bit! But I think either way is totally fine! It would probably “punch down” once you grab your first few anyway!
LuRae
SarahThank you for answer no my question. Love your accounts!
Jamie
Could these be made with whole wheat flour?
Sarah
JamieI would assume you can, but I have never tried it! Let me know if you do!
Lian Molitor
Excited to make these for dinner today!
Tried to print the recipe, because I think it will be a keeper! Though it doesn’t seem to be working like your other recipes.
Sarah
Lian MolitorLian- thanks for telling me about the print feature, I’ll go check on that now!
Jayne
Lian MolitorCan these be made ahead and then reheated?
Sarah
JayneThey totally could be yes! I love them fresh out of the oven, but sometimes that’s not always workable with all the other things you are doing!
Hannah
JayneCan I freeze these?
Kaelyn
How many rolls do you put in one 9×13? Picture shows 20 but recipe says 36. Does it matter? Just wondering if I can cut the recipe in half and still put 18 in the 9×13?
Sarah
KaelynYou can totally do that, I think you could easily make them bigger or smaller and then just adjust the bake time! The only thing I would say is it’s important to place them right next to each other so as they bake the rise better as they push against each other!
Kathy
Sarah, these rolls are FANTASTIC!!! They are just out of the oven and I have eaten two!!
Sarah
KathyYay! I’m so glad Kathy! They’re pretty simple too right?! I’m glad you love them!
Tiffany Lobban
Hi! I’ve made your rolls twice now and they are really good! But I’m having trouble with them still being a little doughy where they connect to each other. Even after baking for the full 15 minutes. I don’t want to keep baking them longer because the tops are getting very brown. Am I doing something wrong?
Sarah
Tiffany LobbanHi Tiffany! My best thought is to make them just a little smaller, so that the insides cook a little better while not sacrificing getting the outside overdone! Let me know if this helps!
Kim
Can you use Margarine instead of Butter? First time bun maker here. Lol
Kellee
Can I make these a day ahead of time? (Planning for Thanksgiving) Also can I let them rise overnight or is that too long without punching them down?
Sarah
KelleeHey Kellee- You could totally make them a day ahead. I think for most roll recipes, they are definitely so much better fresh, but still great reheated too! I also haven’t tried letting them rise overnight, I would maybe test it out first if you had the time!
Lauren
SarahWas coming here to see about rising overnight- thanksgiving won’t be my test for that lol up early it is!
Debra
Nothing beats a perfect sugar cookie! This recipe is spot on perfect! Thanks for sharing
♥️🥠♥️
Linda
Do you think/have you ever made the dinner rolls with almond milk? Have dairy digestion difficulties…
Sarah
LindaHi Linda! I actually haven’t, but I would be interested to hear what you think if you try it! Let me know!
Miranda
LindaHi there, I just wanted to let you know that I just made these last night and I used almond milk and dairy-free butter and they turned out great!
Courtney Brose
MirandaI came to the comments for this exact answer. Thanks for sharing!!!!
Sarah
Courtney BroseThank you guys for sharing these tips here! It’s so nice for others to come on and see the variations!
Audrey
I’ve tried sooo many different roll recipes, and these are by far the best, because not only are they AMAZING fresh out of the oven they also reheat very well which I have had trouble with other recipes. This is definitely my new go to roll recipe, and added bonus point because they are so easy to make.
Sarah
AudreyAudrey- this is so great to hear! Now I want to go make some!
Shelbey
I’ve been wanting to make these for awhile. I am new to baking. And first i wanna say, i used the whole mixture to make 18 rolls into 1 9×13 pan. I panicked when I read “makes 36”. I ended up just cooking an extra 10 minutes and they turned out AMAZING.just a bit bigger/taller. Oh man so tasty!! WILL BE MAKING OFTEN!
Sarah
ShelbeyHi Shelley!! I love hearing that, thank you for taking the time to come back here and share that, and review also! So glad you loved them!
Kristin Kassabian
So delish! Quick ? How do you make them into the rolls and not have it constantly stick to your hands? Do you use a ton of flour for that part?
Kim
Has anyone tried freezing these?
Mickayla
KimHey Kim! We usually freeze our extra (or I make a double batch on purpose for freezing!) I just bake them according to the recipe, and then once cool enough to handle, I put in freezer bags in meal portions for our crew of about 12! To reheat, I just place in. Warm oven for a few minutes and then brush with a bit of melted butter. Tastes just perfectly fresh, and we’ve never had trouble with them doing it that way!!
Sarah
MickaylaI love hearing this!
Heidi
I made these this week. My kids have pack lunch every day at their school, and I always used Hawaiian rolls to make mini sandwiches. Tried these this week instead and they loved them!!! ❤️ My first attempt at homemade bread of any kind.
Sarah
HeidiAh I’m so glad to hear this Heidi- and glad it was a success!
Mickayla
This is our go to for rolls! Loved by all of us, and never fails!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Yenelys
I tried and failed. They were good but had the consistency of a biscuit instead of a fluffy roll. I’m going to try again. Would really love these for Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Lynette
How long do you mix the flour? Until it forms a ball on the dough hook??
Sarah
LynetteYes exactly!
Danielle
What type of milk do you use? I have tried skim, and my yeast doesn’t seem to bubble like yours, and they end up pretty dense, but still taste great!
Beth
DanielleI made them this week and used 2% milk. They turned out fine and delicious.
Sarah
DanielleI typically use whole milk!
Lauren
We made these today for the first time for thanksgiving and they were so delicious!! My son ate four of them! We followed the recipe as written including three rises and they were so fluffy and perfect!! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah
LaurenLauren- I’m so glad I’ve made a fan from your son- that’s so great!
Beth
I made the rolls this week for Thanksgiving and they were delicious. I will have to start making them more often now. My sister said she never wastes Thanksgiving calories on bread but these rolls were worth it and the best she has had. I’ve seen a few people ask in the comments, so thought I would share what I did, in the hope that it helps someone else out. Because of timing and when we had our Thanksgiving meal, I started the recipe in the afternoon and went through the whole process, letting the dough rise 3 times, and formed the rolls in the evening. I left them on the baking sheet, covered with a towel, on the counter overnight. They rose more and I put them in the oven to bake around 11:30 a.m. the next morning. They cooked nicely and were so good. Thanks for the recipe, Sarah!
Sarah
BethThanks for sharing all this Beth- AND so great that everyone loved them so much, that’s so great to hear!
Aimee
Does the recipe call for salted or unsalted butter?
Jodi D
Made these with only one rise using Oatmilk and they were an immediate hit. Nice and fluffy and VERY delicious!! Adding it to my rotation!
Sarah
Jodi DThis is awesome- I’m so glad to hear these worked great with Oatmilk too! Thanks for sharing that here!
Amy
Only did one rise before shaping, then one rise after shaping and my husband said it was the best bread we’ve had in our house all year. So easy too! I just need to remember to start them at lunchtime
Amy
Forgot to add stars with my other comment
Sarah
AmyYou’re the best- thank you!
Karlee
Has anyone used a gluten free cup of cup replacement? I want to try these, but I don’t know if it will work worth gf flour!
Sarah
KarleeI haven’t heard about it from anyone- but I’d be so interested to know!
Lucy’s First Birthday Party: A simple and unique ‘One Sweet Peach’ theme - Modern Farmhouse Family
[…] on the side so everyone could put however much they wanted on top. For sides we had salad, rolls (my recipe for rolls here!), and fruit. Lucy in particular loved the meal so that made it even […]
Lacey
I am bringing these for Easter dinner tonight, they are on their final rise! Thank you for sharing your family & easy recipes with us!
Sarah
LaceyI hope they turned out great!
Kathy
Rolls always turn out absolutely delicious 100% of the time. I will always use this recipe, thank you for sharing.