Homemade Dinner Rolls

These are the perfect classic dinner rolls. As soon as you bite in, you're greeted with a fresh, buttery taste.

I love making these for an extra treat for dinner. They go so well with so many meals; especially soup! On Saturday I made them for my grandpa's birthday celebration. I also made a New York Style Cheesecake during/after making these rolls for his birthday cake. So Saturday was a very busy day in the kitchen! But I love baking, so I don't mind spending lots of time there. :)

After looking at the recipe, it may seem like they take a loooong time. They do take quite a while the first time you make them, because you have to concentrate on the recipe so intently. But the second time it's much easier, because you know what you're doing. You can fill in the waiting times in the recipe by cleaning up the ingredients you don't need anymore, doing some dishes, or whatever else you need to get done...maybe even a workout while the buns are rising!

Another great thing about these rolls, is that you can make them in different sizes and shapes. You can form a classic dinner roll, a hamburger bun, a clover leaf roll, or you can even use this recipe for making bread! Keep in mind, that when you're shaping these rolls, that they'll rise to about double in size (and get even bigger in the oven),  You don't want to grab too much dough at once, or else you'll end up with a hamburger bun size, when you really only wanted a dinner roll size. You can see in some of the photos that they're more of a hamburger bun size. I meant to make them smaller, more like a dinner roll, but either size works well.

They are also amazing because they have super simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen! It has dry yeast, water, milk, butter, eggs, honey (that means it's sugar free!!!), salt, and all-purpose flour.

 You really need to go and make them! They are SO worth it.

Homemade Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

1 packet (or 2 and 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (around 105-115 degrees F, or comfortably warm to stick your finger in for several seconds)
1 cup milk (preferably 2%)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (If you only have salted, then that's ok. Just make sure to omit the 3/4 tsp. salt that is listed below)
1 large egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1 cup + 2 cups all-purpose flour + more for kneading (you'll likely use 4 or more cups by the end)
olive oil or extra softened butter

Directions

1. Add yeast to the warm water - again, make sure it's not too hot or your yeast will 'die'.
2. Stir until yeast is mostly dissolved and let sit for 5 minutes. The mixture should have bubbles on the surface - otherwise your water was too hot and killed the yeast or your yeast is dead and you need to start with a fresh batch.
3. While the yeast mixture sits, place in a saucepan, milk, butter, honey and salt. Heat on low until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are combined. Set mixture aside to cool.
4. While the milk mixture cools down, add 1 egg and 1 cup of flour to the yeast mixture and stir/mix on level 2 with a dough hook to combine. It doesn't need to be mixed perfectly like a cake batter, it will look shaggy.
5. Once the milk mixture has cooled so that you can easily put your finger in the mixture for several seconds, add it to the flour/egg/yeast mixture. Add another cup of flour and mix with a spatula or on level 2 with the dough hook.
6. Then add a third 1-cup of flour and mix thoroughly. This should make the dough wet and sticky and still shaggy, yet pliable enough to start kneading (by hand or in the mixer).
7. Flour your kneading surface lightly if kneading by hand.
8. Knead the dough 6-8 minutes (4-6 if you're using a mixer), adding a small amount of flour to the surface and/or your hands when the dough starts to stick. Around the 6-8 minute mark, the dough should be noticeably smoother and be elastic (springs back when pulled). The dough should be soft and still slightly sticky, though. For mixer kneading, the dough should be forming a ball that clears the sides of the bowl - once done it should be elastic when you pull on it. If the dough is overly sticky when you do this, you need to add a bit more flour, about 2 Tablespoons at a time.
9. Take a clean rising bowl and coat with cooking spray or oil. Form the dough into a smooth ball by tucking the seam around a few times to the base. Place the bread "pretty" side down to coat with oil and then flip it so this side is not on top. This is so the dough doesn't dry out. When using the mixer, I just pat the dough down evenly and let it rise there.
10. Cover the dough with a clean towel (you may want to slightly dampen if it's a really dry day) or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm area for around an hour until doubled. If your house is cold, turn your oven on the lowest setting a few minutes while kneading, then turn it off and now let your dough rise. 
11. At this point, if you're not ready to use the dough once it has risen, you can either punch it down and let it rise again until you're ready, stick it in the fridge punching down as needed for up to 2 days, or freeze.
12. After the dough has doubled, it's time to punch it down. Just make a fist and "punch" the dough until all the air is out.
13. Shape the dough as desired  classic rolls, cloverleaf rolls, a loaf, etc. The classic roll is easiest and is what is pictured, so that's what I'll explain.
14. If you want rolls that are in absolutely equal shape and size, you'll want to pat or lightly roll out the dough and then cut it into even square shapes. Or do it the easiest way, and just pinch off the dough in sizes as similar as possible.
15. Take the piece of dough, grab an edge and fold it down to the bottom, repeating on all sides until you have a roundish shape with a smooth top. Place the roll in the pan with the un-smooth or "ugly" side down. 
16. A note on pans and crust - if you like a softer crust (my personal favorite), I suggest placing them in a glass dish with high edges, like a 9x13. If you like a crisper crust, use a metal sheet or pan, like a half-sheet so the edges are more exposed during backing. Either way, make sure you leave about 1/2 to 1 inch between the rolls so they have room to rise and expand, with just enough space so that they will touch when fully risen. This will help them rise nice and tall and create that flaky pull-apart yumminess we all love!
17. Repeat the above step until all dough is used.
18. Once all rolls have been made, cover the pan(s) with another clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.
19. Make sure your oven rack is set to the middle of your oven so the top and bottom can brown evenly. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F about 15-20 minutes before you're ready to start baking.
20. Take off the towel or wrap on your rolls and place in the oven and bake until done. Exact time will depend on how large you made your rolls and how hot your oven actually heats. Mine usually takes 20-25 minutes. Other shapes and sizes will vary, loaves will take 40-60 minutes.
21. Once done, take your rolls out, allowing the pan to cool a minute and then immediately remove rolls from the pan so the bottoms don't get soggy. While waiting, you can melt some butter to brush on top, if desired. You could even spice things up a little bit and put garlic, onion, honey, or cinnamon on top! Remember if you're using these for sandwiches or sliders, you'll want to let them cool completely for slicing success, and always use a good bread knife.
22. You're finally done and can enjoy your yummy masterpiece! Wasn't all that worth it when you got to bite into the warm, buttery deliciousness?!

Recipe credits goes to Smart Savvy Living

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Liz & Sarah