Amazingly Soft Dinner Rolls

Dinner rolls are one of my favorite things to make! It can go with spaghetti, soups, or made into a sandwich. I especially love it when my dinner rolls come out soft and delicious. So, I introduce to you my favorite Amazingly Soft Dinner Rolls. This recipe is adapted from Laura Vitale’s Dinner Roll recipe.

If you’ve never made dough of any kind, don’t be intimidated. I will lay out the critical points that you need to be aware of.

Critical Points for making dough

1. When you put the yeast out in a bowl, add a little sugar in with the yeast. The yeast needs some sugar to “feed on” in order for it to ferment.
2. Do not overheat the liquid that you will be adding to the yeast. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise properly. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the liquid, if you have one. You want to make sure the temperature doesn’t exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit. If you do not have a candy thermometer, the easiest way to check the temperature is to stick your finger in the liquid. If you can hold your finger in the liquid for 3-5 seconds without scalding it, it’s the right temperature! I would say it’s even better to have your liquid on the cooler side than on the hotter side.
3. After pouring the liquid into the bowl with the yeast, wait 5 minutes until the yeast is frothy or foamy. If the yeast isn’t frothy about 5 minutes after pouring the liquid in, your yeast may be old or you may have killed your yeast. If that is the case, you may want to start over.
4. Do not add too much flour. If you add too much flour, your final product will be dense! It will not be fluffy and soft like dinner rolls should be.
5. Lastly, be patient! Working with dough takes some patience.

About the dough

See the picture below. The dough has been kneaded for about 5-7 minutes. See how sticky the dough still is? The dough is pulling away from the sides but the bottom is rather sticky still. This is the consistency that you want your dough.

Take the dough out and add just a sprinkle of flour and knead the dough by hand and roll it into a ball. Add a bit of oil into the bowl and spread it around. Cover the bowl with some saran wrap and a clean towel. If I am short on time, I like to turn my oven on to warm and stick the bowl in there. The heat will help the dough rise. After about 45 minutes-1 hour or when the dough has doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. The easiest way that I’ve found to divide my dough is to first cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and then divide those 4 pieces into 3 equal pieces, which equals 12 pieces total. Don’t roll the dough into a ball. You want to tuck the dough at the bottom into a ball. Place rolls equal distance apart in a 9×13 baking dish. Now place a clean cloth over the dough and let it rise for another 30 minutes or so. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

You want to keep your eyes on your rolls. If you bake your rolls for too long, the bottoms will burn. However, if you don’t bake your rolls for long enough, your rolls will still be doughy on the inside.

See! Not complicated at all. I hope you’ll give it a try and enjoy these buttery, amazingly soft dinner rolls.

Print Recipe

Amazingly Soft Dinner Rolls

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Serves: 12

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes – Total Time: 2 hours

You will enjoy these Amazingly Soft Dinner rolls! You can have them with any pasta dish or soup. You won't be disappointed.

Ingredients

• 1 packet of Rapid Rise Yeast
• 1/3 c sugar
• 3/4 c milk
• 1/4 c heavy cream
• 1 stick of butter, divided 1/3 c of melted butter and 3 Tbsp softened
• 3 c and 2 Tbsp flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp of oil

Instructions

1

In a mixing bowl, add yeast and 1 Tbsp of sugar from the 1/3 c of sugar.

2

Melt 1/3 cup of butter and add to a saucepan. Add milk and heavy cream to that same saucepan. Warm the milk up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

3

Add butter and milk mixture to the bowl of yeast and sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes until yeast is foamy.

4

Add 3 cups and 1 Tbsp of flour, the rest of the sugar, 3 egg yolks, and salt to the bowl. Mix and knead for 5-7 minutes in the mixer or by hand.

5

(If you are mixing by hand, it may take longer)

6

When the dough has come together, take a pinch of flour and knead the dough out.

7

Pour a small amount of oil into the same mixing bowl and rub it around the bowl.

8

Place the dough in the bowl and cover with saran wrap and a clean towel. Let it rise for an hour.

9

After an hour, punch the dough down. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, then divide those pieces into 3 equal pieces.

10

Tuck the dough into a ball. Place rolls equal distance apart in a 9x13 baking dish.

11

Place a clean cloth over the dough and let it rise for another 30 minutes or so.

12

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

13

Bake for 20-25 minutes.