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1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls

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My favorite 1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe is easy to make by hand or with a stand mixer and absolutely heavenly served warm out of the oven.

1-Hour Dinner Rolls Recipe in Baking Dish

Is there anything better than a freshly-baked pan of homemade dinner rolls?

Actually, yes — this easy dinner rolls recipe that can be ready to go in just one hour!

This recipe has been my go-to for years and always yields the most perfectly soft, fluffy, buttery rolls. But I especially love it because the ingredient list is simple, the rise times are minimal, and the dough can be easily made either by hand or with the help of a stand mixer. And everything can come together quickly in just an hour or so, which makes this recipe more do-able on busy weeknights when you’re craving some homemade bread, and also super-helpful on holidays when you’re trying to multi-task all the things.

Many of you have also asked about make-ahead options with this recipe over the years, so I have updated the post with instructions for how to make the bread dough in advance. And I have also included some fun variations if you would like to make your rolls more garlicky, herb-y, cheesy, or whatever other add-ins sound fun.

Bottom line, this dinner rolls recipe is a keeper and never lets me down. So if you are looking for a good one to add to your repertoire, bookmark this one and give it a try!

1-Hour Dinner Rolls Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Dinner Rolls Bread Dough Before Baking

Homemade Dinner Rolls Ingredients:

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients that you will need to make this homemade dinner rolls recipe:

  • Water and milk: These will serve as our base liquids for the bread dough. I used dairy milk, but you are welcome to sub in a plain plant-based milk (such as oat milk or almond milk) instead.
  • Melted butter: Which we will both bake into the rolls and brush on top.
  • Honey: To add just a hint of sweetness.
  • Active dry yeast: This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of yeast. So if you are purchasing your yeast in 0.25-ounce packets, you will need slightly more than one packet.
  • Flour: I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. But if you try out different flours, please let us know how it goes in the comment section below!
  • Salt: Which we will mix into the rolls to bring out all of those delicious buttery flavors. Feel free to sprinkle a bit of flaky salt on top of the warm rolls just before serving too!

Brushing Dinner Rolls with Melted Butter

Tips For How To Make Dinner Rolls:

The full recipe is included below for how to make these dinner rolls, but here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind too:

  • Be sure that your yeast has not expired. This is one of the most common reasons for why a batch of bread dough does not rise. Double-check the expiration date on any yeast that may be hanging out in your pantry. And if the yeast does not begin to puff and bubble up after 5 minutes once it has been added to the wet ingredients, toss out the batch and start over with new yeast.
  • Double-check the temperature of the liquid ingredients. When heating the liquid ingredients (water, melted butter, milk and honey), it’s essential that they be within the temperature range of 100-110°F. If the mixture is too hot, it can kill the yeast. If it is too cool, the yeast may not activate. The mixture should feel warm and not hot to the touch, but I always recommend testing the mixture with a cooking thermometer just to be sure.
  • Don’t skip the rise times. They are essential to helping the dough rise and create that soft and fluffy texture we’re going for.
  • No worries about perfection. When portioning the dough into 12 rolls, don’t worry about them all being perfectly equal in size. They will all bake up together in the pan, and if some are slightly larger or smaller, hakuna matata. :)

1-Hour Soft Dinner Rolls in Pan

Possible Recipe Variations:

Here are a few other possible variations that you could make to this dinner rolls recipe:

  • Make-ahead option: For make-ahead dinner rolls, follow the recipe through the step that you shape the individual rolls and place them in the baking dish. Then tightly cover the baking dish and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Transfer the dish to the counter and let it warm up to room temperature for 2 hours before baking, and then bake as directed.
  • Make it vegan: Use plant-based milk and butter and your preferred sweetener in place of honey.
  • Add garlic: Add in 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the bread dough to make the rolls more garlicky, and/or you could also simmer some minced garlic with butter to brush on top of the rolls after baking.
  • Add herbs: Add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely-chopped fresh herbs (such as rosemary or parsley) to the bread dough to add flavor to the rolls, and/or you could also mix some fresh herbs in with the melted butter to brush on top of the rolls after baking.
  • Add cheese: You can also mix in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of freshly-grated cheddar cheese to make cheesy rolls. (Or I also love mixing in some freshly-grated Parmesan, and then sprinkling some on top of the rolls during the final 5 minutes of baking.)

Soft Dinner Roll Closeup

More Favorite Bread Recipes:

Looking for more easy bread recipes to add to your repertoire? Here are a few of my faves…

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1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls Recipe

1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 422 reviews
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 15 servings 1x

Description

My favorite 1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe is easy to make by hand or with a stand mixer and absolutely heavenly served warm out of the oven.


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Prep your oven and baking dish.  Heat the oven to 400°F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.
  2. Heat the liquids. In a microwave-safe bowl (or saucepan, see below), stir together the water and melted butter, then add in the milk and honey and stir until combined.  Microwave the mixture for 1 minute and give it a stir. Continue microwaving the mixture in 15 second intervals, until it reaches 110°F. It will be warm but not hot to the touch. (*Alternately, you can heat the mixture over medium-low heat in a saucepan until it reaches 110°F.)
  3. Add yeast.  Pour the liquid mixture into the large bowl of a stand mixer.  Sprinkle the yeast evenly on top, give it a quick stir with a fork to combine, and let the yeast activate for 5 minutes until it is foamy.
  4. Add dry ingredients.  Add in 3 1/2 cups of flour (not all of the flour) and the salt.
  5. Mix. (See alternate instructions in the notes below for how to knead the dough by hand.) Use the dough-hook to mix in the dry ingredients on medium-low speed until combined.  If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add in 1/4 cup more flour at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is only slightly sticky to the touch.  (Only use up to 4 cups of flour total.)  Continue mixing on low speed for 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth.  Then form the dough into a ball with your hands and transfer it to a greased bowl.
  6. Let the dough rise.  Cover the bowl with a damp towel or paper towel, and let it rise briefly for 15 minutes.
  7. Form the rolls.  Gently punch the dough down and divide into 15 equal-sized pieces. Form each piece into a ball and place the dough balls in the greased baking dish.  Cover the dish again with a damp towel or paper towel and let the dough balls rise for an additional 15-20 minutes.
  8. Bake. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly golden brown on top and cooked through.
  9. Brush with more butter. Transfer the baking dish to a wire cooling rack and brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter.
  10. Serve warm. Then serve warm and enjoy!


Notes

Yeast: I typically purchase my yeast in bulk. But if you are using the 0.25-ounce packets, they each contain 2.25 teaspoons of yeast.  So you will need slightly more than one packet to yield 1 tablespoon.

How to knead the dough by hand: If you do not have a stand mixer, no prob!  For step 5 (mixing the dough), simply stir the dry ingredients into the dough as much as possible.  Then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth, adding up to 1/4 cup of extra flour if the dough is too sticky.

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826 comments on “1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls”

  1. Made these to go with pulled pork tonight and everyone loves them.






  2. Ok these are the BEST!!!! I’m currently making another batch as I type this! They rise so good and are perfect!!!! Thank you for the easiest and tastiest recipe there is!






  3. These rolls are the best I’ve tried and so easy! My family loved them! Light and fluffy. This is my new go to recipe. Thank you!






  4. I’ve made these twice. The first time they were still REALLY sticky even with the full 4 cups used but manageable. The second time, I even added an additional 2\3 c beyond the 4 cups called for and the dough was still a nightmare to work with. They turn out nice and soft but geez, the prep is a disaster. Maybe it’s because I live in the Deep South and our humidity levels are about 80% lately.






    • Love these rolls! I did have to add extra flour but that was when I used the spoon / level with a knife method of measuring flour. When I just pack the flour into the measuring cups, the dough is much easier to work with. I live in West Africa though, so might be because of our humidity. Either way, they turn out so yummy!






    • I live in Texas and pretty much every single bread recipe I make I use the full amount of flour and it’s still incredibly sticky, but always bakes up ok. I’ve wondered if it’s the humidity too…I just flour my hands constantly when I’m working with it

    • Same for me. I needed about 5 cups of flour. I find this true with all yeast recipes.

  5. WOW !!! The most amazing homemade dinner rolls. I have tried so many recipes from the internet but nothing is as delicious and tasty as this one. This surely is the best dinner rolls recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
    Thank you all for your comments as they made me even more eager to try out this recipe. I am serving this with a delicious beef stew tonight.






  6. I’ve only had rave reviews and massive success with every single time I’ve made these. I’ve made them larger and used as hamburger buns for burger night and everyone was so impressed!

    I’m going to try dividing the dough into two loaf pans to make two loaves of bread. Wish me luck!






  7. Love this recipe! I’ve made them twice and they have come out perfect. Simple, easy to follow recipe. Mine came out light and fluffy as they should have. I’ve been looking for a great homemade dinner roll and so glad I finally found one. The family loves them. Thank you so much!






  8. Absolutely perfect! Love this recipe, shared it with many friends

  9. I am so glad I decided to give these a try. It was a bit of an adventure, but a big payout. Hopefully someone else can learn from my mistakes. I don’t have a stand mixer so I kneaded by hand for about 6 minutes and that worked fine. I think I might try the food processor next time to see if that’s an easier option though. I also used instant yeast, so I mixed the flour, about 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast, and salt together first and then warmed the liquid (minus yeast) and mixed the liquid and dry together. I started with 420 grams of all-purpose flour and then gradually added more to a total of 480 grams (as my weight estimate for 3.5-4 cups) but my dough was too sticky. It was all over my hands the entire time. It was a mess to shape into balls so they were just 15 dropped globs of dough, but they still came out delicious. Lesson learned, though. Definitely adding more flour next time until I can knead without the dough sticking to my hands. After more research online, using 128 grams of flour per cup is a better estimate, so I next time I’ll use 450-520 grams of flour and see how that goes. Thanks so much for a great recipe! Rolls haven’t been a regular part of our diet before now, but they certainly will be going forward.






  10. Hi, if I want to knead with hands, how long do o need to knead ?

  11. This is the second time.I am making these dinner rolls.in a week The first time I made them we had them with steak and then the next night homeade.lasagna. Tonight we are having from scratch white hamburger gravy on the fresh baked dinner rolls. I am about to bake the rolls now. Yummy yummy yummy. We can’t wait to eat dinner tonight. Thank you for this easy and great tasting recipe for very yummy dinner rolls.






    • I had high hopes for these so I’m hoping I can work out where I went wrong. They taste good, but I ended up having to bake them for closer to 30 min with my gas oven to get them to even slightly brown, and they came out dense and flat and not at all fluffy like some people are claiming. The only place I deviated was letting them rise for around 25 minutes rather than the last 15 because I had chicken in the oven. Could this have effected it’s ability to rise in the oven that drastically? I just want to figure this out so I don’t make the same mistake when I try these again haha. This batch will make for good breakfast rolls.






  12. Awesome and very easy! Best buns ever!






  13. This is a very good and easy recipe. Came out perfect. I even made a loaf of bread from this recipe just to see how it would come out…delish. Thank you






  14. Just made these and oh my gosh they turned out beautifully!! Thank you for this recipe I will definitely be baking these again!






  15. Baking dinner rolls now, it’s so easy, I love to make, and finally made, thanks ??!!?






  16. I made these just as stated in the recipe, using all the flour. These are AMAZING rolls. Quick and delicious. I should have them for a few more minutes, but they were delicious. This recipe is a keeper.

  17. I followed the recipe, except slowly added the liquid to the flour stirring with a fork until it hit the right consistency. I used a little bit of oil and flour to keep the dough from being to hard to handle, and mixed and rolled in a bowl with a fork. Hand kneaded. Rolls turned out as good as mom’s. Pretty easy and wife liked them too.






  18. LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it 3 times already & rolls are so easy to make. I used to be intimidated by anything with yeast that needed kneading. But, with the clear instructions & timing on the kneading – I made delicious yeast buns!! My hubby loves them & we usually have them with homemade apricot or nectarine jam or with soup. As another person mentioned, the recipe may also make a great loaf of bread but I haven’t tried it just yet. I haven’t had a problem with the dough being too sticky, but we typically have very low humidity in Phoenix. These rolls are delicious & thank you so much for sharing the recipe.






  19. Super good! I used three cups bread flour, half a cup all-purpose. Amazing HUGE rolls. After the butter glaze, I sprinkled rolls with coarse salt. Yum.






  20. Great recipe! These are a favorite at my house now. I tried this recipe with 1 cup of whole wheat flour substituted for 1 cup of the AP flour – gives these rolls a good chew.






  21. Great! Needed a bun from sliders. Recipe and out come just fit the bill. Needed them dairy free, used coconut milk and margarine. Family loved them. Shared with many friends who bake too. Thx

  22. Gawd this sounds amazing—just like I REMEMBER them too! I can’t WAIT TO TRY IT! Imma gonna go start these NOW! ?

  23. I have always been wary of one hour rolls but didn’t have time for anything else last week. I’m so glad I stumbled across this recipe. The rolls were so easy and delicious! I am making them for a second time today. Definitely a keeper!






  24. I have been making these rolls once a week since I found your recipe. They are absolutely delicious and so easy. The 15 minute rising time does away with the lengthy time required for other rolls. They freeze well also.






  25. Great and so easy!






  26. Wondering if the greased pan is a glass one like in the picture? Curious if they can be done in a nonstick or other baking pan with edges to help keep the shape?

  27. Easy and delicious! Dough hook does all the work. The hardest part is getting the liquid to the right “proofing” temperature -and that is more about patience than skill. You will have soft yummy rolls in about an hour. How easy is that?!?






  28. Easy and delicious. I used just 1 pack of instant rise yeast and mixed directly (no need to proof yeast). Came out great if you are out of regular yeast.






  29. If you make them ahead of time should I keep them covered or not? Or should I refrigerate them? Thanks!

  30. So I have never made bread before, but have always wanted to but have been very hesitant.
    So when I found your recipe I wanted to give it a go ( once I finally found some yeast).
    I am currently awaiting the rolls to come out of the oven but for a complete scaredy-cat this recipe was super easy to follow.
    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I am very excited to try them when they come out of the oven.






  31. Soooooo easy. Amazing. Delicious. I haven’t stopped singing their praises since I took my first bite several hours ago. This will be my go-to roll recipe forever!

  32. Love the recipes






  33. I have made bread before but not rolls. My dough was very sticky like others said. I added more flour to mix and roll into balls. I highly suggest using honey and butter on top of them. They came out good but not worth the work took longer than one hour.






  34. Best easy recipe for rolls, thanks!






  35. Ali, I just pulled these out of the oven just a bit ago. Made them for our lunch tomorrow, allowing them to only brown very lightly so I can reheat tomorrow. Of course I had to try one, and it was then so very hard to not have another! They are delicious! Sister Schubert’s will never taste the same again! I think as some others have stated because I live in such a humid climate, I had to add a wee bit more flour than you stated, but they could not have turned out more perfectly!






  36. They turn out amazing every time. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!






  37. I made these and they were the best ever and I’ve been baking for decades. As easy as the bread machine and in fact I think easier. Will never use any other recipe…and I love the directions…spells it out simply and guarantees success. Be warned tho…I did try this with pastry flour and they were heavy and we didn’t enjoy them at all, but someone who likes heavier bread may like the texture. I’ll stay with all purpose flour after that experiment. :-)






  38. This recipe was a huge hit with my family! Everyone went back for seconds and it was super easy to make for a newbie bread maker, like myself. Even my husband, who is the baker in the family, thought they were excellent. Thank you so much, I will be making these again!






  39. Absolutely perfect! Pillowy, fast, delicious. My go to. You can vary flavors by brushing different flavored melted butters (garlic, herb, honey, etc), very versatile.






  40. I started making this when COVID lockdown started and have made it numerous times. It is a flawless easy recipe and I dont have a mixer with a dough hook. Just a sturdy wooden spoon, some effort for about 1 or 2 minutes; not 4-5 as the recipe states; my arm wouldn’t make it and they come out perfect everytime. My husband and 2 grown kids love it. Dont leave out the melted butter when done, brush it on while hot and let it soak in. Yum!!






  41. Great recipe …disappeared before they had even completely cooled and very forgiving too for first timers like me.






  42. Lovely easy recipe, made 6 huge tasty rolls, thank you ? certainly saving this

  43. This has become my go to recipe for rolls! I have mixed it up and put some cheese and garlic in them as well. Or kept it simple and brushed some honey butter on them. However you make them they turn out perfect every time!






  44. I just made these and they are super easy and delicious !






  45. This was a very easy recipe and it came out perfect . I have been experimenting with baking bread with no luck.
    Now finally i made the perfect biscuit! My husband could not eat then fast enough. Only thing I may do different is bake a little longer just to get them a little more golden.






  46. How should I store these?






  47. Such a quick, easy, delicious recipe! Made it by hand… fluffy and light pillows ready in an hour. Thank you!






  48. Hello. I was wondering if I used wheat flour and agave would it turn out the same?

  49. This is absolutely fantastic! Me and my kids love it! I now have a go to recipe for a simple yet amazing bread.






    • I am trying these for the first time. I made a brisket and wanted something with just a little kick. I went with swapping half the honey for Mike’s Hot Honey to give these a zing… I will let you know what we think with the brisket on them!

  50. can you use the regular yeast or does it have to be the instant