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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”

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  1. Made these yesterday to go with pulled pork, easy and light turned out fantastic!






    • Thank you for this amazing recipe. Turned out beautifully, it was so quick and easy. It is now my go to for dinner rolls.






  2. Can I use non fat milk? Trying to avoid the crowds at the store

  3. Anyone baked the day before and stored to eat next day?

  4. Can you make a day ahead.

  5. Can you use quick rising yeast or is the regular kind recommended for this?

    • I originally wrote the recipe using active dry, but you can sub in quick-rising! The rise times may just be slightly shorter.

  6. Can I make the dough the day before and cook the next day?

  7. Made these for thanksgiving. Quick and yummy.

  8. I have a small amount of buttermilk to use up (maybe 1/4 of a cup). Do you think they would taste okay with that and the rest 2% milk? I don’t usually cook with buttermilk so I wasn’t sure how it would affect the taste. Thanks!

  9. I’ve always been afraid of yeast breads, I dont know why but I’m 70 years old and always wanted to try. I want to but just afraid of using yeast. After this i might give it a try,, after all I’m a whiz at good poundcakes. Thanks






  10. Is it ok to use, either or low fat milk Or condensed?

  11. Thank you Ali :) I love no fuss no muss baking. I’m absolutely sure your biscuit recipe will give me scrumptious tasting biscuits. Can hardly wait!

  12. At the end of the recipe it says, “Brush with more butter.” Does that mean I am supposed to brush them with butter before they go in the oven? It doesn’t say that in the paragraph, “Bake”.
    The rolls are in the fridge right now.

  13. Really easy, really good! We doubled the recipe and we were out of honey so we used white sugar. Made 2 pans. One I brushed with melted butter, the other we used garlic butter and sprinkled with sea salt. Both were excellent!






  14. can I use something else other than honey?

  15. I’m think of making two batches. Can I just double the recipe or should I make the rolls two separate times?

  16. Can I make bread instead of rolls

  17. These really only took an hour and looked just like the picture! They are those soft dinner rolls, delicious!






  18. Made these for our Thanksgiving dinner and they were perfect. Light and fluffy with a hint of sweetness.






  19. I made these for Thanksgiving – they were so easy to make and turned out delicious! Thank you!






  20. Made these for thanksgiving. Came out looking great, except they lacked in flavor and tasted very yeasty. Was very disappointed. Won’t make these again, bummed.

    • I added one teaspoon of garlic powder and 2 teaspoons of Rosemary and these were fantastic with lot’s of flavor.

  21. SOO GOOD. made these for thanksgiving and they were an absolute hit!






  22. Just made them this evening and they were fantastic. My grandson loved them and asked me to save the recipe.






  23. I made these to have with left overs. The recipe is so delicious for yeast rolls and easy. A keeper recipe.






  24. Excellent rolls! So easy to make although it took me a bit more than a hour. Rolls can be heated up in foil for several day and are lovely warm out of the oven. This was the hit of our Thanksgiving meal! Thank you!

  25. I’m no longer intimidated by home made rolls. My Mom always makes but her recipe is time consuming. I added to my Thanksgiving menu and was finally able to put my dough hook to use. Thankfully the ingredients are pretty much always on hand but I made these in no time at all on Wednesday so it was one less to-do on Thanksgiving day. They store great for those who inquired per previous comments. And they were gone by the next day! Next time I would love to infuse herbs as you suggested but a great and easy to follow recipe, as all of your recipes are.






  26. It is official Ali, you are my new BFF! These were the best rolls I have ever made and me and bread go way back girlfriend! And, I cut the recipe in half because I was low on flour and it was raining, lol. What a great and easy roll. This is a forever recipe. Thanks again






  27. Made these for Thanksgiving and they turned out amazing everyone loved them! I kept some in the freezer and they hold up really well. I let them cool down for a few hours before I out them in the freezer. Great recipe!






  28. My daughter is allergic to gluten. Has anyone ever use gluten free flour?

  29. Made these and they were great. Thanks.






  30. I used a level tablespoon of bulk dry yeast. I’m going to try 1/2 tablespoon next time. Although the rolls came out beautifully they tasted yeasty

  31. I wanted to love these rolls but they fell short of my expectations after reading so many great reviews. While they came out very pretty, the taste was nothing special and they weren’t light and fluffy, a little dense. It may have nothing to do with the recipe, but my novice skills working with dough. I will try again using a little more sweetener. Any suggestions on the texture?






    • So.Darned.Fluffy!!!!!
      I usually make loaf bread, and have my go to recipe for that, but tonight wanted something different. Found this recipe and man!! It is definitely a keeper!!!
      Only had 2% milk, and my scale was broken, so hand measured (what’s that? lol) my flour….ended up adding a bit more, but not much more than 4 cups in total. May have had a bit more liquid, hence the necessity for more flour, buuuuut…..
      Still the best, fluffiest, lightest tasting buns I have ever made!

  32. I would like to use bread flour because that is what I have, do you think i will make any difference.

  33. love, love, would like to try condensed milk for sweetness and bread flour. Also I like to bake at night, is there a problem with not baking until 1 or 2 days later.

  34. Really good. Great instructions. I copied it to my personal recipes. I love that it uses honey as the yeast food.






  35. I baked this as a last minute addition to our thanksgiving dinner this year. I’ve used a couple other great recipes from your site so I knew it would be great. Well, talk about an easy, quick, and yummy addition. It’s two weeks later and my kids beg me weekly to make again, hence why I’m back! Thanks for this great recipe.






  36. Turned out Great I’ll definitely make again






  37. Not sure what happened lol..but nothing light and fluffy at all






  38. Did you use salted or unsalted butter??

  39. Simple and delicious! I only had instant yeast and it worked beautifully!






  40. Seemed like cooking times justipoxed, are relative. Have everything measured out, and it’s a great recipe. Definitely add ingredients.






  41. Made these for Thanksgiving and again today – turned out great! Husband said best rolls he’s had ?






  42. Yummy and Easy! Thanks for the recipe and tips!!

  43. One place in recipe says 12 rolls, another says 15. Which is it?

  44. Yummy turned out great?

  45. Love the flexibility of this recipe, have used it for cinnamon rolls and even pepperoni rolls with extra cheese and garlic. Easy, too!






  46. ? Wow! These turned out fabulous!!!! Timing was perfect! It’s a more savoury bun as opposed to a sweet one. Next time I’ll add a wee bit more honey ? to sweeten it up just a bit more. Thanks ?
    ??Merry Christmas 2020






  47. Turned out great and was great how quick they came together. Next time I’ll add a little more honey for sweeter ones. I also used almond milk as opposed to regular milk and alternative butter. Worked great.
    Thanks for sharing.






  48. This recipe is wonderful. I am new to baking bread and I have used this twice with perfect results! I followed it exactly w/o mixer. Appreciated the notes and tip to this recipe!!






  49. These were incredible. The results you can get in an hour are amazing. I’ve already forwarded this recipe to friends. Thanks for sharing!






  50. OMG!!!! THEY WERE AWESOME!!!! I did 1/4 cup 2% and 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream. They were sooooo fluffy!! Perfect. Thank you, this is a keeper!