The Ultimate Dinner Rolls

4.65 from 14 votes
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Ultimate homemade dinner rolls - best easy recipe that yields super soft, sweet and fluffy dinner rolls. It's fail proof and novice baker friendly.

Dinner rolls in a baking tray.
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Homemade Dinner Rolls

As much as we love buying store-bought dinner rolls, nothing tastes close to homemade dinner rolls that are fresh-off-the-oven.

The warm rolls in your hand, the sweet aroma that lingers in the kitchen, and the softness of the rolls sinking in your teeth. This is the best ever and easy dinner rolls recipe!

Quick dinner rolls on baking tray.

How To Make Dinner Rolls

Soft, fluffy and sweet dinner rolls buns.

I am going to teach you how to bake Japanese-style dinner rolls. The special technique using a “roux” yields super soft, sweet, light and fluffy dinner rolls.

If you have been to Japanese bakery stores or Japan, you know that they really have the best breads and baked goods in the world.


Japanese Roux Technique

A dinner roll on a serving tray.

This is the technique used in this recipe. It’s basically the creation of a “bread starter” by cooking the flour, milk and water mixture first, before adding the roux to the dough.

The roux increases the moisture absorption of the typical dough and hence produces soft and fluffy dinner rolls. It also helps to preserve the bread, without the use of any preservatives.

You can keep the bread at room temperature for up to two days without getting bad. The technique is pretty much fool proof and very easy to follow. It’s novice baker friendly.


Frequently Asked Questions

Can I freeze the rolls?

Yes. You can freeze them in a resealable plastic bag for up to a month.

How do I reheat the rolls?

You can reheat the frozen rolls using thawing them at room temperature, then reheat in a toaster oven. As soon as they become and soft, they are ready to serve.

How many calories per serving?

Each roll is only 150 calories with 32 gram carbs.

Top down shot of golden dinner rolls in a baking pan.

What To Serve With Dinner Rolls

Spreading butter on a super soft homemade dinner roll.

For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

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4.65 from 14 votes

The Ultimate Dinner Rolls

The Ultimate Dinner Rolls – this is the BEST homemade recipe that yields cotton soft, milky, rich and sweet rolls that you can't stop eating. Fail proof and novice baker friendly.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 9 rolls
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Ingredients  

Roux

  • 3 tablespoons whole milk
  • 3 tablespooons water
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

Dough

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoon dry milk powder, for baking
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions 

  • Prepare the Roux or bread starter by mixing the milk, water, and all-purpose flour until smooth. Cook over low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens slightly but isn't pasty. Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Fit a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the roux and all the Dough ingredients together, mixing on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
  • Increase the speed to medium-low and knead for another 5-6 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic, and soft. If kneading by hand, it will take about 15-20 minutes.
  • Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 90 minutes, or until puffy. Divide the dough into 9 portions, shape each portion into a ball, and place them in a greased 9-inch (23 cm) baking pan. Cover the rolls and let them rise again for 50 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Brush the surface of the rolls with milk and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Notes

Adapted from Woman Scribbles.

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll, Calories: 150kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 284mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Rasa Malaysia

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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48 Comments

  1. Bev says:

    Where does the dry milk powder fit in many thanks Bev x

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      The milk powder is part of the dough ingredients.

  2. Susan says:

    Hi I am confused about the dry milk powder. Is it instant dry milk or a specialty dry milk powder? Thank you.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Dry milk powder for baking. For example Baker’s Special Dry Milk.

  3. Elaine says:

    Hi, I really love your recipes and site – thank you!! For this recipe, can I substitute powdered buttermilk for dry milk powder? Thanks in advance.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Elaine, I don’t think they are the same. You have to get dry milk powder for baking.

  4. Su Hani says:

    Hiii. Love all your recipes. Was wondering if I can substitute oat flour with the all purpose flour

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      I think it should be ok. Thanks for your support. :)

  5. Karen says:

    Regular flour or bread flour? In the instructions you say bread flour.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      All purpose flour. A typo. Fixed.

  6. Julian says:

    In your nutrition table, it’s 512 cal per serving. How many per serving?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Julian, the information is in the recipe section. It makes 9 buns, serves 4 people, about 2 per person.

  7. Liz says:

    I absolutely love your recipes but I really wish they were printer friendly as I prefer to file them (not watch a video,) this way I have them on hand all the time when required. Thankyou

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Liz, the recipes are printer friendly. Just click on the printer icon button to print. It only prints the recipe and no pictures.

  8. Faye says:

    I have extreme difficulty finding the recipes on your email. I search for the recipe link, but nowhere I can find the recipe. Please provide a direct link for ease of access to recipes. And you.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      The email you receive doesn’t have recipe, you come here and the recipe is at the bottom, just scroll down, it’s before comments.

      1. Margaret Dunn says:

        I also often find it extremely confusing to find the actual recipes. So many different links, ads, etc. :(

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          The recipe is at the bottom of the page, do you scroll down?

  9. Christine says:

    Hi Bee
    Just to confirm the instant yeast 1 tablespoon for the dough side? Thanks

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Christine, yes, it’s 1 tablespoon!

  10. Adele Aiken says:

    5 stars
    these look really nice. Can you make the rolls and freeze after shaping into balls??

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Adele, I am not sure if you freeze the dough and then bake and have the same results. I didn’t try, so I don’t know for sure. But you can freeze the rolls after baking and just heat up in a toaster before serving.