Nothing beats the comforting aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through the kitchen. And when that bread is soft, pillowy dinner rolls made from the simplest ingredients, well—you’ve just unlocked a little slice of joy. Whether you’re pairing them with a steaming bowl of soup, a crisp salad, or just slathering them with butter or jam, these homemade dinner rolls are the perfect addition to any meal.

Why Make Your Own Dinner Rolls

Sure, store-bought rolls are convenient, but nothing compares to the taste and texture of freshly baked bread from your own kitchen. The beauty of this small-batch recipe? It’s easy, fuss-free, and ideal for small gatherings or quiet dinners at home. I wouldn’t argue that this takes more time than just grabbing a ready to eat bread from the grocery shelf, but it is worth making your own bread if you have time to spare. In the end, you do you. 🙂

I rarely buy bread from outside since I started making my own bread. Most of the time, I would just need a basic bread, it could be a plain loaf bread for slicing or a simple plain bread roll that is versatile for day to day meals. On some occasions, I expand and do more than just plain rolls, but today is about making a simple and easy Dinner Rolls, just that. A bit bigger than dinner rolls so it can also be used for slider burgers which I did.

This is a small batch portion, 6 single serving which is just perfect for a meal for 3 – 4 people. I made this just for myself and eat it for the entire week. Yes, I eat like a bird 🙂 You can certainly make a bigger portion and divide the dough into 3 instead of 6 or even 4 then you can use it as a burger bun. I leave that decision to your capable hands 🙂

This bread don’t use any butter, but instead oil. This makes the roll softer and fluffier and it last soft longer. It’s a simple roll to make. Let’s get started!

Tips for a Successful Soft Homemade Bread

• Check Yeast Expiry a Date – you might be wondering how come the bread did not rise when you followed exactly the recipe. Well, first thing first, make sure the yeast is not yet expired. 
• Liquid Temperature – Yeast grows in temperature between 110 – 115F, so it is important to have the water that you are using to “proof” it in this range. If you go lower or higher, the yeast might not proof properly. That means the bread will not rise as much, resulting to a flat and tough bread. If you do not have kitchen thermometer, microwave the water (from the faucet) about 15 – 20 seconds. Feel it with your fingers, it sound be lukewarm not hot. 
• Amount of Yeast – Just because you want a tall fully bread doesn’t mean you have to put as much yeast in the mixture. Sometimes if you add too much, it will have a tendency to collapse. Just imagine putting more air than what is needed in a balloon, the balloon will explode. The same case with bread. 
• Right Type of Yeast – We’ve discussed the 3 types of yeast above. Make sure to use the right one for your recipe, and make necessary adjustments if you want to swap one from another. 
• Flour Measurement is not exact all the time, but with only minimal difference. Sometimes it could be plus 2 – 4 tbsp more, this is why I always set aside about 1/4 cup in case I need to add more. If you measure the liquid properly, and still the dough turn out dry, then it could be that the flour moisture is either dryer than usual. Dry flour requires more liquid, and lighter flour requires less liquid. This could depend on the brand of the flour and the age of the flour, and of course flour could vary from country to country. The nearer the flour gets to expiry date, the more that it gets dryer. If you are like me who doesn’t monitor the expiry date, then you just have to feel the dough if it needs additional flour. You want it to be still soft and moist but not too sticky. Moist but enough to form the dough into a ball. My test is a bowl with clean side, while the dough still slightly stick at the bottom. This gives a soft dough.
• Rest Period – Yeast bread needs time to rise. There are bread that uses less yeast but requires more rest time, the likes of No Knead Bread or Artisan Bread which usually require 8- 16 hours rest period to get the volume and to develop the flavor. There are 1 hour bread like my Rosemary Dinner Rolls which used this same bread dough. Resting the dough is imperative to allow the gluten to relax and to allow the dough to rise. A well rested dough will rise better, will created pockets or air,  and will make a light and soft bread. Remember, 2 rest period. First at least 1 hour and another 1 hour for the second rest period. It’s worth the wait, promise.

Why is My Dough Too Wet or Too Dry?

Don’t get frustrated if your dough did not turn out immediately as what you see in the photo or video. Most likely It is not because you did not follow the recipe. When it comes to bread making, the amount of flour and liquid is not always 100% precise. This is way often times you will encounter recipes that says, if your dough is dry, add a bit more liquid. If your dough is too wet, add a little bit more flour. This instructions are not meant to confuse you, they are meant to guide you on how to adjust as you work through your dough. The reason for this is that although the measurement of water and flour are specified in the recipe, it still could slightly vary depending on many factors.

For instance, all-purpose flour could very from country to country, or even from brand to brand. Don’t be surprise if you find that some brand tends to require a bit more liquid as the others. On top of this, the amount of liquid is also affected by the state of your flour. How old is the flour that you are using? Older flour nearing expiry tends to be drier and this requires more liquid. Bread making requires patience, and practice. Once you learn how to feel the right texture of the dough, everything will be quick and easy. You can instantly tell if you need to add more water or flour to get the dough in right state.  

Bread Dough Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup full fat Milk (warm 110F)
• 1 1/4  teaspoon Active Dry Yeast 
• 3 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon granulated Sugar (Divided: 1/2 tsp for yeast, and 3 tbsp for the dry ingredients mixture)
• 1 tablespoon flavourless Oil (I used Vegetable)
• 1 large Egg – room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour ( + 2 tbsp on the side as needed)
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Bread Dough Instructions:

1. Activate Yeast: Microwave milk for 20- 25 seconds until lukewarm but NOT hot. Feel the milk to make sure it is not too hot as hot milk will kill the yeast and the bread will not rise properly.  Transfer milk in bowl of stand mixer (Refer to discussion above for other Methods of making this) and add 1/2 tsp of the granulated sugar and stir. Add the yeast and let rest for 10 minutes until mixture is foamy. If the mixture did not become foamy, either the yeast is old or the milk is too hot or cold. Redo it again as this is a very important step.
2. Add Wet Ingredients: Set mixer with paddle attachment and mix in remaining sugar (3 tbsp), beaten egg, and oil on low-speed, just to mix every thing together.
3. Add Dry Ingredients: Add salt and flour and mix on low-speed until combined, then switch to a dough hook attachment. Allow mixture to knead on medium-low speed until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed, about 8 minutes. If the dough is too sticky add 1 tbsp of flour at a time until the dough starts to form, dough should be slightly sticky, soft but not too dry. If too much flour is added, the roll will be dense and heavy. A good measure of correct texture is a clean mixing bowl.
4. First Rest Period:  Remove the dough and form into a ball. Transfer into a greased bowl (I used oil spray) and cover bowl with plastic wrap or warm towel and allow to rest for 60 minutes in a warm place.
   • TIP: To help the dough rise faster, pre-heat the oven to 110F then turn it off and put the covered dough inside.
5. Second Rest: Divide into 6 portions and roll into a disk about 3 – 4 inches. Cover and let rest in a warm place for another 60 minutes.
6. Pre-heat the oven to 350F on the last 15 minutes of the second rest.
7. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. For a shiny top, brush with egg wash ( 1 beaten egg + 1 tsp water).
8. Let cool completely.

Looking for more homemade bread recipes? I got you covered! I have here 10 of my favorite homemade bread recipes, all with VIDEO or MORE bread recipes HERE

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