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Square shot of easy homemade dinner rolls on a blue and white plate
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5 from 4 votes

Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls

Soft and fluffy homemade dinner rolls are the perfect addition to any meal!
Course bread
Cuisine American
Keyword dinner rolls, easy dinner rolls, homemade dinner rolls
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rising Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings 15 rolls
Calories 153kcal
Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

  • 1 (0.25 oz) package dry active yeast
  • ¼ cup lukewarm water
  • ¾ cup whole milk, scalded (see note below for how to scald milk)
  • ¼ cup shortening
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
  • 1-2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, stir together yeast and warm water. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, until foamy.
  • In a large mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment, combine scalded milk, shortening, sugar and salt. Stir to dissolve the ingredients in the warm milk. Cool the mixture to a lukewarm temperature.
  • Add the softened yeast mixture to the milk mixture. Add the egg and 1 cup of flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add remaining flour; beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (about 1-2 minutes). Continue mixing the dough for 2 more minutes (or knead by hand on the counter for 2 minutes).
  • Lightly grease a bowl with oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1-2 hours).
  • Punch down the dough. Divide the dough into 14-16 even pieces; shape into smooth balls. Arrange the dough balls in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
  • Cover the dish and let the dough rise again until puffy, about 1 hour.
  • Remove the cover and bake the rolls on the middle rack in a 350 degree F oven for 18-22 minutes. Brush the warm rolls with melted butter and serve!

Notes

Scalding milk is simply the process of heating milk to 180 degrees F. To scald the milk for this recipe, place the milk in a saucepan over low heat. Warm the milk until a skin forms on the top. As soon as the skin forms on top of the milk, remove the pan from the heat -- be careful not to let the milk boil.
  • Use a glass or ceramic baking dish. I find that metal pans, muffin tins and cast iron skillets cause the bottoms and sides of the rolls to burn more easily.
  • Bake in the center of the oven to prevent excessive browning on the top or bottom of your rolls. You likely will not need to do so, but you can cover the rolls loosely with foil if they start to get too dark on top before they're done baking.
  • Store yeast in the freezer. Even unopened packets of yeast with a good expiration date can go bad at room temperature, so I always keep the yeast in the freezer. Old yeast will impact the dough's ability to rise.
  • Rise in a warm spot. If your dough isn't rising, check the temperature of your kitchen. Ideally, you want to find a spot that's about 75-78 degrees F, but this doesn't have to be exact.
  • Properly measure the flour. Always spoon and level the flour -- do not scoop it out of the package. Incorrectly measuring the flour will result in dense, hard dinner rolls.

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 172mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 58IU | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg