If there’s one thing better than store-bought yeast rolls, it’s homemade yeast rolls, boos. They’re golden on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, and they turn out perfect – Every. Single. Time. Just make sure you’ve got enough butter… and at least 3-4 rolls per person. Trust me, these Southern yeast rolls get people fightin’ over who gets the last one!
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I can’t live without yeast dinner rolls, y’all. They’re basically a non-negotiable at my table. My Big Mama made the best yeast rolls ever (I’m talking legendary), and I’ve been chasing that flavor ever since.
This yeast roll recipe right here comes pretty close! Even though this one’s a bit easier than most out there, it’s not exactly for first-timers. But if you’ve got a little kitchen experience and have never tried your hand at yeast dinner rolls before, this is the perfect place to start. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll feel like a bread-baking rockstar!
The Lowdown on These Yeast Rolls
Cuisine Inspiration: Southern
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Buttery and slightly sweet with a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture
Skill Level: Intermediate
Simple Ingredients, Big Payoff
You don’t need anything fancy for these rolls, just the basics like flour, sugar, butter, yeast and eggs. The kinda stuff you already have in your pantry.
Perfect Rise Every Time
No guesswork here. As long as you follow the steps, these Southern yeast rolls puff up like a cloud.
Versatile Sidekick
These rolls go with just about everything. From holiday dinners to simple weeknight meals, they fit right in. And honestly? They even make a great snack on their own!
Ingredients you’ll need to make Yeast Rolls
- Active Dry Yeast: This is what’s gonna give our rolls that perfect rise. No yeast, no rolls!
- Granulated Sugar: A little sweetness to help the yeast along and give the rolls that slightly sweet flavor.
- Milk: Adds richness and keeps the rolls nice and tender.
- Unsalted Butter: We’re cutting this into the dough for that buttery goodness.
- Eggs: These give structure and richness to the dough. Plus, we’re using that egg wash to make the yeast rolls shiny and beautiful.
- Bread or All-Purpose Flour: Bread flour gives you a chewier texture, but all-purpose works just fine, too. Don’t stress over which one you have, boo!
- Kosher Salt: Balances out all the flavors.
- Melted Butter: This is for brushing on top after baking. Don’t skip it, it’s the finishing touch!
How to make Yeast Rolls
What to serve with homemade yeast rolls
- Cozy with Stews: These rolls are perfect for sopping up something hearty like a beef stew. Try it with a rich beef stew, a creamy oyster stew, or a catfish stew.
- Pot Roast Perfection: Nothing pairs better with tender pot roast than a fresh yeast roll to soak up all those savory juices. Go with a classic pot roast, an Italian pot roast, or a Dutch oven pot roast.
- Casserole Comfort: Yeast rolls are the perfect partner to classic casseroles. Serve them alongside a breakfast casserole, lemon chicken and rice casserole, or a Southwestern chicken casserole.
- Soup’s On: These rolls were made for dunkin’! Pair them with a creamy carrot ginger soup, a hearty white lasagna soup, or a homemade tomato soup.
Recipe Substitutions
- Milk: Whole milk works best, but you can sub in 2% if that’s what you’ve got. Just avoid anything too watery like skim.
- Flour: Swap out the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Be sure it’s one that’s made for yeast-based recipes!
- Butter: If you’re out of unsalted butter, use salted butter but dial back the kosher salt.
- Eggs: Wanna make this easy yeast rolls recipe but can’t have eggs? Flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons water) can be used in the dough.
Recipe Variations and Additions
- Cheesy Rolls: Mix in a handful of shredded cheddar or parmesan into the dough for cheesy goodness. You can even sprinkle some on top during the last few minutes of baking for a golden!
- Herb-Infused: Add a tablespoon of fresh chopped rosemary or thyme into the dough.
- Sweet Roll Option: Toss in a tablespoon or two of cinnamon and a touch more sugar into the dough. Then, drizzle the finished rolls with a little honey or powdered sugar glaze.
- Whole Wheat Option: If you’re feeling healthy-ish (good for you, boo!), swap half the flour for whole wheat flour.
Expert Tips and Tricks for making the best easy yeast rolls recipe
- Check Your Yeast: Make sure your yeast hasn’t expired before you start. If it doesn’t foam up when proofed, toss it and grab a fresh packet!
- Cover the Dough: When you’re rolling out the dough, cover the pieces you haven’t rolled yet with a clean kitchen towel. This keeps them from drying out.
- Don’t Rush the Rise: Give your dough time to rise, y’all! If the spot where you placed your dough isn’t warm enough, it may need a little extra time to double in size.
- Keep an Eye on Your Rolls: Every oven’s a lil’ different, so start checking your rolls a couple minutes early. If they start to brown too fast, cover them loosely with foil.
How to store & reheat Yeast Rolls
If you somehow don’t eat ’em all right away (seriously, how?), store your homemade yeast rolls in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also wrap them in foil or plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge.
To reheat them from the fridge, pop your rolls in a 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes, or if you’re in a rush, zap them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
How long will Yeast Rolls last?
These rolls will stay fresh for about 2 days at room temp, but you can stretch that to about 5 days if you store them in the fridge.
Can I freeze Southern yeast rolls?
Yes, you can freeze these rolls! Once they’ve cooled completely, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe bag. They’ll stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
Yeah! To make ahead of time, follow steps 1-10, then once all your rolls are in the pan, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove the pan from the fridge and let the dough come to room temperature for 20-30 minutes. If they haven’t doubled in size yet, let them hang out in a warm spot for another 30 minutes or so. Then, pick up where you left off at step 12.
You sure can boo! Once you’ve shaped the dough into rolls (step 10), place them on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. When ready to bake, thaw the dough in the fridge, then at room temp. If they haven’t risen in about 2 hours, place them in a warm, steamy spot (like near a bowl of hot water in your oven) to speed up the process.
It’s usually because your yeast was dead or the dough wasn’t in a warm enough spot. I have tips on how to tackle both scenarios above!
Who needs the main course when these Yeast Rolls are on the table? Trust me, boo, if you give them a try, you’ll be known as the “roll” model of baking. So tie on that apron, crank up the oven, and let’s get those rolls rising!
More Dinner Roll Recipes
- Cheddar and Rosemary Dinner Rolls
- Potato Rolls
- Honey Butter Dinner Rolls
- Garlic Cheese Stuffed Rolls
- Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls Recipe (Sweet Rolls!)
Southern Yeast Rolls
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast 2 packets
- ½ cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon
- 1 ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter cut into large pieces (cut a stick of butter into tablespoons, then cut eat tablespoon in half or quarters)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk egg white reserved
- 4 ½ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, up to 5 cups
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, for brushing
Instructions
- In a small, heat resistant bowl, combine yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside.
- In a small 1 or 2-quart saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium low heat until hot and it reaches 110F, about 5-6 minutes. Do not boil. (It’s okay if all the butter isn’t completely melted.) Remove from heat.
- Pour ¼ cup of the milk mixture over the yeast and gently whisk together. Let sit for 10 minutes until the yeast mixture is foamy, bubbly on top and has doubled in size. (If your yeast doesn’t do this, it is dead. Purchase new yeast and redo steps 1-2.)
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together eggs and egg yolk and ½ cup of sugar.
- Whisk milk mixture into egg mixture in bowl. Add 3 cups of flour and salt, turn on a stand mixer and mix on low for 30 seconds until a limp dough begins to form.
- Add the yeast to the soft dough along with an additional 1 ½ cup of flour. Mix on low until most of the flour is absorbed, about 90 seconds. If the dough looks super sticky, add more flour, up to an additional ½ cup, ¼ cup at a time.
- Mix on low again until final flour is absorbed then increase speed to 6 for 7-8 minutes. Dough should have a sheen to it as well as be fairly smooth. Most of the dough should crawl up the dough hook and sides of the bowl should be mostly clean. To know your dough is well-mixed, take a small piece of dough and gently stretch it with your fingers. The dough should be able to stretch a couple of inches and in the middle the dough should appear very thin, where you can almost see through it without breaking. If the dough breaks, continue to mix it on speed 2 for a couple minutes until the dough passes this test.
- When your dough passes the windowpane test, flour your hands and gently flour your countertop and move the dough onto the countertop. Gently knead the dough four or five times, then place it into a lightly greased bowl. Place a clean kitchen towel over the bowl and place it in a warm spot for the dough to rise for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.
- When the dough has doubled, prepare a 13×9 pan by spraying bottom and sides with nonstick baking spray.
- Take the towel off the bowl. Gently pull the dough from the sides of the bowl and fold it into the middle of the dough. Think of it as pulling a corner of the dough from the side of the bowl and punching it down towards the center to release the air. Do this for all four corners until it is shaped back into a circle.
- Lightly flour your countertop and remove the dough from the bowl. Stretch and roll it into a 24-inch long log. Evenly divide the log into 24 2-ounce pieces (they should each weigh 2 ounces).
- Take each piece of dough and gather the four corners together at the bottom, creating a smooth ball on top, with the four corners at the bottom and pinch. Remove any excess flour from the countertop, then make a backwards C-shape with your right hand (or proper C with your left), roll the dough with the pinched side down, creating a smooth, taught ball. Place it in the prepared pan and continue with the remaining pieces of dough until you have 24 rolls placed 6 rows by 4 columns. Cover the pieces of dough you have not yet rolled with a clean kitchen towel so they don’t dry out.
- When all your rolls are placed in the pan, cover with a clean kitchen towel and return to the warm spot. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
- With about 10 minutes remaining, take egg wash out of the fridge, preheat your oven to 375°F. Place the oven rack in the middle position.
- Uncover the rolls and gently brush with reserved egg white. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown and an inserted digital thermometer reads 190F, about 20-24 minutes. You can start checking the rolls at the 20 minute mark to see how brown they are based on your oven.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Brush with the melted butter. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Check Your Yeast: Make sure your yeast hasn’t expired before you start. If it doesn’t foam up when proofed, toss it and grab a fresh packet!
- Cover the Dough: When you’re rolling out the dough, cover the pieces you haven’t rolled yet with a clean kitchen towel. This keeps them from drying out.
- Don’t Rush the Rise: Give your dough time to rise, y’all! If the spot where you placed your dough isn’t warm enough, it may need a little extra time to double in size.
- Keep an Eye on Your Rolls: Every oven’s a lil’ different, so start checking your rolls a couple minutes early. If they start to brown too fast, cover them loosely with foil.
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Can you make ahead of time, like for Thanksgiving? and then freeze, and maybe take out on day of dinner to defrost?
Yep you can absolutely do this.
Can you use honey in place of the granulated sugar?
We didn’t test it this way but it shouldn’t be a problem.
Which flour do you use all purpose or bread flour?
You can use either! I use bread flour, but if you have all-purpose that will work!
anything southern is automaticallly a comforting reminder of my beloved grandmothers! thank you for sharing!
Absolutely I feel the same way.