Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my homemade dinner rolls hard? ›

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

You can also use all-purpose in many bun or roll recipes, which tend to have lower hydration and rely less on strong gluten and more on butter and sugar for texture. (Though bread flour can still give you a fluffier, almost cotton-candy-like texture in most buns and rolls.)

Avoid adding too much extra flour to the dough.

Your instinct might be to add extra flour; however, any extra flour will create a denser, tougher roll instead of the light, fluffy, soft dinner roll we want.

Egg wash: Either egg yolk (to aid in browning), egg white (to add shine), or whole egg wash (for both) can be brushed onto the surface of proofed rolls before baking. I mix the egg with a tablespoon or so of water to help it achieve a brushable consistency.

There's something magical about the bread you get at your local bakeries - they're always sooo soft and fluffy. Many of these breads, especially packaged ones, are made with a ton of chemical additives such as calcium propionate, amylase, and chlorine dioxide which help keep them soft, light, and fluffy for days.

Allowing the dough to rise twice can also contribute to a lighter and fluffier texture. After the initial rise, punch down the dough and shape it into a loaf. Then, let it rise again for about an hour before baking. This second rise allows the yeast to do its job and produces a lighter, airier bread.

Yeast feed on sugar and it's the gasses produced by yeast that causes the dough to expand and “rise”. More accurately stated though, it's the yeast that has the effect but it's a symbiotic relationship. Too little sugar will impede the rise by not having sufficient nutrient for the yeast.

How much yeast do I need for 2 cups of flour? ›

For each cup of flour (125 g), that is 1.5 g of instant yeast, or 1/2 teaspoon. For salt, I add 2% of the flour weight or 2.5 g per cup or about 0.4 teaspoons of table salt if all else is unsalted.

Depending on the recipe and rising time, you may use as little as 1 teaspoon, or up to 2 1/4 teaspoons (sometimes more) of instant yeast per pound (about 4 cups) of flour.

Yes, milk will make your dough quite a bit softer. Also, if you use water to make your dough, you can do a long ferment with a small amount of yeast, but if you use milk, you probably wouldn't want to do that because the milk would sour. Try using both milk and water, in different combinations and see what you think.

For baking light and fluffy bread, it is necessary to choose flour that has high levels of protein. If you choose to use flour with lower protein levels, you'll be left with the bread being dense.

Over-kneaded dough will be tough and dense, and it will not have the soft and springy texture that properly kneaded dough has. The dough does not rise well. Over-kneaded dough may not rise as well as it should, resulting in a loaf of bread that is dense and heavy.

Over kneaded dough causes the dough to warm up too quickly and therefore ferment too quickly, or even over ferment, which will produce dinner rolls lacking in flavor. It also over develops the gluten which will produce tough dinner rolls with a tough exterior and dense, dry interior.