Homemade Soft Dinner Rolls

There is something about the way that these dinner rolls smell when they are baking or fresh out of the oven that will stop you in your tracks. These rolls are amazing to break out for a special occasion when you have family in town or are hosting a dinner party.

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Homemade Soft Dinner Rolls

There is something about the way that these dinner rolls smell when they are baking or fresh out of the oven that will stop you in your tracks. These rolls are amazing to break out for a special occasion when you have family in town or are hosting a dinner party.

Ingredients

• 5 cups flour ((all-purpose))
• 2 tbsp instant yeast
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated white sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1.5 cups whole milk, (heated to 105F)
• 6 tbsp softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 2 tbsp poppy seeds

Instructions 

• Heat the whole milk in the microwave (slowly) to 105F.  You don’t want the milk to be too hot, otherwise it will kill the yeast.
• Add your instant yeast and stir to combine, let rest for 3 minutes.
• Combine 3 cups of flour with the yeast and milk, add the sugar and salt, and add the 6 tbsp softened butter in a mixer bowl. 
• Stir together well.
• Using the dough hook on your stand mixer, mix for roughly 4 minutes on low to medium speed and continually scrape down sides of mixer bowl.
• Incorporate another cup of flour and continue to mix for another 3 minutes
• Add and incorporate the final cup of flour and mix until a soft dough ball has formed, where the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl easily.
• Place dough ball in oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap for 40 minutes, or until dough has risen by roughly 50%.
• Place dough on cutting board and pat down gently into a semi-rectangular shape.
• Cut the dough into 24 uniform pieces, rolling each piece of dough into a ball on the counter in a circular fashion.
• Place the 24 dough balls on a greased 9X13” casserole pan or on a greased half sheet tray and cover with plastic wrap.
• Allow the dough balls to rise again for 30 minutes at room temperature, and then remove plastic wrap and bake in 375F oven for 14-16 minutes, until the tops are a lovely golden brown.
• When you remove the rolls from the oven, quickly brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle the poppy seeds onto the butter-coated tops of the buns.
• As soon as they are cool enough to tough, you can serve them right away!

Notes

These dinner rolls will store well for up to three days in a plastic bag. If you don’t have a stand-mixer at home, you can easily make these by just kneading the dough by hand. It will just take more elbow grease. Some people prefer to knead dough by hand anyways!
One of my favorite things to do with these rolls is to use them as miniature buns for egg & cheese sandwiches, or as buns for mini-sliders! They are also amazing when toasted to golden-brown on the griddle and served with butter & jam.