Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my dinner rolls not light and fluffy? ›

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.

A sweet, tropical take on the dinner roll

According to Baked By an Introvert, the secret to the flavor of authentic Hawaiian rolls lie in some sweet add-ins. These rolls use a combo of vanilla extract, honey, and pineapple juice to imbue the distinct flavor that sets these rolls apart from their European cousin.

Too much flour makes dough too stiff to rise properly, creating a dry texture. A range of flour is always given in yeast bread recipes because flours vary in moisture content, reacting in different ways depending on the time of year, weather conditions, etc.

Use fresh herbs. Brush melted butter onto your dinner rolls and add your choice of fresh herbs—I like fresh thyme leaves. Bake until the herbs and rolls are toasted, then sprinkle on some flaky sea salt. Now you have herby rolls that pair wonderfully with that holiday lasagna.

The secret to soft, light rolls, if you're looking for something like a dinner roll, is an enriched dough that contains butter or other dairy, eggs, or both. If you want something more bread-like, you want a high hydration dough that's been properly kneaded and given at least two bulk fermentations before shaping.

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

Texas Size rolls are 50% larger than our Dinner Rolls. The only difference is the roll size.

At their core, they're sweet, fluffy dinner rolls, like the love child of a chiffon cake and a Martin's potato roll. And they're an all-but-ubiquitous supermarket staple these days, not just in Hawaii but across the continental US.

But sometimes, only the squishy sweetness of a King's Hawaiian roll will do. The appeal comes from the balance of texture and flavor: The sweetness delicately offsets any salty sandwich fillings, like ham and cheese, while its fluff envelops those fillings into itself and is just fun to bite.

Brush with melted butter.

Before warming the store-bought rolls in the oven, brush them generously with melted butter. As the rolls warm, they'll soak some of that luscious flavor, making them extra moist and tender.

Why are my homemade dinner rolls dense? ›

Rolls that are not light and fluffy can be the result of using too much flour (not measuring the flour correctly, as we mention above), or not using the type of flour your recipe calls for. Another reason for dense tough rolls is overmixing, which will produce too much gluten.

Try using a lower rack position if your baked goods are not cooked or brown on the bottom.

Butter basting: Rolls can be brushed with butter before, during, or after baking. While it doesn't brown the surface as much as egg wash will, it does promote browning and adds a lot of flavor.

Salt adds flavor to bread. If none or too little is used in a recipe, the bread will lack the right flavor and taste "bland." If you reduce the amount of salt, try adding some dried herbs to increase the flavor. Too much yeast in bread will give bread an off-taste.

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

Rolls that are not light and fluffy can be the result of using too much flour (not measuring the flour correctly, as we mention above), or not using the type of flour your recipe calls for. Another reason for dense tough rolls is overmixing, which will produce too much gluten.

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.