Holiday Dinner Rolls

Your go-to dinner roll recipe for holiday meals or anytime.

2 - 3 hours

Serves: 24-30

Hard

These dinner rolls are fairly easy to make and with only one rise, can be made fairly quickly and give a wonderful, yeasty flavor.

This is Grandma’s recipe for her dinner rolls that we had every Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was growing up. Although, they are just a side dish, they are a show stopper and they always went fast! Not sure I made them quite as well as she did, but they were still REALLY good! The eggs and butter really make them super fluffy and moist. And while they’re terrific right after they’re baked, they also hold up for several days being stored on the counter. In an air-tight container of course.

After talking with Grandma about a previous recipe where she mentioned a better way to handle the yeast and salt, I altered the process a bit. In her instructions below she suggests adding 2 Cups of flour, the yeast, sugar and salt all at once. Since salt can kill yeast, this could cause a problem. If you want to stick to this method, I would recommend adding the yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the other and then mixing all very well before proceeding. Another issue is the yeast isn’t proofed in the original technique. This is generally a good idea to make sure that the yeast is alive and happy before adding all ingredients and baking. Proofing the yeast is the first step below. Just to make sure your yeast is ready for the challenge.

When making bread that needs to be kneaded, I usually use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. With these dinner rolls, I found that when I got all of the flour in, it was more than my standard size mixer could handle. It’s a great tool to get everything mixed in. But, once you have everything added you’ll need to knead by hand. (Here’s an article about kneading dough in case it’s your first time: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/how-to-knead)

I strongly encourage you to give these rolls a try. Even if they aren’t perfect, they’re still going to be delicious. I can almost promise! If you try making these, please let me know what you think in the comments and share pictures with me on Instagram (@bdhbakes).

Steps:

Proof the Yeast
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) pour 2 cups of hot tap water over the 2 packets (or 4 1/2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast. And about a tablespoon or so of the sugar (out of the 1/2 cup). Set the rest of the sugar aside as we'll add that later. Whisk the water, yeast and sugar lightly to combine and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy and smells very yeasty.
Add Flour, Sugar and Salt
Now, add the first 2 cups of flour, the remainder of the sugar and the half teaspoon of salt. Mix with the dough hook (or a wooden spoon) until all ingredients are wet.
Add Butter and Eggs
Very important that the eggs and butter are room temperature for this step. First, cut the butter into tablespoon size chunks (roughly) and add to the bowl. Crack your eggs into a separate, small bowl and gently whisk to break up the yolks and then add to the dough. Mix the butter and eggs into the dough to fully incorporate.
Add Remaining Flour
We should now have four cups of flour. Add it to the dough one cup at a time, mixing in between each until just combined.
Knead
Now, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and kneed by hand (unless you have a large stand mixer - at this point it would no longer all fit in mine!). Kneed the dough for about 10 minutes or until you've achieved a nice, elastic dough. Look for window panes! (Here's an article about what I mean: https://www.thekitchn.com/bakers-techniques-how-to-do-th-70784)
Rise
After kneading, place the dough into a lightly oiled (or sprayed) bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rise until double. About 45 minutes to an hour. The time to rise could be much quicker or much longer though depending on your kitchen environment. Now's a good time to preheat the oven to 400º.
Turn Out, Punch Down, Divide
After your dough has doubled, turn it back out onto a lightly floured counter and punch it down a bit. Next, form the dough into a rough ball and divide it into evenly sized balls in whatever you amount you'd like to serve. Remember to keep the number to an amount that can be divided into equal rows. I've shown doing 15 rolls (three rows of five). I think Grandma probably did 24 or 30 and I recommend doing that.
Prep for Baking
Now take a 13" x 9" baking dish and prep it by lightly spraying with cooking spray OR buttering the bottom and sides (for extra buttery flavor!). Roll the divided portions of dough in your hands and distribute them evenly in the dish.
Bake the rolls
Pop the baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes for smaller rolls. If you do fewer, but larger rolls, you'll need to add about 5 more minutes to the baking time. Allow to completely cool after baking.