The Best Homemade Rolls Recipe

Step 1

Dissolve the two packages of yeast in 1/4 cup warm water and set aside.

Step 2

In a large bowl, soften one stick of salted butter.

Step 3

To the butter add:½ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup of warm milk, 1 cup of cold water, 2 beaten eggs, yeast mix, and 3 ½ cups of flour

Step 4

Use a hand mixer to blend all of the ingredients together until there are no lumps and it is sticky and smooth. This step takes the place of lengthy kneading of the dough as it helps create a springy and stretchy dough. This is super important.

Step 5

Now, start adding the rest of the flour. I like to add a cup at a time, until I’ve reached 6 ½ cups total. (There’s 3 ½ cups in stretchy mix and you add 3 more by hand) Stir in the flour with a heavy wooden spoon.

Step 6

Add more flour, ½ cup at a time. You want your dough to be able to form a ball and not be too sticky. However, you don’t want to add too much flour. So, add just enough that your dough can be formed into a ball that is smooth and elastic. It’s okay if it’s a little sticky.

Step 7

Dump this dough onto a clean surface. Knead it a little with your hands until it forms a real ball. You can use a little more flour if needed.

Step 8

Wash out your big bowl and dry it. Add about 2 Tablespoons of light oil

Step 9

Wash out your big bowl and dry it. Add about 2 Tablespoons of light oil

Step 10

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place somewhere out of any cold drafts. You don’t have to put it in a warm place but you don’t want an air conditioner vent or fan blowing on it.

Step 11

Let the dough sit for about an hour and a half, until it fills the bowl. It will be soft to touch and about double in size.

Step 12

Uncover the dough that is now all puffed up and soft. Use your hands to push down on it, until all the air is out and it is reduced in size and firm again.

Step 13

Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Divide the two pieces each into four pieces. That’s all the dividing I do. I eyeball everything else.

Step 14

I like to make two different shapes of dinner rolls. This recipe makes about two dozen rolls. I use a muffin pan to make 12 cloverleaf rolls and a 9-inch square cake pan to make about 16 to 20 pull-apart rolls. But you can make yours all the same either way.

Step 15

The important thing is not to get exactly 24 rolls. The important thing is that all your rolls are uniform in size. All the clover leafs are the same size and all the pull-aparts are the same size. Or as close as you can get.

Step 16

Assemble a little work area. Melt the remaining stick of butter in a bowl. Get out the pans you are going to use. I like to work on a cookie pan because melted butter can get a little messy. You want to have everything ready to go, because your hands will be messy.

Step 17

I like to do the clover leaf rolls first.  Plan on one half the dough for this pan. You might need a little more and that’s okay. I’d rather have a full pan of clover leaf, so that’s what I always make first.

Step 18

You have 12 spaces for muffins and each space will hold three balls of dough. You will be making 36 balls of dough that are about 1 ½ inches in diameter.

Step 19

Pull a piece of dough and break it off. Form it into a ball by stretching it a bit and tucking the sides underneath. Dip it into the melted butter and place in muffin tin.

Step 20

Do this procedure 35 more times until the muffin tin is full.

Step 21

Now, to make the pull apart rolls. When I made this recipe, I ended up with 16 rolls in the second pan.

Step 22

I make these dough balls a little bigger, more like two inches around. You form them the same way and dip in butter. Then space evenly in your square baking pan. Leave a little room between them.

Step 23

Cover both pans with plastic wrap and put them in a draft-free place to rise for 1 and ½ hours.

Step 24

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic wrap from rolls and put them in the oven when it is at the correct temperature.

Step 25

Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, until they are golden brown on top.

Step 26

Remove from oven and brush with remaining melted butter.

Step 27

Serve immediately and enjoy!