the very best dinner rolls recipe + video tutorial (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.

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.

Too much flour makes yeast dough too stiff to rise correctly. Be careful measuring flour. When flour is "scooped" into the measuring cup directly from the container, it compresses or becomes packed. This means you will be adding more flour than called for in the recipe.

Add Milk

To make your bread soft and fluffy, another trick used by commercial bakers is replacing water with milk. Milk has fats which make bread softer. We at Old Bridge Bakery, carrying years of tradition of bread making, provide authentic and delicious loaves of bread in different flavours. Come and enjoy!

Well it's simple, bread flour has an increased amount of protein or more gluten which results in a lighter, fluffier dough which produces a less dense finished product. All-purpose flour can be used for bread but bread flour is always better if your goal is a “fluffier” bread.

For most uniformly shaped pull-apart rolls, bake them in a round or rectangular pan. For non-pull-apart perfect spheres, bake rolls free-form. Though in the end, how much difference does it really make – so long as there are hot rolls, brushed with butter, on the table when dinner is ready?

It's a common mistake, especially for newer bakers. When there's too much flour and not enough liquid, the whole rising process is thrown off. The dryness of the dough will prevent the yeast or another rising agent from activating properly, leading to a stunted rise (or it may not rise at all).

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape.

The Los Angeles Times notes that butter can still be used as a "wash," but it yields different results than egg: Instead of imparting color or crispness, it offers a more luxurious flavor and softness.

In baking, many recipes call for an egg wash to be brushed on the baked goods before it goes into the oven. The purpose of this is to give the final product a golden brown color that is slightly shiny. Egg washes can make the final product look more professional, a bit crispier, or act as a binder."

Should I use parchment paper for dinner rolls? ›

I suggest using parchment paper to line the baking dish to ensure that the rolls are easy to remove from the pan to serve. Once the homemade dinner rolls are formed and placed in the baking sheet, let them rise again until they are doubled in size (30-60 minutes).

Active Dry Yeast is an ideal yeast to use for artisan breads or no knead breads that require a slower rise time. It's also the preferred type of yeast for those doughs that proof in the refrigerator for extended periods of time.

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

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.)

Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough.

“The first thing that springs to mind,” Bertinet says, “is that your dough is probably too cold.” Or, put another way, the water you're using isn't warm enough. “It's vital you give the yeast a helping hand, otherwise it'll just slumber lazily,” he says, adding that your water/ flour/salt/yeast ratio is also crucial.