Buttery Dinner Rolls in the Bread Machine

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Delicious, soft and buttery dinner rolls that you can make in a bread machine with little to no effort. Make ahead for special occasions!
Servings: 24 rolls
Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

You can easily make these buttery dinner rolls in the bread machine and you’ll have perfect rolls every time! Great for family gatherings.

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Close up of buttery dinner rolls with title text overlay

Making dinner rolls from scratch is easier than you think! It’s made even easier when you have a bread maker. I have an older version of this Oster Bread Machine and use it all the time to make dough and bread.

Here is my favorite recipe for homemade dinner rolls. I’ve included steps to make this dinner roll recipe with a mixer as well.

How to make buttery dinner rolls in a bread machine

Add ingredients in the order listed to the bowl of a bread machine and use the dough cycle to make the dough. Each bread machine is slightly different, so be sure to look at your bread maker’s instructions for adding ingredients in the correct order.

Once the dough cycle is complete, turn the dinner roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface. I like to use this Silicone Pastry Mat to roll out the bread roll dough. It has nifty measurements and sizes for rolling out just about everything.

dinner roll dough turned out onto a floured surface to roll

Divide the dough into 24 equal parts and shape them into a ball. To get an almost perfect ball shape, make a circle with your thumb and index finger. Then push the dough through the circle to create a good ball shape, and then pinch the bottom to create a base.

dinner roll dough shaped into balls to rise

Place all 24 rolls into a glass baking dish, cover with a light towel, and let the dinner rolls rise in a warm area for 30-45 minutes. After rising, bake the rolls at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until the tops become golden brown. Immediately top with butter!

homemade dinner rolls fresh out of the oven with slightly browned tops

Can I make dinner rolls with a mixer instead?

If you don’t have a bread maker, you can still make these dinner rolls using a stand mixer with a dough hook. You’ll want to add the warm milk, sugar, and yeast to the mixing bowl first to let the yeast proof for about 5 minutes. It will get frothy. Then mix in the butter, eggs and salt until everything is combined.

Next, mix in the bread flour, and let the mixer do the work of getting it all mixed together. Keep mixing with the dough hook to knead the dough. The exact time for kneading with a dough hook will vary, but the dough should get very elastic.

Cover the mixer bowl and dinner roll dough with a towel and let it rise until it’s doubled in size. This will take roughly 1-2 hours depending on how warm your home is. Follow the recipe instructions the rest of the way for rolling, balling and baking.

homemade dinner rolls fresh out of the oven with slightly browned tops

How to freeze dinner roll dough for later:

If you want to freeze the dinner rolls prior to baking, follow these steps. After rolling the dough into balls, place them onto a cookie sheet to rise. Make sure to keep them separate enough so they do not touch after rising. Rise 30-45 minutes.

Once the dinner rolls have risen, place the cookie sheet, with dinner rolls, in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to partially freeze.

When the dough balls are partiay frozen, remove them from the cookie sheet and put them into a freezer bag. Place the bag back into the freezer to keep for up to 3 months.

When ready to bake the dinner rolls, place the balls of dough in a greased baking pan to thaw in a warm place. Once they have thawed, bake as normal.

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Buttery Dinner Rolls in the Bread Machine

Delicious, soft and buttery dinner rolls that you can make in a bread machine with little to no effort. Make ahead for special occasions!
Print Recipe
Prep Time:3 hours
Cook Time:15 minutes
Total Time:3 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm milk
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 package

Instructions

  • Add ingredients to bread machine in the order listed. Check your bread maker's instructions for the order of ingredients
  • Set the bread maker on the dough cycle
  • Once the dough cycle is complete, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface
  • Divide the dinner roll dough into 24 equal portions, and form each portion into a ball.
  • Place the shaped dough balls onto a greased 13×9 baking pan or two 8×8 baking pans
  • Let the dinner roll dough rise in a warm area for 30-45 minutes, until almost doubled in size.
  • Bake dinner rolls at 350 for 13-15 minutes until the tops turn slightly golden brown.
  • Rub the tops of each homemade dinner roll with butter while they are still warm.

Notes

To freeze for baking later:
After rolling into balls, place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet to rise. Make sure to keep them separate enough so they do not touch after rising. Rise 30-45 minutes, then place the cookie sheet with dough in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to partially freeze. When finished, remove the dough balls from the cookie sheet and place in a freezer bag. Put the freezer bag in the freezer to store for up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, place desired amount of dough balls in a greased baking pan to thaw in a warm place. Once thawed, bake as normal.
To make with a mixer:
Add the warm milk, sugar, and yeast to a mixing bowl first to let the yeast proof for about 5 minutes. It will get frothy. Then mix in the butter, eggs, and salt, and finally the dry ingredients. The exact time for kneading with a dough hook will vary, but the dough should get very elastic.
Let the dinner roll dough rise in the bowl for 1-2 hours until doubled. Punch the dough down and turn out onto a floured surface to roll. Follow the instructions above for rolling out and baking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Servings | Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 188mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g
Servings: 24 rolls
Calories: 137kcal
Author: Amanda

83 Comments

  1. Thus is a really good recipe. But, the instructions for the mixer omit letting it rise before shaping. I knew to do that, but I shared it with some novice bakers and they didn’t know. Thanks

  2. Holiday season is upon us and my wife said, “It’s time to get our dinner roll order in to Kn…rs.” I told her that we had a new bread machine and I was sure I could make the rolls needed. So I made this recipe. We will not be ordering our dinner rolls out this year. She was very pleased with the texture, taste, and look of the rolls produced from this recipe. The dough came out of the bread machine very soft, smooth, and just the right consistency. I found that each roll takes about 15 oz of the raw dough. I’m looking forward to trying some of the suggested modifications people have made with this dough. Thanks for the recipe.

    1. Just made them, and YES THEY CAN! I made these minus the 1/4 cup of sugar and added some salt, rosemary, parsley, and crushed garlic to make some garlic rolls and they were amazing.

  3. I have had this recipe in my collection for years. I’m not sure if it was obtained from this site, but if so, THANKS! I make these for family gatherings and they are always a hit. The last time I made them, some of the rolls from the centre of the baking dish were not properly cooked, so I intend to separate them this time.

    1. So glad to hear you enjoy this recipe, Joanne! As for the center being undercooked, I have had this issue a few times as well. I find that putting them in 2 smaller (9×9) pans helps. I can’t pinpoint exactly the cause, but this makes me think to update the post. Thanks for pointing that out!

  4. Hi- I’m am wondering if after frozen how long they would take to thaw prior to baking? I’m mapping out my thanksgiving timing.
    Thank you!

    1. I usually take them out the night before and let them defrost in the fridge overnight. Then in the morning I’ll put them in a warm spot to finish defrosting if needed. So 8-12 hours that way I would say.

  5. Can you keep the dough in the fridge overnight? I only want to make them a little bit in advance and don’t have the freezer space right now anyway! I’ve seen other recipes that say to wrap and refrigerate the whole dough ball after the first rise, then let come to room temp before dividing and letting rise. Any idea if that works as well?

  6. I ‘ve tried a few times, and this time I used this same recipe for cinnamon bun,after laying butter,cinnamon,sugar and raisin,,rolled ,cut and.finally left for proofing over one hour n baked..yummy.

  7. Hi, could I make this dinner rolls in to hamburger rolls? I know this may be a stupid question but sometimes recipes are better left for what it is.

    1. I don’t see why you couldn’t, but they would be a lighter, less dense hamburger bun. They also would be slightly sweeter than a typical hamburger bun.

  8. OMG!!! Amazing!! My husband lost his mind!! Sooooo good! Took some to his mother! I will definitely make these again!!

  9. These came out Perfectly in the bread machine! I just got a brand new machine and was looking for a new go-to and I need look no further thank you so much! The dough comes out soft and is so easy to work into balls. They rose fantastic and bake up perfectly as well. I am waiting on my first batch to come out of the oven and they smell HEAVENLY. My butter is standing by!
    Thanks for the great recipe! ❤️❤️

  10. I made these for Thanksgiving dinner last year. I’m not a good bread maker so I got canned crescent rolls as a back up. Didn’t need them. They came out perfectly. Wowed everyone. Today I wanted to make them for Sunday dinner but didn’t have time for both rises after church so I ran the dough cycle and rolled the dough into the rolls. Put them in a pan, covered it and put it in the fridge. They were in there for about 3 hours. When I took it out of the fridge they had risen a little. Finished the rise and baked them. Came out perfect! So good.

  11. I made these today and the recipe looks really good I messed it up somehow. I followed the directions and baked them for 15 plus an additional 3 minutes and they were still not golden brown and the insides were still doughy.

    1. Hi Maija! Thanks for your feedback. I’m sorry you experienced some trouble with baking times. It may have nothing at all to do with how you made the recipe, but perhaps a difference in ovens. I hope you give them another try, and just bake for slightly longer until they are golden on top 🙂

  12. I haven’t used my bread machine in years and decided to try this recipe. Oh My Lanta!! They were amazing! I literally dumped everything into the machine and hoped for the best! My family of 6 only left 4 rolls behind! These are scrumptious and will be making a regular appearance on my table! Thank you for sharing!

  13. These are so good. I’ve made them at least 5 times and the middle ones always turn out a bit gooey, which is exactly how I like them! I eat them plain and cold, warm with a little butter, and as a sandwich roll and I don’t know which way I like them best. Thanks for the great (and easy!) recipe.

  14. Hi there,
    So after you partially freeze the buns for 15 mins, can you put in the fridge or do you freeze them in the freezer? until you want to bake.

  15. Hi there,

    So I have partially froze the balls for 15 mins. when I put them in the freezer bag, do they go in the fridge until I bake them?

    Thanks,

    Renee

    1. Hello! You place them back in the freezer until you are ready to bake. The first 15-minute freeze is so that the balls will be partially frozen before placing in a freezer bag. Otherwise, the balls of dough will stick together and freeze like that. When ready to bake, place dough in a greased baking pan to thaw in a warm place. Once thawed, bake as normal.

    1. Hi Renee, the dough will be in the bread machine for as long as it takes your machine to run the dough cycle. My personal machine takes 2 hours 15 minutes.Your machine dough cycle could be longer or shorter, it will just depend on the machine. Whatever time it takes, plan to add an hour to it for rolling out, raising and baking the rolls. Hope this answers your question!

  16. I love this recipe. I go a step further and stuff the inside with shaved ham and diced cheddar cheese before baking. I call them ham and cheese puffs

  17. I dont think I’ve commented on this recipe but I will say it many times….these are the most delicious rolls I have ever made. I have made them many times (usually for a holiday) and they have always turned out the best!

    1. I had the same problem. I ended up adding over a cup of flour. I don’t know if it is because I am in a humid climate. A different method used for measuring flour, I use a scoop to sprinkle the flour into the measuring cup then level it off so it’s not packed. Or if it’s the flour itself, King Arthur flour is my go too but was only able to get gold medal this last shopping trip.

  18. We are in the Coronavirus era and I want to make cinnamon rolls. Has anyone tried that from this roll recipe? I’ve looked at various cinnamon roll recipes online but dont see any dough that looks as exceptional as this recipe. I know they would be absolutely delicious! I am going to give that a try and will let you know how they turn out.

    1. Hi Sharon! I have not personally tried that, but I would definitely be interested in hearing about it if you do. I wonder if the dough would be sweet enough.

    2. @Amanda,
      In reviewing comments on this recipe I see i have made several comments! I wanted to let you know that cinnamon rolls made from this dough are delicious.

  19. I don’t know what happened. I followed this recipe to the letter, yet I had to add SO MUCH FLOUR when they came out of the machine. The dough was more liquid than anything else. It was so disappointing. This is the most failure I’ve ever had trying a recipe. Most of my rolls I’m used to have more yeast and flour, but I decided to give this a shot. And I’m so sad they are turning out so poorly.

    1. Hi Ellee

      Sorry you had trouble with your rolls. I don’t think it’s an issue with the recipe itself as I’ve made these dozens of times with no problems as have others. I hope you give it another try!

    2. @Ellee, I had a similar issue. The dough was so gooey I could even roll in into balls without adding a ton of flour. I double checked all the ingredients to make sure I added the correct amount, and I did!

  20. I love this recipe so much. When I first made them, I accidentally used 1/3 cup of sugar. The rolls came out so well, that I keep the sugar amount the same. I love how they stay soft, even after a few days.

  21. Do I let the dough rise in the machine, then roll it out. And rise again. Or just let it rise after shaped into rolls?

    1. Hi Matt. Yes the dough should rise in the bread machine. Most bread machines dough cycles will include rising in the overall time on the cycle! If your machine doesn’t for some reason, I would let it rise for about 20-30 minutes before rolling out. Then let the dough balls rise again.

      1. Thank you for this recipe! I have made these 3 times already! I also halved the recipe and they turned out great. Best roll recipe I have tried.

  22. Absolutely delicious! Turned out perfect. I have been trying lots of different roll recipes but this is the only one I will use from now on. Thank you!!!!

  23. I have made this recipe multiple times, it is my new go to! I have made it with all bread flour (fantastic) and half bread, half whole wheat (not as light but still great). I use unsweetened almond milk in place of milk and use maple syrup, honey or molasses instead of sugar. I don’t think I do the full 1/4 cup of sweetener. All great! This recipe is exactly what I have been looking for. Thank you!

    1. Hi Catherine! I haven’t tried it myself, but I would be afraid of killing the yeast causing the rolls not to rise at all. If you try it out let me know how it goes!

  24. I found this recipe about 2 years ago while searching online. I’ve made them many times and they are a huge hit with my family. When they come out of the oven we can’t wait to eat them!

      1. Good to know!! I was just going to ask the same thing!! I’m trying them tonight for our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. I’ll let you know how they work out…… I’m using all purpose flour

      2. I made these for our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. They were delicious!!

        HOWEVER, I used all purpose flour and found the consistency on the verge of being a little doughy. They were cooked all the way, but still had that texture somewhat.

        Not sure what I did wrong? I’m wondering if Canadian AP flour is different than American AP flour? Should I have reduced the flour a little since it wasn’t bread flour?

        Thanks for sharing the recipe for these rolls!!

      3. @Sherri H,
        I hear the rolls can be doughy if they are slightly undercooked. I use an instant read pen style thermomometer, and you want 190°F at the centre of the pan. The edges will cook a bit more but will still be great, you will just avoid that doughy texture. Hope this helps!

  25. Made these for Christmas Day dinner. I was out of almost all my milk so I substituted with a mix of 1/4c real whole milk, 1/3c sour cream and made up the difference in almond milk. I also used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour. They were amazing. So soft. I’ve eaten about 6 so far today (oof!), can’t wait to eat them for breakfast tomorrow. Thank you for sharing!

  26. Just tried these rolls for my thanksgiving dinner. I practice ran it yesterday and they turned out so amazing! Great taste and super easy with the machine!

  27. Hey, the recipe looks great.

    If you want nicely shaped rolls then make your left hand into a fat OK sign and then push your balls of dough through the circle in the OK. It makes them a bit more of a cubish shape than a circle, so they have a base to stand on but still have a domed top.

  28. Are you sure this recipe is right? I made it as written and found that the dough was so stiff the machine couldn’t work. I ended up adding about 1 1/2 cups of warm water to get a dough consistency.

    1. Hi Victoria! I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe. Yes it is written correctly, however, different flours will sometimes yield different dough consistencies. I have made this recipe several times using King Arthur and H-E-B store brands and haven’t had any issues.

  29. I have made these rolls twice in one week. My husband said they tasted like I bought them from the bakery. I have not made bread that is this GOOD before either. This is my new ‘go to’ recipe. My mother in-law wants me to make them for Thanksgiving this year. She saw a pic of mine on my Facebook and how my husband raved over them. 🙂
    Anyone who makes these will not be disappointed. Thank you so much for the recipe.

  30. Hello!! Just wanted to let you know I will be using this in a round up (posting soon) from the Teach Me Tuesday party! Very much appreciate you linking up with us 😉

  31. Hello gorgeous! I’m licking my lips right now, it looks so good! Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see on Monday at 7 pm. We love to party with you! Happy Saturday~Lou Lou Girls

  32. Amanda I would love for you to share this recipe on my recipe linky!!! I have a bread machine I inherited and have not tired it, this would be perfect to start with.

    Happy baking, Karren

    1. You most definitely need to try these. You will love using the bread machine, trust me. Such a time saver!! I made sure to link up at your party too!

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