How to make the BEST Homemade Rolls ever! Light and fluffy, soft and warm, and most definitely slathered with butter.
These are extra fluffy dinner rolls, perfect with melty butter and a drizzle of honey or jam, or amazing made into little sandwiches to feed a crowd!
This is a yeast rolls recipe, but never fear! Using yeast is easy, and this is a good dinner roll recipe to practice with. I’ll give you a few tips to make sure you succeed every time.
Homemade Dinner Rolls
This recipe for rolls from scratch has been around in our family for YEARS. It is tried and true, beloved by all, and coveted by many.
The secret to our delicious, fluffy rolls is the combination of honey and butter-flavored Crisco! Trust me, you won’t go back after having these rolls.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make Homemade Dinner Rolls. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.
- Honey – a very mild, natural sweetener that is perfect in this roll recipe.
- Butter Flavor Crisco – essential for delicious flavor and fluffy texture!
- Yeast – active dry yeast, not instant yeast.
- All-Purpose Flour – bread flour will also work fine.
How To Make Homemade Rolls
This is a beautifully simple homemade roll recipe. With only a few ingredients and some time, you’ll have a pan of delicious homemade fluffy rolls to eat!
Proof Yeast
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, start by adding warm water, honey, salt, and yeast. Stir it gently and let it sit for 5 minutes till the yeast activates and gets foamy.
Add Crisco and Flour
Combine the Crisco and one cup of flour at a time and mix until dough starts to form.
Add Flour and Knead
Keep adding flour until the dough starts to pick up off the sides of the bowl and is not sticky when touched with your finger. Let your machine knead the dough for 15 minutes in total.
First Rise
Once it’s finished kneading, cover the bowl with a clean cloth towel and place in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Shape Rolls
After an hour punch down the dough and divide the dough into large golf ball-sized balls. Arrange about an inch apart on a baking sheet or casserole dish.
Second Rise
Cover again with a towel and leave in a warm place to rise for another hour.
PRO TIP: This second rise is critical for that yeast to develop the gluten in the rolls. It will help create fluffy insides, so don’t skip it!
Bake Rolls
Preheat the oven to 350℉. Once the rolls have risen the second time, place them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and immediately brush butter on the tops of the rolls.
The tops of the rolls have a delightfully thin crust while the inside is still soft and fluffy thanks to the double rise we did.
Tips and Substitutions
- It’s important to let the rolls rise two times. It helps give them a fluffy, irresistible texture on the inside.
- Honey can be substituted for white granulated sugar or brown sugar.
- Water Temperature is important! Yeast starts to die above 120℉, so make sure the water is warm, but not too hot. You’re looking for a temperature of about 105°F – 115°F for the yeast to properly bloom.
Make Ahead and Storage
Freeze: You can freeze the raw dough balls before the second rise individually and then transfer to a freezer-safe container, or freeze the baked and cooled rolls for up to 3 months.
Make Ahead: You can make these rolls a day ahead and they will still taste fresh the next day. You can always pop them in the oven for a few minutes to warm them before serving.
Common Questions
You can brush butter on the tops, sprinkle with herbs, or use jam or honey on them. They also make great bread for sandwiches!
If the room they rise in is cooler than 70℉, they may need longer than 1 hour to double in size. Try 90 minutes when rising at cooler temperatures.
I typically bake these on the middle rack to avoid browning the tops of the rolls too much.
If you’re house is just a bit too cold for the dough to proof, try popping it in the oven! Place a glass baking dish on the bottom shelf of the oven and fill it with boiling water. Place the dough you’re trying to proof on the shelf above the water and close the oven door. No need to turn on the oven, just let it sit in there and do it’s thing.
More Bread Recipes
Bread recipes are so delicious! Here are a few of our family favorite bread recipes to try.
- Easy Homemade Bread Recipe
- Small Batch Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks
- Classic Banana Bread Recipe
- Amish Apple Fritter Bread
I hope you enjoy these large, lighter than light and fluffy homemade dinner rolls as much as we do! Make sure to share how it goes in the comments below!
How To Make Homemade Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups warm water, run hot water out of your tap
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup Butter Flavor Crisco
- 1 1/2 tsp yeast
- 7 cups all-purpose flour, + more if needed
- butter for brushing on top of rolls
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with your dough hook) add warm water, honey, salt and yeast. Stir it gently and let it sit for 5 minutes till the yeast activates and gets foamy.
- Add the Crisco and one cup of flour at a time and mix until dough starts to form. Keep adding flour until the dough starts to pick up dough off the sides of the bowl and is not sticky when touched with your finger. Let your machine knead the dough for 15 minutes total.
- Once it’s done kneading cover the bowl with a clean cloth towel and place in a warm spot (by a window or on top of the oven works) and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
- After an hour punch down the dough and divide the dough into large golf ball size balls. Arrange about an inch apart on a baking sheet or casserole dish. Cover again with towel and leave in a warm place to rise for another hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Once the rolls have risen for the second time, place them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
- Remove them from oven and immediately brush butter on the tops of the rolls.
Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast
Shanna Porter Allen
Can butter be used in place of Crisco? Using Crisco sorta makes me cringe :/
Libby
I have’t tried this recipe yet, but have question. Does it make a difference if you use the original active yeast or the newer Instant Yeast?
Shawn
It does make a difference. For this recipe you’ll want to use active dry yeast.
Tesha
Hello….My stand mixer broke, and I was wondering if it will make a difference if I use my hand mixer?
Shawn
I wouldn’t use a hand mixer for this recipe, it’ll probably bogg down from the amount of dough. Instead, use a sturdy spoon to bring the dough together in a large bowl, then turn it out on a floured surface and knead it by hand until it’s smooth and elastic. It’ll take a little more muscle and time, but you’ll get great results.
Debra
Can these be frozen and for how long?
Judy
Can you use regular Crisco instead of butter flavored?
Shawn
Yes, you can do that!
Jane Simpson
What size stand mixer did you use?? Mine seems small for 7 cups of flour!
Shawn
I have a 5 quart Kitchen Aid stand mixer and it works fine!
Tam
Do you have a certain brand of flour you prefer to use for your rolls and bread?
Shawn
No, I just use all purpose.
Dora
This recipe is AMAZING! It has become my family’s favorite. I am wondering if it could be made into a loaf of bread. Any suggestions?
Shawn
I haven’t tried this in a loaf form, but I do have an amazing sandwich bread recipe you can try here: Easy Homemade Bread Recipe
Sara
How long can you store them? Should they be in the fridge or in a cabinet? (I was trying to make them for dinner and forgot, so I used the Easter rolls instead, so now I’m wondering if they will last the 5 days until Easter?♀️)
Shawn
I store them at room temperature, up to 5 days, you should be totally fine!
Donna Grannie
These roll’s are wonderful! I have made several batches and they come out perfectly! This is my go to recipe for dinner rolls! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Shawn
That’s awesome! So glad you are enjoying them!
Pat
Salt kills yeast. Add it at the end.
Shawn
Large amounts of salt can kill yeast, yes, but this is not a terribly high amount for this recipe. If you prefer, you can definitely add the salt as you’re mixing in the flour.
Layup
If you can not find butter flavored Crisco, is there a substitute that you can recommend?
Donna Grannie
This is my favorite dinner roll recipe! Soft ,tender rolls. My oven runs a little hot, so I bake them for 17 minutes and they are perfect! Thank you and your family for sharing !