Soft Buttery Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup Whole milk, warmed to about 105–110°F / 40–43°C
• 2¼ tsp Active dry yeast
• 3 Tbsp Granulated sugar
• 1 Large egg
• 4 Tbsp, plus 2 Tbsp melted for the tops Unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 3¼ cups, plus a little more if the dough sticks All-purpose flour

Method

1. Stir the yeast and 1 tsp of the sugar into the warm milk. Wait until the surface looks foamy, about 5–10 minutes. If it stays flat, the milk was too hot or the yeast is spent. Start that step over.
2. Whisk in the egg, the rest of the sugar, the salt, and the softened butter. Add most of the flour and stir until you have a shaggy dough.
3. Knead on the counter, adding flour only when the dough sticks in sheets, until it is smooth and springs back slowly, about 8 minutes. It should still feel a little tacky. A dry dough bakes into a tight roll.
4. Set the dough in a buttered bowl, cover it, and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour in a warm kitchen.
5. Press the dough down. Divide it into 12 even pieces, shape each into a tight ball, and set them in a buttered 9-by-13-inch pan so they almost touch. Cover and let them puff until they are touching and look pillowy, 30–45 minutes.
6. Heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C. Bake 15–18 minutes, until the tops are deep golden. Brush with the melted butter while the rolls are hot. Pull them apart to serve.

Nutrition

Kitchen estimate only, not lab-verified. An enriched white roll. Butter on top is part of the dish.

Guest diet / allergy swaps

Short kitchen notes for guests. A fuller gluten-free or dairy-free ingredient list, when we have one, is in the panels below.

• Low-sodium friendly

  Use ½ tsp salt in the dough. Salt also keeps yeast in check, so the rise may be a little faster. Do not salt the butter on top.

• Gluten-free style

  This is a wheat dough. A gluten-free blend will not knead or rise the same way. Use a roll recipe written for the blend you have.

• Dairy-free

  Use an unsweetened plant milk and a dairy-free butter, in the dough and on the tops. The rolls will be a little less tender.

• No egg

  Leave the egg out and add 2 Tbsp more milk. The crumb will be less rich and the tops paler.

• No pork

  These rolls have no meat. Brush them with oil or a dairy-free butter if the butter you own is a blend.