Soft Dinner Rolls

These Soft Dinner Rolls are incredibly soft, fluffy and have a delicious buttery taste. Use these as a side to any main dish, or use them to make slider sandwiches. The best part? These rolls can be made in an hour. If you’re a bread beginner, these rolls will make you look like an expert with minimal effort.

Is there anything better than sinking your teeth into a warm soft dinner roll? At our dinner table the rolls are always the first thing to disappear and these soft dinner rolls are no exception.

These soft dinner rolls use a special method that helps to keep the rolls soft and moist. This method is derived from Asian baking and helps to keep the rolls extra soft and moist and extend their shelf life. It makes a huge difference in the texture of the rolls. If I want really soft dinner rolls, this is my go to recipe. And, I promise this Asian baking technique called the Tangzhong method is easy. All it is is a mixture of flour and water. I’ll explain more down below.

The details

What is the Tangzhong method?

The Tangzhong method is an Asian baking technique that provides moisture and softness in bread. The method involves the mixture of flour and water, which is cooked over the stove top, to form a paste. The cooking causes the flour’s starches to absorb more liquid. This paste is then added to the dough.

This process allows for more moisture to be in the dough. Adding more liquid to a dough will cause the dough to be too soft and not hold its shape. The paste is able to add more moisture while still allowing the dough to maintain its shape.

This process only takes a couple minutes, then the paste cools for 10 minutes before adding to the dough.

Ingredients

• Tangzhong
  • bread flour
  • milk
• Dinner Roll Dough
  • instant yeast
  • sugar
  • whole milk, warmed to 110F
  • bread flour
  • salt
  • egg
  • butter
• Egg Wash
  • 1 egg, beaten

Here’s how to make these soft dinner rolls

I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment to make these, but if you do not own a stand mixer, you can certainly make the dough by hand. It will just take a bit longer.

make tangzhong

The first thing you’ll need to do is make the Tangzhong. Add the flour and milk to a small saucepan and cook until a paste forms. Whisk constantly as you cook the mixture. The paste should be fairly thick. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

make the dough

In a large bowl, you’ll add the yeast, warm milk and sugar. Since you are using instant yeast for these soft dinner rolls, you do not need to allow the yeast to sit/activate. Of course, if active yeast is all you have on hand, feel free to use it. Just allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.

Next, you’ll add the flour, egg, salt, butter and tangzhong paste. Knead the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed. If making these soft dinner rolls by hand, I recommend kneading the mixture for 10 minutes.

Once you are done kneading the dough, transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

first rise

Allow the soft dinner rolls to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. I like to turn my oven on, then once it reaches 100F, I turn the oven off. I place the covered dough in the warm oven and allow the dough to rise in the warm oven. This creates the perfect warm atmosphere for the dough to rise. Certainly if your house is warm you can just allow them to rise at room temperature.

divide the rolls

After the dough is done rising, punch down and place on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12 roughly equal pieces. They don’t have to be exact. Roll each piece into a smooth ball, then place in a greased 9×13 inch pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap.

second rise

The soft dinner rolls need just one more rise before you bake them in the oven. The second rise is a quick 15 minutes. You can preheat your oven during this time and allow the rolls to sit on top of the warm oven. This will help them rise better.

bake the rolls

Now, the soft dinner rolls are ready to bake! Brush the dough balls with a beaten egg. This will give the top of the dough a beautiful golden brown color and shine once baked. The rolls are done when the tops are a nice golden brown color.

ready to eat and enjoy!

The rolls are ready to eat! Serve the soft dinner rolls with butter, honey butter, your favorite jam, or just eat as is. The rolls are pillowy soft and truly melt in your mouth delicious.

Here are some other recipe I think you may enjoy

• Honey Butter Rolls
• Soft Sandwich Bread
• Easy French Bread

Let me know what you thought!

If you make these soft dinner rolls, let me know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I absolutely love reading all of your comments! Also, make sure to snap a picture of your artisan Italian bread and tag me @simplebakingwithpep on instagram. It truly makes my day to see all of your wonderful creations.

social

Make sure you follow me on facebook, youtube, or instagram to stay up to date on all of my latest baking creations and some fun behind the scenes.

Print