The Only Dinner Rolls You’ll Want To Make From Now On

Butter up your family with a basket of these homemade dinner rolls.

By
Myo Quinn
Myo Quinn
Myo Quinn
Myo's recipes, writing, and food styling can be found on King Arthur Baking, Food Network, Delish, Food52, and more. She collaborated on the cookbook Delish Vegan Dinners and trained at Gramercy Tavern and Untitled at the Whitney Museum.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated November 13, 2023
Myo Quinn
Salted honey rolls in a parchment paper-lined baking sheet on a cooling rack next to a blue kitchen towel

Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder

I once read that the smell of freshly baked bread makes people behave kindly toward one another. I never found the study to substantiate this claim. However, based on how my family reacts when I make soft and pillowy dinner rolls once or twice a month, I'd say it's true. They truly become a happy bunch.

If you're gathering family together for dinner and need an olive branch for passing around the table, try these soft and pillowy rolls. The recipe is based on my go-to milk bread rolls, sweetened with honey and brushed with honey butter as soon as they come out of the oven. I can't image a better way to break bread.

Flaky salt sprinkled onto salted honey rolls (still in the baking pan on the cooling rack)

Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder

Tangzhong Is the Secret to Tender Rolls

Tangzhong is a dough improver. It’s a Chinese technique where flour and a liquid—I use milk, but water works too—are cooked to create a paste that is added to the dough. The starch in the flour swells and traps moisture, helping the bread become and stay tender. I no longer make dinner rolls without tangzhong because it improves the texture of the bread noticeably. It's a little extra effort for a big payoff.

Weigh Your Ingredients for Consistently Great Rolls

If you've ever made dinner rolls that turn out dry or heavy like a puck, I suspect that you measured the ingredients by volume—cup, tablespoon, teaspoon—rather than by weight. I always weigh the ingredients unless the quantity is so small that a standard kitchen scale is not worth pulling out. If you inadvertently add too much flour or too little milk, you’ll end up with dry rolls. Weighing your ingredients will guarantee perfect rolls every time.

Salted honey rolls in a parchment paper-lined baking sheet on a cooling rack next to a blue kitchen towel

Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder

Use a Light-Colored Metal Pan

I prefer to bake bread rolls in a light-colored metal cake pan because they heat up and cool down quickly. This gives the rolls a chance to brown evenly and cook through at the same time. This is my favorite 9x13-inch pan—it’s high-quality aluminum and has straight sides, which yields beautiful baked goods that are easy to take out of the pan.

I avoid dark-colored metal pans—like this popular cake pan—because they heat up too quickly and tend to over-brown the exterior of the rolls before the inside cooks through. Most professional bakers avoid using dark-colored metal pans for this reason.

If you only have a 9x13-inch glass baking dish, bake the rolls at a lower temperature (325°F) to avoid overcooking them. Similar to dark-colored metal pans, glass retains heat for longer. 

A salted honey roll pulled from the rest of the rolls

Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder

Salted Honey Dinner Rolls

Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Rise Time 2 hrs 15 mins
Total Time 3 hrs 10 mins
Servings 15 servings
Yield 15 rolls

Do you ever say, “I’m just not a baker!” and your dinner rolls turn out dense and dry? It’s not you! It’s your measuring cup! Here is a guide on how to accurately measure ingredients for baking. Or even better: Invest in a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients—our favorite one costs about $25.

Ingredients

For the tangzhong

  • 1/3 cup (40g) bread flour

  • 3/4 cup (180g) whole milk

  • 1/4 cup (85g) honey

For the dough

  • 1 cup (240g) whole milk, cold

  • 1 large egg, cold

  • 4 3/4 cups (570g) bread flour

  • 2 teaspoons (9g) active dry yeast or instant yeast

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan

For the egg wash

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 tablespoon water

For the honey butter

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • Flaky salt

Special Equipment

  • Stand mixer with dough hook attachment

Method

  1. Make the tangzhong: 

    In a small saucepan, add the flour, milk, and honey, and set it over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until it thickens and looks like smooth mashed potatoes, about 2 minutes 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

    Scrape the tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

    Flour, milk, and honey in a saucepan for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Tangzhong slowly forming in the saucepan while mixed using a spatula for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Tangzhong in the mixer bowl for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  2. Add remaining dough ingredients: 

    To the tangzhong, add the cold milk, egg, flour, yeast, salt, and butter. The cold milk and egg will cool down the tangzhong, so no need to cool it down before adding the rest of the ingredients.

    The rest of the dough ingredients added to the mixer bowl on the stand mixer for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  3. Knead the dough: 

    Knead the dough on medium speed—that’s a #4 on my KitchenAid—for no less than 10 minutes, until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and it’s no longer sticky. Resist the urge to add more flour. The dough will become stiff, smooth, and wrap itself around the hook after it’s kneaded.

    Salted honey roll doughball on the dough hook in a stand mixer

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  4. Let the dough rise: 

    Pull the dough off the hook with your hands, form it into a ball, and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size. 

    Overnight rise option: Right after you knead it, pop the bowl with the dough into the fridge for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to bake the rolls, proceed with the recipe.

    Salted honey rolls dough resting in a mixer bowl covered in plastic wrap

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Salted honey rolls dough (doubled in size after resting) in a mixer bowl covered in plastic wrap

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  5. Meanwhile, prepare the pan: 

    Lightly grease a 9x13-inch metal pan with butter and line it with parchment paper.

    Simple Tip!

    I recommend that you use a light-colored metal pan. If you only have a 9x13-inch glass baking dish, bake the rolls at a lower temperature (325°F). Glass retains heat for longer than a light-colored metal, so lowering the temperature will help minimize the rish of overbaking them.

    Parchment paper-lined baking pan for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  6. Shape the rolls:

    Dump the risen dough onto a clean kitchen counter and divide it into 15 equal pieces—about 82 grams each. The dough won’t be sticky and will be easy to work with.

    To shape each roll: Flatten a piece of dough using the palm of your hands. Pull the outer edges up and over the center, all around. Pinch the pulled-up edges together and flip the dough over so that the smooth side is facing up. Cup your hands around it to shape it into a ball. Transfer it into the prepared pan and shape the remaining pieces. Distribute them evenly in the pan 3x5 with some room between each roll.

    Salted honey roll dough divided into smaller doughballs and weighed on a kitchen scale (each 82 grams)

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Shaping the roll: hand holding a flattened dough ball for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Shaping the rolls: edges of the roll pinched and brought to the center to form a ball for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Shaping the roll: roll flipped and shaped into a round ball for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  7. Let the dough rise, again: 

    Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The rolls will rise to touch each other, but not quite double in size.

    If you let your dough rise overnight in the fridge, it’ll take longer for the dough to rise, about 2 hours total.

    Salted honey rolls in the baking pan proofing (pan covered in plastic wrap)

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Proofed salted honey rolls in a baking pan (rolls doubled in size)

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  8. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F:

    Place the oven rack in the center.

  9. Make the egg wash: 

    Whisk the egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the tops of the rolls with it.

    Egg washed brunshed onto the salted honey rolls in a baking pan using a pastry brush

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
  10. Bake the rolls: 

    Bake the rolls until golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a roll in the middle of the pan should read 190°F or higher.

  11. Meanwhile, make the honey butter: 

    In a small saucepan, add the butter and honey. Set it over low heat and stir until the butter is fully melted.  As soon as you take the rolls out of the oven, brush the top with the honey butter and sprinkle flaky salt on top. Serve the rolls warm. 

    Store leftovers in a zip top bag or a tightly lidded container for up to four days on your kitchen counter—they’ll remain soft and fluffy. It’s not magic, it’s the tangzhong! 

    Did you love the recipe? Leave us stars below!

    Honey butter in a saucepan for salted honey rolls recipe

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Melted salted honey brushed onto the salted honey rolls using a pastry brush (rolls still in the pan on the cooling rack)

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
    Flaky salt sprinkled onto salted honey rolls (still in the baking pan on the cooling rack)

    Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
273 Calories
11g Fat
38g Carbs
7g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 15
Amount per serving
Calories 273
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 13%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Cholesterol 44mg 15%
Sodium 186mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 38g 14%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 44mg 3%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 97mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.