1-Hour Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

1 cup water

2 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon active-dry yeast*

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

extra melted butter, for brushing on top

Directions

Prep your oven and baking dish. Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.

Heat the liquids. Cut the butter into pieces and melt for 30-60 seconds in the microwave. Add to the water and milk then add in the milk and honey and stir until combined. Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds at a time, until it reaches 110°F. It will be warm but not hot to the touch. (*Alternately, you can heat the mixture over medium-low heat in a saucepan until it reaches 110°F.)

Add dry ingredients. Add in 3 1/2 cups of flour (not all of the flour), the yeast, and the salt into the large bowl of a stand mixer.

Mix. (See alternate instructions in the notes below for how to knead the dough by hand.) Use the dough-hook to mix in the dry ingredients on medium-low speed while slowly streaming in the liquid mixture until well combined. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add in 1/4 cup more flour at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is only slightly sticky to the touch. (Only use up to 4 cups of flour total.) Continue mixing on low speed for 4-5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Then form the dough into a ball with your hands and transfer it to a greased bowl.

Let the dough rise. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or paper towel, and let it rise briefly for 15 minutes.

Form the rolls. Gently punch the dough down and divide into 15 equal-sized pieces (easiest to do by weight - weigh the entire dough ball in grams, then divide by 15 to determine the weight of each roll). Form each piece into a ball and place the dough balls in the greased baking dish. Cover the dish again with a damp towel or paper towel and let the dough balls rise for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Brush with butter. Uncover the rolls and brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter, sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

Bake. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown on top and cooked through.

Serve warm. Then serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

Cheri's Notes:

June 2025: VERY good! Modified the instructions slightly but did not alter the overall recipe. Easy, quick, and tasty!

Original Recipe Notes:

Possible Recipe Variations:

Make-ahead option: For make-ahead dinner rolls, follow the recipe through the step that you shape the individual rolls and place them in the baking dish. Then tightly cover the baking dish and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Transfer the dish to the counter and let it warm up to room temperature for 2 hours before baking, and then bake as directed.

Add garlic: Add in 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the bread dough to make the rolls more garlicky, and/or you could also simmer some minced garlic with butter to brush on top of the rolls after baking.

Add herbs: Add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely-chopped fresh herbs (such as rosemary or parsley) to the bread dough to add flavor to the rolls, and/or you could also mix some fresh herbs in with the melted butter to brush on top of the rolls after baking.

Add cheese: You can also mix in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of freshly-grated cheddar cheese to make cheesy rolls. (Or I also love mixing in some freshly-grated Parmesan, and then sprinkling some on top of the rolls during the final 5 minutes of baking.)