Updated 08.09.25
Serving bread with your main dish, in some way or another, is so commonplace in one culture and not used at all in the next. Where I come from, bread is a very important component of a daily menu. Traditionally, the Dutch eat bread for breakfast and at lunch-time, but not with their dinner. Having said that, there is a shift. The Dutch start to eat bread at dinner time as well, and the consumption of bread during breakfast and lunch is declining due to alternative options.
I ended up somewhere in the middle. I mainly serve some type of bread when we eat soup, salad, chili, or a dish that may requiring some ‘scooping’. I usually don’t serve bread during the more regular dinners. Don’t get me wrong, I love bread, but I prefer to enjoy the main dish and not fill up with bread. Or eat more than I want, simply because I love it so much.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Dry yeast
- Bread flour
- Milk
- Butter
- Egg
The recipe of these Perfectly Soft Dinner no-knead Rolls is adapted from Recipe Tin Eats.
How to Make Perfectly Soft Dinner Rolls
Step 1 – Wake up and feed the yeast by adding it to lukewarm water with just a tiny pinch of sugar.
Step 2 – Mix flour, salt, milk, melted butter, beaten egg and yeast mixture, creating a dough. It is a sticky dough.
Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise to double.
Step 3 – Cut dough into 4 equal parts, roll into balls. Place dough balls in a oven-safe dish or cast-iron skillet, cover and allow to rise again.
Step 4 – Place rolls in a preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Step 6 – Remove from oven and brush with melted butter for a perfect shine. This step is obviously not a must, but it sure makes the rolls look beautiful.
Perfectly Soft Dinner Rolls
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 1/3 tablespoon dry yeast
- 1 pinch sugar, tiny pinch
- 50 ml water, warm
- 200 gram bread flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 85 ml milk, warm
- 20 gram butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 egg, lightly beaten
For Brushing
- 1 teaspoon butter, melted
Instructions
- Pour warm water in a bowl and add yeast and a tiny pinch of sugar. Allow yeast to work mixture into a frothy surface. This takes 5-10 minutes. (NOTE 1)
- Place flour and salt in a mixing bowl, add the yeast mixture, salt, milk, butter and egg.
- Mix until combined; it is a slightly sticky dough. You can use a spoon or your hands.
- Cover the bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1-2 hours until doubled or more. You will see bubble in the dough.
- Dust your work place with flour, take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a log. No need to knead.
- Cut the log in 4 pieces.
- Form a ball of each piece and place all 4 in a with parchment-paper-lined oven-safe dish, or cast-iron skillet.
- Cover with plastic foil that you first sprayed with oil or cooking spray to avoid sticking to the rolls.
- Now allow the rolls to rise again. This will take about 45 minutes.
- Once the 2nd rise is completed, place the dish in a preheated oven of 400 degrees F and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top of the rolls is golden brown. Tap with your nail to hear a hollow sound.
- Remove rolls from oven and brush with the melted butter for a beautiful shine. (NOTE )
- Place dinner rolls on a wire rack to cool a little before serving.
Notes
- The tiny pinch of sugar is to wake-up and feed the yeast. It is such a small amount of sugar that I still call the rolls sugar-free.
- This is an optional step.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.