I have always preferred homemade bread over any loaf purchased at the store, and growing up, my mom made us bread all the time in her automatic bread machine. One day, though, I decided I wanted to experiment with different types of bread, so I whipped out her KitchenAid mixer, found a recipe, and got to work making it. Ever since that day, my love of baking breads has grown and grown, and to this day, I don’t even buy bread anymore – I bake it all myself!
About 4 years ago for Christmas, my parents bought me my very own KitchenAid stand mixer, and given my huge love for baking, this was probably the greatest gift I have ever received to this date. Well, besides vacations, that is. Even though I already loved baking, that KitchenAid mixer made me love baking even more. I could hardly contain my excitement, and as soon as I took it out of the box, I got started right away making a batch of dinner rolls.
For my first batch of dinner rolls, I was honestly pretty impressed with myself. As soon as they cooled slightly and I took my first bite into one, I knew I had a great recipe in my hands. Although they were really good, there were a few little details I wanted to tweak here and there, so that’s just what I did: I made these rolls over and over and over again until I got them just right. Now, it’s definitely my go-to recipe when I need some hamburger buns, sandwich rolls, or just a side item for my dinner. In fact, I have the recipe memorized and could easily whip up a batch in less than one hour!
The best part of this recipe is that it’s so incredibly easy to make and requires just a few simple ingredients that most everyone has on hand. Plus, it’s not time-consuming at all and doesn’t require hours and hours of waiting for the bread to proof (or rise). In fact, it only calls for the rolls to rise about 35-40 minutes! Most of the time I let it rise longer to get it really fluffy and full of air when it bakes, but if you’re in a time crunch, then letting it rise for the 35 minutes that the recipe calls for works perfectly fine!
Depending on what you’re using these rolls for, they can be made into different sizes. For example, if I’m using them for burgers, then I’ll make them a bit larger and make maybe 6 or 7. If I’m using them as a side for soup, I might make them smaller and make 10-12.
Or, if you’re like me, you can just eat them completely plain and on their own – they’re flavorful enough on their own! That way, you really get to experience and appreciate the taste and fluffiness of these rolls.
Since receiving my KitchenAid mixer, I have definitely put it to good use, whipping up all kinds of breads, cookies, desserts, and anything possible. However, making bread is still one of my favorite things to bake, and these dinner rolls are still one of my favorite bread recipes to date!
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 TBSP sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 TBSP butter
- 3¼ tsp. active dry yeast
- ¾ cup warm water (105 - 115 F)
- 2½ - 3 cups flour
- In a small saucepan, stir milk, sugar, salt, and butter together. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and then allow to cool until it is lukewarm
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in warm water (do NOT use hot water - you don't want to kill the yeast!).
- After about 2 minutes, add the lukewarm milk mixture and 2 cups flour.
- Mix on low speed (using the dough hook attachment) for about 1 minute.
- Add remaining ½ - 1 cup flour and continue to mix until the dough starts to clean the sides of the bowl. Add additional flour if mixture seems too sticky or wet.
- Once all ingredients are mixed, mix dough for about 3 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. It should spring back when stretched and shouldn't be too sticky.
- Place dough in a greased or oiled bowl, turning to completely coat it. Cover dough with a dry dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. *
- Uncover dough, punch down, and divide into 12 pieces (or however many rolls you want to make)
- Grease a square baking dish (this is important! You don't want it to stick!)
- Roll each of the 12 pieces into a ball and place in the greased baking dish. I usually spread them apart, but they will rise and end up sticking together - this is perfectly okay!
- Cover dish with a dish towel and let dough rise for another 20 minutes or so.**
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Bake rolls for about 10-12 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through baking to make sure the rolls are evenly baked.
**Just like above, letting it rise for 20 minutes is perfectly fine, however I usually let it rise another 30-40 minutes to get it really fluffy and airy.
