Coconut Free Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls
These pillowy dinner rolls are the kind of thing that disappears from the table before anyone even sits down. Made with whole milk, real butter, and a simple enriched dough, every bite is tender, slightly sweet, and impossibly soft — the kind of roll that makes a basic weeknight dinner feel like a special occasion. For anyone navigating coconut-free eating, store-bought rolls and packaged breads can be a minefield, with coconut oil quietly showing up in ingredient lists as a shortening or softener. This recipe keeps things beautifully straightforward: milk, egg, unsalted butter, flour, yeast, sugar, and salt — nothing hidden, nothing surprising. The butter gets worked directly into the dough during kneading, which is what gives these rolls their signature richness and that gorgeous, pull-apart texture. A final brush of melted butter straight out of the oven (with optional flaky sea salt on top) takes them completely over the edge. Bake a batch once and you'll never reach for a grocery store bag again.
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Learn more →Ingredients
12 servings
For the dough
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
For brushing
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until it reaches 105–110°F (40–43°C) on a kitchen thermometer — warm to the touch but not hot. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle in the yeast and 1 tbsp of the sugar, and stir briefly. Let stand for 5–10 minutes, until the surface is foamy and the mixture smells yeasty.
- 2
Add the remaining 2 tbsp sugar, the salt, and the egg to the yeast mixture. Add the flour all at once. Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook and mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes.
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