Spice Free Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls
Warm, pillowy, and rich with real butter, these dinner rolls are the kind of thing that disappears from the basket before the main course even hits the table. The ingredient list is beautifully simple — milk, flour, egg, sugar, salt, and butter — with absolutely nothing in the way of spices, seasonings, or flavor additives that could cause a reaction or ruin a meal for sensitive eaters. That clean simplicity is actually what makes them so good: the flavor comes entirely from the slow rise, the enriched dough, and that generous brush of melted butter straight out of the oven. The technique of adding softened butter piece by piece during kneading gives the crumb a soft, almost feathery texture that store-bought rolls just can't match. A 3×4 grid in a 9x13 pan means the rolls press together as they proof, creating those irresistible pull-apart edges that stay tender even after they cool. Whether you're building a holiday spread or just want something special on a weeknight, these rolls deliver comfort without a single ingredient you'd need to second-guess.
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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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