If you want to make the perfect dinner roll, look no further. Buttermilk dinner rolls are soft, buttery, light and luscious.
Brush the warm rolls with melted butter for a luscious finish
This recipe was created all because we’d bought a couple of salmon burgers at the farmer’s market one Saturday. I decided to make my own burger buns because I wanted the perfect, soft bun for the delicate burgers. It was early enough in the day that I had time to put the dough together for dinner that night.
Use Buttermilk for the perfect soft roll!
I had some buttermilk (one of my favorite ingredients!) in the refrigerator and used that as the base for the buns. When I want bread with a softer texture I use milk instead of water as the base for the dough (as I did for my white sandwich bread recipe.)
The butterfat in the milk interferes with the development of gluten in the dough for a softer texture and the fat also makes a richer dough. Acidic buttermilk softens the gluten in the bread even more for an extra tender crumb and great flavor. One egg contributes a nice flavor and color.
I used a portion of the dough to make a couple of salmon-burger buns, and the remaining was turned into a sandwich loaf.
Fast forward to Thanksgiving. I’d already baked a few dozen biscuits to bring along to my sister’s house, but I decided to make dinner rolls as well. Because, well, you know, enough is never enough…
I started with the same recipe as the burger buns but wanted an even richer dough. A pinch of sugar added just a whisper of sweetness and a little butter upped the richness and flavor. Melted butter brushed onto the rolls before baking keeps the tops soft and a little more brushed on as soon as they come out of the oven is the perfect finishing touch.
The recipe makes 16-24 rolls depending on the size you want. You could also bake the dough in a loaf pan for a tasty sandwich bread.
Enjoy!
Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
If you want to make the perfect dinner roll, look no further. Buttermilk dinner rolls are soft, buttery, light and luscious.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (16oz, 480ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons, 7g) dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon (1/2 oz, 14g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1.5 teaspoons table salt
- 4-4 1/2 cups (1lb 4oz, 560g) bread flour
- 1/2 stick (2oz, 56g) butter, softened
- 1/2 stick (2oz, 56g) butter, to be melted for brushing
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, yeast, sugar, salt and egg in a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed to combine the ingredients. Add 2.5 cups of bread flour and mix to combine. Switch to the dough hook if mixing on a stand mixer.
- Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups of bread flour until the dough gathers on the hook and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead on medium for 3 minutes then reduce the speed to low. If mixing by hand stir in as much flour as you can with a wooden spoon, then knead the remaining flour in by hand.
- With the mixer running, toss in the softened butter a tablespoon at a time. If working by hand, knead in the butter.
- Mix on medium for 3 minutes, if the dough is still very sticky add a little flour. The dough will stick to the bottom of the bowl but should gather on the hook. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead to form a smooth ball. The dough should be soft and smooth.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the surface, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough to form a long log shape. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper cut the dough into 16-24 even pieces (depending how large you want the rolls to be. They'll bake up at least 2x the size of the dough ball).
- Roll each piece of dough under your cupped hand to form a smooth ball. Place the rolls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the tops with melted butter. Set aside in a warm spot to rise until nearly doubled in size and the dough springs back slowly when poked (about 1 hour).
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls until they are golden brown and feel light when picked up. About 10-15 minutes.
- As soon as the roll come out of the oven brush the tops with the melted butter. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
To work ahead the dough balls can be frozen on a sheet pan then packed into freezer bags. Allow the dough balls to defrost and then rise before baking. The baked rolls can also be frozen.
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Jeffrey J. Verry SR
Monday 21st of November 2022
Can these be rolled and cut like biscuits?
Eileen Gray
Monday 21st of November 2022
I suppose so. There would be more waste and re-rolling the scraps can be difficult as the gluten toughens.
Jean
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
Could this be made with a cup of sour dough starter instead of the commercial yeast?
Eileen Gray
Thursday 11th of February 2021
Yes, you just have to compensate for the added flour and water from the starter.
Fiona Stewart
Sunday 26th of January 2020
According to your recipe you say that 4-4.5 cups of bread flour is equivalent to 405 grams. According to another reputable baking website 1 American cup of bread flour is equivalent to 120grams making 4.5 cups 540grams.
Please clarify.
Jeffrey J. Verry SR
Monday 21st of November 2022
@Eileen Gray, Agreed I had to add about another 2/3 cup of flour for the proper dough consistency.. TY
Eileen Gray
Monday 27th of January 2020
Hi Fiona, your're right that my numbers were wrong. It's an older recipe and I must have updated the measurements without fixing the gram measure. The way I measure my flour is the "dip & sweep" method. When I "dip and sweep" a cup of bread flour it weighs 5 oz. I use a conversion of 28g per oz so this recipe has 560g of bread flour. But you may also need to sprinkle in a little more flour if the dough is very sticky.
Fragrance
Sunday 23rd of June 2019
Hello Eileen,
Thanks for sharing this... I tried it and it was great!!!! I sprinkled some sesame seeds on before baking and it came out well...
Thanks for sharing all these amazing stuff with us...
Sending you a big hug!!!!
Eileen Gray
Sunday 23rd of June 2019
Great idea. I'm a big fan of sesame seeds.
Kevin Croucher
Monday 6th of May 2019
not sure how 675g turns into 4 1/2 cups of flour... but, the rolls turned out great when i used 4 1./2 cups of flour spooned and leveled and to reference another comment, they are great for sliders, or mini grilled cheeses
Eileen Gray
Monday 6th of May 2019
Wow, not sure how I made such a typo. The number has been fixed. Thanks for the heads up.