My Favorite Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe {with an Easy Gluten Free Option}

I love bread. Unfortunately, it doesn’t like me much which is why I had to start a gluten free diet. Thankfully though, I’ve learned pretty quickly how to make my favorite recipes gluten free without losing any taste. Like this recipe; this is my favorite homemade dinner rolls recipe. These soft, buttery dinner rolls have graced my holiday table every year for the past twelve years! Yes. They are that good.

One of the best things about these homemade dinner rolls is they can be made up to two days ahead of time if you want to eat them fresh or frozen for far longer if you would rather do that.

In my book, that makes them perfect for Thanksgiving. Honestly, anything I can make a few days ahead of my actual Thanksgiving cooking is a winner in my book.

With that said, this is not a super easy recipe. It isn’t that it’s hard. It’s not. It’s just time intensive.

I give you my word though; it is worth it. So. Much. Worth. It!

My Favorite Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe

If you’ve made bread or dough before, you’ll probably be used to using quick rise yeast yeast and proofing your yeast with sugar.

Don’t do either in this recipe. You will proof the yeast, but adding sugar is a bad idea. The result is a massive blob of bread dough that is entirely unworkable and not the homemade dinner rolls you are aiming for.

Instead, use the freshest active rise yeast you can find.

Bread Flour and The Easy Gluten Free Option

You will notice that I have listed bread flour as an ingredient and not all-purpose flour. The reason for this is pretty simple.

Bread flour is formulated specifically for bread. It has extra gluten added to it that gives a final product that is far softer than all-purpose flour does.

With that said, you can absolutely use any flour you would like. Just know that your final product will be different if you use all-purpose or whole wheat.

However, if gluten is an issue for you like it is me, you can easily substitute King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour in this recipe. This is what I do and trust me; you will never notice the difference.

You Will Need: 

• 1 c. warm water – about 110° F 
• 2 pkgs. active dry yeast  or 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast 
• ¹⁄₂ c. real butter, melted plus 2-4 tbsp for topping, melted.
• ¹⁄₂ c. granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 ¹⁄₄ c. bread flour
• Cooking Spray

Supplies Needed:

• Large Mixing Bowl
• Wire Whisk
• Wooden Spoon
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Dry Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
• Wire Whisk Mixer attachment
• Dough Hook Mixer Attachment
• 9 x 13 baking dish
• Pastry Brush

Preheat your oven to 375°F and proof the yeast.

Why Proof Yeast

If you have never proofed yeast, there is a reason for it. Yeast is a live culture that is lying dormant basically. The warm water -and sometimes granulated sugar- used in the proofing method activate the yeast.

This activation is what allows your bread dough to rise.

How to Proof Yeast

When you’re ready to proof the yeast, combine the active rise yeast and the warm water in a large mixing bowl.

Sit the bowl in a warm place for 5 minutes. When the yeast is foamy on top, it is proofed and ready to use.

If the yeast does not foam when proofed, your yeast is either old or bad and should be replaced as your recipe will not turn out as expected.

After the yeast has proofed, stir in the melted butter, eggs, sugar and salt. If you are using salted butter, you may omit the extra salt.

Use a wire whisk or a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients very well.

Alternatively, if you have a proper stand mixer, you can use that with the whisk attachment as well.

Next, add the bread flour 1 cup at a time until you can’t get anymore properly mixed in.

The homemade dinner roll dough will become a very stiff dough. It’s supposed to, so don’t freak out thinking you did something wrong. You didn’t.

You may not be able to use all the the flour, but you should be able to get most of it incorporated.

Again, a dough hook on a stand mixer can be a real help here.

How to Freeze Homemade Dinner Roll Dough

Once you have the dough formed, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. As I said earlier, these can be made ahead – as many as two days. Just keep the dough covered.

If you are freezing the dinner roll dough, divide the dough into equal portions and wrap each one with plastic wrap.

Freeze then transfer to a gallon size freezer bag stored inside an airtight food storage container. Thaw completely when you’re ready to use and continue with the recipe as written.

Once the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours, spray a 9×13 baking dish liberally with cooking spray. I prefer to use an olive oil cooking spray, but use what you have on hand.

Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces then place into the baking dish.

Cover the dish and set it in a spot that is warm but not so warm it will cause your dough to bake. You’re just looking for warm enough to rise.

Preferably your rolls should be rolled smoothly, but we let Emma roll the ones for the pic.

She’s a teenager. She doesn’t listen very well. It’s okay.

We forgive her for lumpy dinner rolls. 😉

Allow the dough to rise for a minimum of 2 hours.

Did you enjoy this post? You may also enjoy these:

• Chocolate Chip Quick Bread Recipe
• Pumpkin Apple Dump Cake Recipe
• Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe
• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread Recipe
• Apple Pie Filling Recipe
• Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling Recipe

Once the dough has risen, bake at 375°F for 17-19 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and use a pastry brush to brush them with more melted butter.

These are best served warm with more butter.

Yes. We like butter in our home.