Prepare for carb heaven with these delectable yeast rolls!
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There is nothing as good as a soft, scrumptious, warm yeast roll! I started trying to find a good yeast roll recipe back in 2013 after I’d gotten a stand mixer for Christmas 2012. I found a few OK recipes and a couple of good ones.
Then I asked my friend, Kayla, who is a professional baker, what recipe she uses. I tried it and her yeast roll recipe has become my go-to. In fact, I often double this yeast roll recipe for family gatherings and they never go to waste!
Proof the yeast
Like most yeast recipes, you start with proofing the yeast. Combine the yeast, sugar and water. I used quick rise yeast, which says the best temperature is between 110- and 115-degrees. I really do get out my thermometer and check the temperature of the water before adding it into the yeast.
Once the yeast, sugar and water are in your mixing bowl, let it set until it is all bubbly and poofy, usually 6-9 minutes. (Mine took 8.) My doubled-recipe looked like this:
Add more ingredients
Once the yeast is proofed, add the egg, milk and butter. I heat my milk a bit it doesn’t go in cold. I also softened my butter and tried to make sure my egg was pretty near room temperature.
Slowly add in the flour and mix on low so it won’t fly up and make a mess. For my doubled yeast roll recipe, I ended up using 6 cups of flour. Depending on where you live and the humidity and all that jazz, you may not need as much.
For a single recipe, use 2-1/2 to 3 cups. For doubled, use 5 to 6. After I got to 5 cups, I added in a 1/4 cup, a 1/2 cup and then another 1/4 cup, mixing well after each time to make sure that I wasn’t getting the dough too stiff or dry. You want it to be nice and soft but not liquid-y. This dough is a little sticky.
Once you have in all the ingredients, it’s time to mix with the dough hook on your mixer. Mix for about 5 minutes on speed 8 (basically medium-high speed). Add in the salt. (If you add the salt sooner, it will kill the yeast.)
Mix for another 2 minutes. Once the dough starts gathering around the hook and pulling away from the bowl, then it is finished. It looks like this:
Let it rise
Now it’s time to rise. Cover your bowl and let it sit somewhere warm. I use Glad Press ‘N Seal to cover mine.
I let mine sit in my kitchen for about 40 minutes to rise. Here is what it looked like when I removed the cover:
Knead, form and rise again
Next is time for some kneading. I spread out a sheet of wax paper on my kitchen counter and douse with some flour. Place the dough on your prepared surface and sprinkle some flour on top as well. Knead it lightly for a couple of minutes.
After kneading, cut and roll the dough into balls and place them in 9×13 pans sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use muffin tins by placing two small balls in the bottom of each muffin cup.
Once the rolls are formed, they need to rise again. I usually do my rising in the oven. I turn my oven on to 200-degrees. Once it is preheated, I turn it off and put the rolls in for about 10-15 minutes.
When they’re risen and ready to bake, they’ll look something like this:
Bake the yeast rolls for 12 to 18 minutes at 400-degrees.
Make your butter
When the yeast rolls are almost finished, I usually prep butter to brush over their tops. For the doubled recipe, I used an entire stick, but for a single batch, a half a stick of butter or margarine would work fine. I like to mix some honey and cinnamon into mine for a touch of sweetness. I use about a tablespoon of honey and a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for a whole stick of butter.
Here is what mine looked like before I melted it on low power in the microwave:
When the rolls are golden, pull them out and brush with the honey and cinnamon butter, if you’d like. Remove them from the pan once they have cooled about 5 minutes. They travel well and reheat well. The delicious results of this yeast roll recipe will make it your go-to for holiday dinners and any other time as well!
The perfect yeast roll recipe
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 to 3 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine softened (almost melted)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 package yeast 2-1/4 teaspoons
- 1/2 cup warm water heat to temp according to yeast packet or jar
- 1/2 cup milk warmed
- 1 egg
- 1/2 stick butter or margarine optional
- 1/2 tablespoon honey optional
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Put the yeast, sugar and warm water in your mixing bowl. (Make sure water is heated to the correct temperature for your yeast. For example, my quick-rise yeast says 110- to 115-degrees is best. Use a thermometer to be sure it's not too hot to kill the yeast but it hot enough to activate it.)
- Let the yeast mixture set until it is all bubbly and poofy (usually around 6-9 minutes).
- Add in the egg, warmed milk and softened butter.
- Slowly add in the flour. If the dough is still wet or very sticky after adding 2-1/2 cups, then add in 1/4-cup at a time to equal 1/2-cup more total until the dough is soft and only a bit sticky but not wet.
- Mix using a dough hook on your mixer at medium-high speed for about 5 minutes. (I used speed 8 on my stand mixer.)
- Add in the salt and mix for about 2 minutes more until the dough is gathering around the hook and pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes. (I usually cover mine with Glad Press n Seal.)
- Once the dough is risen, dump it onto a floured surface and gently knead it for about 2 minutes. Cut it into pieces and roll it into balls. Place the dough balls in a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (If you prefer, you can use a greased muffin tin and place two small dough balls in each muffin cup.)
- Let the shaped dough rise again. You can leave it somewhere warm or use your oven by turning it to 200-degrees. Once it is preheated, then turn it off and put in the dough. In the oven, it takes 10-15 minutes to rise. On the counter, it takes a bit longer depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
- Bake the rolls at 400-degrees for 12-18 minutes until light golden on top.
- Optionally, just before the rolls are due out of the oven, put the 1/2 stick butter or margarine in a bowl. Add the honey and cinnamon on top. Melt in the microwave for 1 minute on 40 percent power. Brush over the top of the rolls when they come out of the oven.
Looking for more bread recipes? Check out these:
The only pumpkin bread recipe you need
Protein-packed banana bread recipe
