Small Batch Dinner Rolls - My Gorgeous Recipes (2024)

Published: Jun 22, 2022 · Modified: Oct 24, 2022 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

Small Batch Dinner Rolls made from scratch, so soft, fluffy and easy to make at home with just a few simple ingredients. These bread rolls are the best you can get, they are so light and pillowy, you won't believe you've made them with so little effort and preparation. It might be a small batch, but it is so delicious!

Bread, the one food we all take for granted, don't we? It comes in countless shapes and sizes, but it's a staple food throughout the world, and it has been so from the beginning of times, at least as far as the recorded history is concerned.

Although nowadays it is preached that wholegrain stuff is better, healthier, wiser to consume, and l don't say no to that, let's face it, white bread will always be the most popular choice.

When it comes to cooked food, we might choose to eat some dishes without bread, but some are still delicious with a nice slice of bread, or a perfectly fluffy roll. Soups, for example, either cream soups or hearty ones, they all go so well with bread. Throw some butter on it, and you have the ultimate comfort food no matter the season.

Sweet old days when our grandmas used to bake bread daily to feed the whole family. We might not bake it as often now, since it's so convenient to go get it from a shop, but you can only get the real deal when you make it yourself. And that is a treat indeed!

Ingredients needed

• strong white bread flour - it works a lot better than regular flour
• dried fast-action yeast
• granulated sugar
• salt
• milk - full-fat milk is the best, semi-skimmed also ok, but not skimmed
• olive oil
• butter - at room temperature
• egg - to brush

Step-by-step photos and instructions

Making bread seems like a super difficult task, but in fact it's easier than baking cakes that require countless ingredients and lots of preparation. These rolls are out of the oven in about 15-20 minutes, all you need to do is leave them to proof for about 2 hours, otherwise the texture won't be as fluffy, but too dense.

• in a bowl, add the warm milk, yeast, a tablespoon of flour, and one of sugar
• give it a good stir, and set aside for 10-15 minutes for the yeast to activate.

This step is particularly important, if the yeast doesn't activate, which is, become all foamy, DO NOT USE IT. Better start again, it might be that the yeast you used is no longer active, or the milk was too cold or too hot.

Once the yeast is active

• in a separate bowl, add the sifted flour, butter, salt, then the yeast mixture, and knead well for at least 5 minutes until you get an stretchy and elastic dough

• shape the dough into a ball, brush it with olive oil, then cover the bowl with cling film, and leave to proof in a warm place for at least 1 hour, or until double in size

Depending on how warm it is in your kitchen, it might take less or longer than an hour to get the dough risen. The warmer, the better!

• when the dough has risen, transfer it to the work surface, and divide it into 6 smaller rolls
• add the rolls either to a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, or a baking dish greased with oil or butter, keeping the rolls together
• leave to proof again for 30 minutes to an hour, brush with beaten egg
• bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit) for about 15-20 minutes, making sure the tray or baking dish is on the middle rack. When the top is nicely golden brown, remove from the oven.

Expert tips

Make sure the yeast is active, otherwise the rolls won't rise, and the will be rather tough, rather than fluffy and soft. If the yeast mixture becomes frothy, then it's working well.

Also, the room temperature is also crucial. A warm room will speed up the process and make the dough prove well, whereas a cold place will prevent the dough from rising well.

Just because proofing takes a bit of time, don't think that making these yummy bread rolls is a hard job, on the contrary! And you get freshly baked bread on your table, what a luxury this is nowadays!

Other bread recipes

Crusty Bread Recipe

Sandwich Bread Recipe

Focaccia Bread

Potato Bread Recipe

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