Best 6 Bakers Dozen Yeast Rolls Recipes

EASY YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine sugar, egg, oil, salt, yeast mixture and 4 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into four portions. Divide and shape each portion into 12 balls. Roll each ball into an 8-in. rope; tie into a loose knot. Tuck ends under. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°., Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

SOFT DINNER ROLLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon of sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula is a better choice.*
• Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. With a dough hook or paddle attachment, mix/beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading (next step) would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough, similar to the photos and video above. Dough should be soft and a little sticky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 full minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 full minutes. (See video tutorial above if you need a visual of kneading dough by hand.)
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
• Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. You can also bake the rolls in a cast iron skillet or on a lined baking sheet.*
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it- doesn't need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a smooth ball. I do this entirely in my hands and you can watch in the video tutorial above. Arrange in prepared baking pan.
• Cover shaped rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
• Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). (It's best to bake the rolls towards the bottom of the oven so the tops don't burn.)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.
• Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

FREEZE-AND-BAKE ROLLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar in warm water; let stand 5 minutes. Add warm milk, oil, salt and remaining sugar. Stir in enough flour to form a stiff dough. , Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. , Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into four portions. Divide and shape each portion into 12 balls. Roll each ball into a 10-in. rope; tie into a loose knot, pinching together ends. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300°., Brush rolls with melted butter. Bake 15 minutes to parbake. Cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze in resealable plastic freezer bags., To serve, preheat oven to 375°. Bake frozen rolls on baking sheets until browned and heated through, 12-15 minutes.

EXTRA QUICK YEAST ROLLS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir in biscuit mix and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. , Divide and shape dough into 24 small balls. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 400° until golden brown, 10-15 minutes.

BIG-BATCH DINNER ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine milk, shortening, sugar, salt, yeast mixture and 2-1/2 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough., Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape into 48 balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover with kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes., Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Freeze option: Partially bake rolls at 325° for 10 minutes. Freeze cooled partially baked rolls in an airtight container. To use, bake frozen rolls on greased baking sheets at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

CRUSTY ROLLS

Steps:

• In a bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add shortening, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour; beat until smooth. Add egg whites; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (dough will be stiff). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours., Punch dough down; divide into 24 pieces and shape into balls. Sprinkle greased baking sheets with cornmeal. Place rolls 2 in. apart on baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Place a large shallow pan filled with boiling water on lowest rack in oven. Bake rolls on middle rack at 425° for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown.