The Best Sweet Yeast Dinner Rolls With Fresh Milled Flour
These are The Best Sweet Yeast Dinner Rolls Made With Fresh Milled Flour! They are perfect for a dinner party or just for a nice family dinner. And, the come together pretty quickly while you are making dinner. Also, my very favorite way to make these dinner rolls is to make the dough the day before, let them rise, shape them, and then cover and pop in the fridge overnight. Pull them out 1-2 hours before dinner, and let them come to room temperature. Lastly, bake them! Fresh yeast dinner rolls warm and ready to go for you meal without very much effort! Win-win!
How Do I Make My Rolls Taste Yeasty?
The best way to make your rolls have a stronger yeast flavor, without adding any additional ingredients, is to give them time. But, too much time, and they will overproof quickly. So, I recommend making the rolls the night before you want to serve them. So, this is my little trick, step by step:
- Make the roll dough, and let it double in size for the first rise (about 1-2 hours.)
- Shape the rolls, and place them in a parchment paper lined 9×13 baking pan.
- Cover with cling film wrap, and place them directly in the refrigerator.
- Allow the rolls to do their second rise slowly in the refrigerator.
- The next day, get the rolls out of the fridge, and let them sit on the counter for 1 to 2 hours, until they are room temperature.
- Bake them at 350*F for 20-25 minutes.
- Then, right after they come out of the oven, brush them with butter.
- Enjoy that yeasty flavored goodness!
Why Are My Dinner Rolls Not Light & Fluffy?
There are a couple reasons why dinners rolls may not turn out light & fluffy. Here is a list to help you trouble shoot the problem.
- Your yeast was not good, or your liquid was too hot, killing the yeast.
- Too much flour in the dough causes a very dense roll. I like a higher hydration dough to give me a super light, fluffy, and airy roll.
- The dough was not kneaded long enough! Knead until it passes the window pane test! I have a short video HERE if you are interested showing a pass & fail of the window pane test.
- Another reason for dense rolls is over cooking them. Make sure to bake them only until they reach 190* F, so they don’t dry out!
- Lastly, they did not rise long enough.
Why Are My Dinner Rolls Bland?
One reason for bland dinner rolls, is either because too much flour was added, making the salt, flour, sugar ratio off. Another reason for bland dinner rolls is not enough salt or the salt was forgotten. Even on a sweet roll, salt is necessary for flavor, and proper rising. Thirdly, if the dough did not rise long enough, it would not develop the yeasty flavor we all love in our dinner rolls. See above, where I mention how to make your rolls have a strong yeast flavor.
Is It Better To Use Milk Or Water For Yeast Rolls?
This question depends on what you are looking for in a yeast roll. Most recipes say milk is better, because milk will make a softer roll, and it will also help with browning the roll. Milk will also sweeten the roll a bit. But, some will argue that milk affects the gluten structure of bread, so it will be slightly more heavy. I wrote this recipe with water, but feel free to sub for milk 1:1. Just make sure the milk is heated so it doesn’t affect the gluten development.
Ingredients For These Fresh Milled Flour Yeast Dinner Rolls
- 3&1/2 cups fresh milled flour (420g) (I milled 2&1/4 cup hard white wheat berries)
- 1 cup warm water (240g)
- 4 TBSP softened butter (56g)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (74g)
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2&1/2 tsp instant yeast
Instructions For Making These Sweet Yeast Dinner Rolls With Fresh Milled Flour
- Firstly, Mill The Flour
- Heat water in microwave for 60 seconds. (You could sub for milk if you prefer)
- Pour warmed water, softened butter, brown sugar, eggs, and salt in mixer, mix until combined.
- Then, add the flour & mix until incorporated. This is a sticky dough.
- Now, let the dough sit and rest for about 15 minutes for the fresh milled flour to start absorbing the liquids.
- After the rest, add your instant yeast, mix in.
- Knead dough until it passes the window pane test. (see video)
- Spray the dough ball with oil & cover for 1-2 hours, until dough has doubled.
- On an oiled surface, divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Then, Roll & shape each pieces into a ball, making sure there is surface tension. (see video)
- Place in a parchment paper lined 9×13 baking dish.
- Then, cover. Now, you can make these the same day, or if you prefer a strong yeast flavor, make a day in advance.
- If making same day, let the dough rise for about 40 minutes until they appear “puffy”
- Preheat oven to 350*F during the end of the rise.
- Bake at 20-25 minutes
- Brush the rolls with butter after coming out of oven.
- Best enjoyed warm!
- **For a stronger yeast flavor – at step 12 put them covered in the fridge overnight. Then, the next day, get them out and let them come to room temperature. Bake, and enjoy that stronger yeasty flavor!
If You Want To Learn More About Milling Your Own Flour, I have a Fresh Milled Flour 101 post. I Recommend Starting With That Post.
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Checkout My Other Recipes:
Cinnamon Rolls with Dates (or Not)
Sweet Yeast Dinner Roll – Whole Wheat – Yeasty Flavor Tip!
The Best Yeast Dinner Rolls Made With Fresh Milled Flour
Ingredients
- 3&1/2 cups Fresh milled flour (420g) (I milled 2&1/4 cup hard white wheat berries)
- 1 cup warm water 240g
- 4 TBSP softened butter 56g
- 1/3 cup brown sugar 74g
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 2&1/2 tsp Instant yeast
Instructions
- Mill The Flour
- Heat water in microwave for 60 seconds. (You could sub for milk if you prefer)
- Pour warmed water, softened butter, brown sugar, eggs, and salt in mixer, mix until combined.
- Then, add the flour & mix until incorporated. This is a sticky dough.
- Now, let the dough sit and rest for about 15 minutes for the fresh milled flour to start absorbing the liquids.
- After the rest, add your instant yeast, mix in.
- Knead dough until it passes the window pane test. (see video)
- Spray the dough ball with oil & cover for 1-2 hours, until dough has doubled.
- On an oiled surface, divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Roll & shape each pieces into a ball, making sure there is surface tension. (see video)
- Place in a parchment paper lined 9×13 baking dish.
- Then cover. Now, you can make these the same day, or if you prefer a strong yeast flavor, make a day in advance.
- If making same day, let the dough rise for about 40 minutes until they appear "puffy"
- Preheat Oven to 350*F during the end of the second rise
- Bake at 20-25 minutes
- Brush the rolls with butter after coming out of oven.
- Best enjoyed warm!
- **For a stronger yeast flavor – at step 12 put them covered in the fridge overnight. Then, the next day, get them out and let them come to room temperature. Bake, and enjoy that stronger yeasty flavor!
Video
Notes
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
If you needed to make these a week in advance, would you recommend freezing the raw dough or baking, freezing and reheating later?
I have done it both ways. I like top make them freeze same day after they cool. Then thaw on the counter for a few hours. You can make the dough all the way to shaping, and freeze the whole tray. Then, put in the fridge the night before to thaw out. Then, place on the counter the day of baking to come to room temp.(usually 1-2 hours) then bake. Both ways should work.
Can I substitute the brown sugar for honey or coconut sugar or maple syrup
Yes, you can sub for any of those options! 🙂