Perfect Dinner Rolls | Recipe from Your Homebased Mom (2024)

FAQs

Why are my homemade dinner rolls dry? ›

Too much flour makes dough too stiff to rise properly, creating a dry texture. A range of flour is always given in yeast bread recipes because flours vary in moisture content, reacting in different ways depending on the time of year, weather conditions, etc. Be careful measuring flour.

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

If you're only a day or two away from your party, you can also just refrigerate either the dough or the shaped rolls — they'll keep just fine without even needing to go to the freezer. Whichever method you end up using, three days in the fridge or a month in the freezer is about the maximum that I recommend.

Let the rolls cool completely on a cooling rack. Always remove rolls from the pan immediately after baking to prevent moisture buildup that can cause sogginess. Once cooled, place in an air tight container or ziplock bag.

Refrigeration pulls moisture from bread, which speeds up the staling process and causes the bread to dry out. For longer storage, freeze the bread. Most yeast breads and rolls freeze well. To freeze, wrap securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in freezer bags.

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

Cast iron can be used on the stove top or directly in the oven. If you don't have a large 11 inch cast iron pan, you can use a glass baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. A 9×13 size would work well. It's best to have the rolls all touching each other when you arrange them in the pan, and I'll tell you why…

The internal temperature of a loaf of crusty yeast bread when it is cooked to perfection should be 200 to 210 F. Soft breads and dinner rolls should be 190 to 200 F. The bread will pull away from the sides of the pan and will feel firm to the touch. The bread will sound hollow when you tap it lightly.

Can you leave dinner rolls out overnight? ›

While it's safe to keep many baked goods at room temperature, it depends on the item and should be taken on a case-by-case basis. For instance, breads and rolls can last up to four days at room temperature, but any bread with meat or hard-boiled eggs should be refrigerated within two hours, according to the USDA.

You can also freeze the baked dinner rolls. Allow them to cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired. If reheating the whole pan, lightly cover and reheat in a 300°F (149°C) oven for about 10 minutes or until warm.

Commercially baked breads and rolls can be stored at room temperature for 2 to 4 days or 7 to 14 days in the refrigerator.

Freeze the unrisen, shaped rolls for no longer than 2 weeks. Let them rise for 4 to 5 hours, then bake. Trust me, you'll think you're enjoying absolutely fresh-made rolls.

Wrap The Bread To Keep It Fresh

Wrap each roll or bun individually and check the sides to make sure the foil covers each one in its entirety. If you use a plastic storage bag, push all excess air from inside before you seal the lip area. Any air left in the bag will aid in drying the bread quicker.

To reach moist bread you need to make sure your bread is not over-proofed, be sure to hydrate it enough during the bake until it developed a thick crust, ingredients wise it's recommended to use whole grain flour, add special fruity ingredients to give your loaf more moisture and last let it cool down completely before ...

“My mum told me a trick her mum used to do back in the day, and it really works.” As well as running it under the tap, you could also put a damp tea towel over your roll for a bit before popping it in the oven, or simply just wet your hands and rub them over the roll.

Avoid adding too much extra flour to the dough.

Your instinct might be to add extra flour; however, any extra flour will create a denser, tougher roll instead of the light, fluffy, soft dinner roll we want.