Bake It Up a Notch

A Baker's 7 Secrets for Better Dinner Rolls

Erin Jeanne McDowell's got the scoop for your Parker House, pull-apart, and every roll in between.

September 17, 2021

I can’t do Thanksgiving without some really good rolls on the table. Since the season is just about upon us, I tackled the concept in the most recent episode of Bake it Up a Notch, diving deep into all things dinner rolls and learning a lot along the way! This year, on top of all of the recipes (and there are many!), I wanted to share all of my favorite tips, tricks, and techniques for baking all kinds of beautiful dinner rolls. So right in time for fall and holiday baking, here are my seven top secrets for perfect dinner rolls, every time.

1. Pick the Right Dough for Crusty vs. Fluffy Results

Dinner rolls can be made from either lean or enriched bread doughs. Enriched doughs are recipes that contain “enrichments” like butter, eggs, milk, and sugar. Examples of enriched doughs include brioche, challah, and Parker House rolls. Lean doughs contain no enrichments—they are just made of flour, water, yeast, and salt. Examples of lean doughs include baguettes, ciabatta, and plain varieties of sourdough. When choosing your ideal roll recipe, remember: If you’re looking for a fluffier roll, opt for an enriched dough. For a crustier roll, choose a lean dough.

2. Don’t Put Away the Scale After Mixing

I’m always gabbing about how much I love my kitchen scale. It’s the most accurate form of measurement, and will help yield the most consistent results, every single time you bake. This is especially important in bread baking, where I keep the scale on my work counter after I’m done measuring out my ingredients. After the dough rises, I weigh it, and divide the weight by the recipe’s yield. I use the resulting number to weigh out each portion of dough to ensure it’s evenly divided, and each roll is exactly the same size. Call me a perfectionist if you wish, but it only takes a little extra time, and ensures that the rolls bake evenly, too!

3. Know Exactly What a "Lightly Floured Surface" Means

When it comes time to shape the dough, a lot of recipes direct you to handle your dough on a “lightly floured surface”—but what exactly does that mean? As a recipe writer, to me this term sort of just means: Use as much flour as you need so things don't stick, but no more. See, every dough is a little different, and they will require a lot more flour than others. Some doughs, like ciabatta, are highly hydrated and therefore may require significant flour when shaping. Enriched doughs can also sometimes be sticky or tacky, which can make them a little more difficult to shape and thus will need a bit more flour than leaner doughs.

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Top Comment:
“This was excellent! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips for when dough doesn’t behave. Very inspirational, now I want to make rolls.”
— Jennifer K.
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Here’s my rule of thumb: Use flour as needed to keep your dough from sticking to your work surface, hands, or rolling pin. Measure this a little bit at a time, adding more if needed. But don’t be throwing it around too generously, as using flour in excess can actually make the dough more difficult to shape.

4. Hack Any Dough Recipe to Make It Ahead

The rolls my mom makes for Thanksgiving every year have the added benefit of being an overnight dough. She lets the dough rise overnight, and on the big day she bakes them first thing before the turkey goes in the oven. I’ve come to really rely on this tactic for meals outside of Thanksgiving; and really, if you’re hoping to make rolls to serve alongside a large meal of any sort, it can be convenient to be able to make the dough ahead. Beyond convenience, a slow-rising dough benefits from gaining a lot of lovely flavor. Most doughs can be adjusted to rise overnight with a few simple adjustments.

  • Instead of using warm liquid (water, milk, etc.) at the temperature the recipe suggests, use room-temperature liquid (about 70°F/21°C).
  • After mixing, allow the dough to rise at room temperature for the time called for in the recipe, then transfer the dough to the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.
  • Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before beginning shaping.

5. Proof Your Dough Perfectly

Proofing, or rising the dough, occurs at two stages: after mixing and after shaping. During this fermentation time, the yeast consumes carbohydrates; this releases carbon dioxide gasses in the process, which causes the dough to rise. In addition to physically rising during proofing, dough gains strength and flavor, too. Proper proofing is essential to achieving the proper crumb structure in the final rolls. The best way to determine if rolls are properly proofed are cues like visible puffiness, or the “poke test.” Use a finger to gently poke the surface of the roll.

  • Under-proofed dough will not hold an indentation—it will quickly spring back.
  • Properly proofed dough will hold a slight indentation, and slowly spring back (though not entirely).
  • Over-proofed dough will hold the indentation and not spring back.

Remember, enriched doughs typically rise slower than lean doughs. The higher the quantity of enriched ingredients (like milk, eggs, sugar, and butter), the slower the rise will go. This can be deceptive, so be sure to trust visual and tactile cues (like the poke test) over time cues.

6. Think Beyond the Round Roll

I love a classic round roll, but there are so many more ways to make beautiful shapes with roll dough. Be sure to check out the newest episode of Bake it Up a Notch, where we show how to shape each of these shapes step-by-step! Here’s some of my favorite roll shapes:

  • Split-top or clover rolls: Instead of just rounding one piece of dough per roll, use two smaller rounds (split top) or three rounds (clover rolls).
  • Folded rolls (Parker House or lotus leaf-style): In this preparation, the dough is rolled into a flattened oval, then the dough is folded over onto itself. For classic Parker House rolls, the dough is brushed with butter before it’s folded.
  • Knotted rolls: In this method, the portioned dough is formed into a long strand, then “tying” it into a knot shape.
  • Braided rolls: Here, the dough is divided into either single or multiple portions, each are rolled into long strands, then woven into braided shapes.
  • Crescent rolls: The same method used for shaping croissants can be used to make very cute little rolls.
  • Pull-apart, fan, or accordion rolls: Methods that can be used for pull-apart loaves also work well for rolls. Usually pull-apart rolls are baked in a muffin pan to contain the pieces of dough, so that the rise and bake together in a neat roll shape.

7. Get 'Em Golden Brown, Once & for All

Rolls can be finished in a variety of ways to promote even browning, or even add flavorful finishes to the exterior. Here are a few ideas that I like to keep in mind as I'm getting ready to bake these puppies.

  • Scoring: Scoring the rolls with a lame, sharp blade, or scissors can provide decorative marks and/or create a designated spot for steam to escape during baking. This is most commonly done on lean dough rolls.
  • Egg wash: Either egg yolk (to aid in browning), egg white (to add shine), or whole egg wash (for both) can be brushed onto the surface of proofed rolls before baking. I mix the egg with a tablespoon or so of water to help it achieve a brushable consistency.
  • Butter basting: Rolls can be brushed with butter before, during, or after baking. While it doesn’t brown the surface as much as egg wash will, it does promote browning and adds a lot of flavor.
  • Garnishes & toppers: I love to finish my rolls with ingredients like flaky salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, black pepper, and cheese can be added to the surface after proofing and before baking. Egg wash or water can help these garnishes better stick to the surface before and after baking.

What are your favorite dinner-roll tips? Let us know in the comments.

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

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I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

7 Comments

khaos February 27, 2022
@19:34 what a great single strand braid!!
 
Jennifer K. December 5, 2021
This was excellent! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips for when dough doesn’t behave. Very inspirational, now I want to make rolls.
 
Ginger November 25, 2021
Where is the recipe for these dinner rolls?
 
Rebecca K. September 25, 2021
I am a gf baker and have found that an ice cream scoop works magically for my enriched Parker House rolls. I dip in water between each scoop and they slip right from the scoop into the pan.
 
AntoniaJames September 20, 2021
My tips (you asked):

1. Potatoes - flakes, mashed potatoes, potato flour, potato water, whatever. Bread bakers seeking a soft, luscious crumb have for generations turned to potatoes.

2. Wheat germ adds a nice nutty flavor. Substitute 1:1 by weight (up to 1/2 cup for a standard batch). Incidentally, a recipe I posted that was the non-winning finalist in a contest for dinner rolls a few years back uses both potato and wheat germ. I've posted a number of other bread recipes using one or both of those ingredients.

3. A showstopper shape: epi rolls. These skew toward a baguette in texture and crust, but they are gorgeous and people love them. Recipe here: https://food52.com/recipes/8324-rosemary-epi-rolls They're not hard to make! ;o)
 
HalfPint September 21, 2021
Oooo, epi rolls. That sounds like a gorgeous presentation :)

 
Renee September 19, 2021
l loved this so much! I am going to use some of your suggestions at our Thanksgiving (Canadian).
Renee