Cozy Kitchen Dinner Rolls

Welcome to my kitchen, y’all!

Today we’re making my husband’s favorite dinner rolls to go alongside a big pot of loaded hashbrown potato soup. So, pull up a seat, I’ll crank the jams, and let’s get started.

These rolls are soft, fluffy, buttery, and dangerously easy to eat straight out of the pan.

Equipment

• Stand mixer with dough hook

• Measuring cups

• Medium mixing bowl

• 8x8 baking dish

• Tea towel or plastic wrap

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

• 3/4 cup warm water

• 1/2 cup sourdough discard

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water (for egg wash)

Directions

1. Wake Up the Yeast

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together the warm water and yeast. Cover with a tea towel and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

When you come back, it should look a little bubbly and foamy.

2. Mix the Dough

Add the sourdough discard, sugar, butter, salt, and flour to the yeast mixture. Using your dough hook, mix on the lowest speed for about 2 minutes.

3. Knead the Dough

Increase the mixer speed to 2 and knead until the dough becomes smooth, glossy, and starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. This usually takes around 5 minutes.

I like to pause every minute or so and reposition the dough to make sure it’s kneading evenly and not sticking to the bottom.

4. First Rise

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel.

Little kitchen hack from me to you: those cheap clear plastic shower caps work PERFECTLY for covering dough bowls… and you can get a giant pack for next to nothing.

5. Let It Rest

Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60–90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

This will depend on how warm your kitchen is. Mine stays around 70 degrees, and it usually takes about an hour.

6. Shape the Rolls

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and divide it into 8 equal pieces.

Shape each piece into a tight ball by gently rolling it against the countertop to create tension.

7. Second Rise

Place the dough balls into a greased 8x8 baking dish. They should be touching slightly.

Cover again with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled and puffy.

In my 70-degree kitchen, this usually takes around 30 minutes.

8. Prep for Baking

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water to make your egg wash.

Brush the tops of the rolls gently with the egg wash after they finish their second rise.

9. Bake

Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until the tops are beautifully golden brown.

Enjoy!

These rolls never fail to amaze me with how much they rise. They come out so soft, fluffy, and buttery that they barely last long enough to cool in this house.

If you make them, I’d love to hear what you think!

If y’all are looking for the tools I use in my kitchen, I linked everything over on my page! From my mixer to my favorite baking goodies, I tried to make it easy for you to find the things that genuinely make this sourdough journey easier and more fun

What's in my kitchen