These rolls turn out so soft and tender and are a little bit sweet and are perfect for any occasion that you want some really delicious yeast rolls for. You will start with butter in a large bowl which is soft enough to easily stir together with the ingredients. The butter in this recipe is going to really help tenderize the yeast rolls.
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp (85 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50 gr) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk, slightly warm (about 110 F, 43 C)
- 4-5 cups (480-600 gr) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 package (7 gr, 2 1/4 tsp) active dry or rapid rise yeast
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter, granulated sugar, and salt until well combined.
- Add the eggs into the mixture and stir until incorporated. The mixture will look curdled at this point.
- Warm the milk slightly. I typically warm it for about 30 seconds in the microwave. It should be barely warm to the touch and not hot.
- Stir the milk into the mixture until incorporated.
- Add 4 cups of the flour and the package of yeast into the bowl and stir to combine. Reserve the 5th cup of flour to add in if needed while kneading the dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it by hand for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Alternatively, you can knead it with your dough hook in a stand mixer on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes.
- Transfer the dough back to a mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- At this point, the dough needs to rise (ferment) until about double in size. You can do this at room temperature and it will take about 45 minutes if you used rapid rise yeast or about 90 minutes if you used active dry yeast. If you want to shape the rolls the next day, you can refrigerate the dough immediately after kneading it and allow it to slowly rise in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
- After your dough has risen, gently press down in the middle of the dough to press all of the gas out of it. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it evenly into 12 or 16 pieces.
- Shape the rolls into a smooth piece of ball dough then place the shaped rolls on a parchment-lined sheet pan or in a 9″ x 13″ (23 x 33 cm) baking dish. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap.
- The rolls need to rise a second time (proof) until about double in size. You can proof them at room temperature to bake them the same day, or you can proof them in the refrigerator overnight.
- The rolls will take about 45 minutes at room temperature if you used rapid rise yeast and will take about 75-90 minutes if you used active dry.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C) then brush the rolls with an egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp of water) to give them a nice shine once baked.
- Bake the rolls on the center rack in the oven until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
- Brush the baked rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with some flaky salt if desired.
