Check out some of the best bread, buns and rolls recipes to try for Christmas holiday dinner.
Recipe card
Ingredients
Milk: Full-fat whole milk gives the best flavor and texture. Use non-dairy milk only if you want to make a vegan dinner roll. Butter: Gives a rich buttery flavor to the bread rolls. Sugar and salt: a little of both enhances the taste, and sugar makes your rolls tender. Active dry yeast: Makes the bread rolls rise—key ingredient. See that the yeast is not old else the rolls will not rise. Flour: I have used regular all-purpose flour. Gives the structure to your yeast rolls. Egg: Egg wash gives a beautiful golden brown color on top for your buns. Coarse salt: add extra flavor. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Soft and buttery bread rolls
Activate the yeast
In a pan, combine milk and butter and heat on low flame till the butter melts for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. When the mixture is lukewarm, add sugar. Sprinkle yeast. Cover and keep this aside. Let the yeast activate. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Make the dough and knead; let it rise
Now add flour and salt and mix it using a wooden spatula. Transfer this to the working surface and knead it until a soft and smooth ball of dough is formed. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Cover and keep it aside for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Shape into rolls and let it rise
Transfer the dough onto the working surface and shape it into a rectangle. Divide it into 30 equal portions for mini dinner rolls or 15 big dinner rolls. Form each piece into a ball, pinching the seam side down to get a smooth round top. Arrange this in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan 5 rows of 6, placing close to each other but not touching. Cover this and let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled.
Bake the best dinner rolls
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle coarse salt. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown in color. Brush the warm rolls with melted butter before serving if desired.
What to serve with dinner rolls?
Dinner rolls just go well with anything. We love to have it for all three meals with a spread of butter. You can serve it with any pasta, thanksgiving turkey, or Christmas chicken roast to soak up the gravy instead of buttermilk biscuits, with hot chicken wings during your Super Bowl game night.
Variations
These can be added when you add flour to the recipe.
Garlic and herb dinner rolls: Add 1 teaspoon garlic powder and one herb or combination of herbs like rosemary or basil 1 teaspoon each, or simply add Italian seasoning. Garlic cheddar rolls: Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 cup of cheddar cheese Garlic and parmesan rolls: 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and ½ cup of Parmesan. Rosemary dinner rolls: fresh or dried rosemary 1 teaspoon to 2 tsp. Jalapeno cheddar rolls 1 jalapeno finely chopped and 1 cup of cheddar.
I can go on with a list of several other flavors - but those listed above are some of my favorites. You can also garnish herbs and cheese on top. Be creative and add flavors you like to make the best dinner rolls for your family this holiday season.
Make ahead instructions
Once you have shaped the rolls, cover them tightly and refrigerate before the second rise. Leave them in the refrigerator overnight. Just about 2 hours before you need them, remove them from the refrigerator and allow them to return back to room temperature before baking.
Dinner rolls are one of the best make-ahead recipes for your Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, or Easter brunch.
Freeze yeast rolls
Freeze the unbaked rolls
Place the rolls in the freezer instead of refrigerating them overnight once you shape them. Once frozen, they won’t stick to each other. Transfer them to a ziplock bag or freezer bag. You will have to thaw it for a little longer time, say 3 to 4 hours, to bring it back to room temperature. You can bake only as much as you need in batches.
Freeze baked rolls
Once the rolls cool down completely, wrap them in aluminum foil and place them in freezer bags. You can keep this for a maximum of up to one month.
Store and reheat instructions
These rolls won’t last long for more than 5 to 6 days when refrigerated, as they become stale and dry out. But you can freeze it, as mentioned above. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange it in a baking pan and place it in the middle rack of the oven. Brush with butter if desired and bake for 10 minutes or until it is warm. You can even microwave for 30 to 45 seconds if needed.
More homemade rolls
Try these homemade rolls for Christmas dinner, thanksgiving dinner, Easter brunch, or even during game night or Super Bowl. Also, don’t miss to check out Garlic Knots, Savory Cranberry Pull Apart Bread. Did you like this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
