Easy Yeast Rolls (Southern Family Recipe)
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A Southern family recipe, these easy yeast rolls are perfectly soft and fluffy. Enjoy these homemade dinner rolls with any Southern supper.
Today I’m sharing a family recipe. These yeast rolls are deliciously soft and fluffy morsels of homemade bread whenever an occasion calls for them. I call them easy yeast rolls because let me tell you, they are very easy to make as far as yeast bread goes. I promise there’s minimal kneading and proofing involved to make these homemade dinner rolls.
To get started, you’re going to need some bread-baking essentials: flour, shortening, sugar, salt, eggs, yeast, and butter. If you take out the yeast we’re basically making a cake! The first step is to mix our dough, which is easy enough. Then we need to let the dough rise for 20 minutes before kneading it a few times.
Down below I’ve included two methods for baking my yeast rolls. You can form them into ordinary dinner rolls or roll them up so they look similar to croissants. Either way, the next step is the same. All you’re going to do is let them rise for another 20 minutes and then it’s time to bake for 25 minutes. Then you’ll have a scrumptious batch of golden brown bread rolls ready to serve to your family and friends.
I hope your family enjoys this homemade yeast roll recipe as much as mine does. I especially like to make them whenever I bake ham, Turkey, or Slow-Roasted Beef then I use leftover rolls and meat to make little sandwiches the next day. Yum yum yum! Keep scrolling to the end of the post for even more bread and roll recipes and the recipe card.
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Instant yeast
- Vegetable shortening
- Eggs
- Melted unsalted butter
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Easy Yeast Rolls
Measure your dry ingredients (sugar, salt, 2 cups of flour, and yeast) into a large mixing bowl.
Cut in shortening with a long-tined fork.
You can use a fancy pastry cutter if you want to but that’s just one more thing to clutter up my kitchen so I got rid of it years ago.
After you get your shortening cut up in there real good, add your eggs.
And mix them in there.
Like so.
Now we add our melted butter.
You want to melt this and then give it time to cool so that it isn’t too hot.
Add the remaining flour.
Finally, add the water, making sure the water is the temperature of baby’s bath water.
If you don’t know what temperature a baby’s bath water is then you could always go borrow a dirty baby, I suppose…
Stir that up well.
It’s going to look like a lumpy blob when you’re done.
Cover that with a towel and let it sit for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, it’s going to look like an even bigger lumpy blob.
This is good. You have done well, grasshopper.
Now we need to flour a surface and pour our blob of yeast roll dough out onto it.
I just put out a sheet of waxed paper to save cleanup and sprinkle a good bit of flour over it so my dough doesn’t stick.
Now it’s time to knead your dough.
How to knead the dough
Okay, so you need to knead your dough ball a time or two.
What I do is just put some flour on my hands, press the dough into a ball, and then smoosh it out with the heel of my hand. Then put it into a ball again and smoosh it out again with the heel of your hand.
Then wonder what crazy person decided to call that part of your hand a heel because that makes no sense at all to me.
From here there are two ways you can go with these easy yeast rolls.
I’ll start with my favorite and the less-maintenance one.
I like this method best because it’s easy and ends up yielding larger and smaller rolls which seem to suit company better anyway.
The first method
After kneading your dough two or three times, shape it into a rectangle.
If it doesn’t look like a perfect rectangle to you then squint your eyes until it does…
Cut into strips with a pizza cutter.
And then cut crosswise.
Spray a 9×13 casserole dish or baking dish with cooking spray.
Arrange the yeast rolls into the prepared pan and spray tops lightly with cooking spray.
Cover with a towel and let them rise for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, they should look like this.
Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for about 25 minutes.
How good do these homemade yeast rolls look?
Brush the baked rolls with melted butter or margarine when done.
Look at how fluffy they are!
Enjoy with a spread of butter.
The second method
Pat your dough out into a circle, about twelve inches in diameter.
With a pizza cutter, cut the circle into sixteen pieces.
Spray two 9×13-inch baking dishes with cooking spray.
Roll each triangle up beginning on the big end and rolling towards the point.
Space them out a bit and put them into the prepared pans.
I spray the tops lightly with more cooking spray to have prettier rolls when they are done baking and to help prevent them from sticking in the next step.
Cover with a towel and place in a warm place for another 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, they should look like this.
Preheat the oven (without rolls in it) to 350 and bake for about 25 minutes.
Brush with melted butter or margarine when done or serve with a spread of butter.
Another delicious option is mixing the butter with honey for a sweet honey butter topping.
They both look mighty good to me!
Storage
Store homemade dinner roll leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Recipe Notes
- The thing about yeast bread that is most tricky to folks is getting their liquid ingredients at the right temperature. A good rule of thumb that has always served me well has been to make sure liquids are about the same temperature as baby’s bath water. Yes, I stick my finger in the melted butter, it doesn’t hurt anyone. If it’s as warm as a baby’s bath water, but not hot, then it is a great temperature.
- I’m using instant yeast (also known as rapid-rise yeast), but you can also use active dry yeast. The rolls will just take longer to rise.
- For richer bread dough, swap the water for milk.
- Want to add some flavor to your homemade yeast rolls?
- Add 2 tablespoons of fresh or dried chopped rosemary.
- Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (any cheese works).
- Make garlic and herb dinner rolls by adding 2 teaspoons of dried herbs or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
Recipe FAQs
What kind of yeast should I use?
I don’t like to use packets of yeast because I have the patience of a nervous lizard. So I use this Fleischmann’s instant yeast jar you can purchase besides the packets. This way I just measure it out. The back of the jar will tell you how many teaspoons equal a packet. Bonus: this little jar will keep forever if you put it in your fridge.
Why aren’t my yeast rolls light and fluffy?
If your yeast rolls aren’t light and fluffy and come out hard, there are two main reasons why. You either added too much flour or didn’t give them enough time to proof before baking. Follow the recipe to a tee and you should be a-okay.
Do you have to bake yeast rolls right away?
No, you don’t have to bake these yeast rolls immediately. After shaping them and placing them in the baking dish, what you can do is cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Then let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking as instructed.
Can you leave yeast rolls out overnight to rise?
As above, you don’t want to leave them at room temperature overnight but let your yeast rolls rise in the fridge overnight instead.
Can you over-knead yeast rolls?
Unfortunately, yes, you can over-knead yeast rolls, which results in tough and chewy bread. If the dough becomes difficult to stretch, you’ve gone too far. I only knead my dough about 3 or 4 times and that’s plenty for this recipe.
Should you brush rolls with butter before baking?
You can brush dinner rolls with butter before, during, or after baking. The choice is yours.
Do yeast rolls need to rise twice?
Yes, yeast rolls do need to rise twice. The first is allowing the dough to rise and then the second allows the shaped rolls to rise.
Should you cover yeast rolls while rising?
Yes, covering yeast rolls is strongly recommended, as the dough needs both a warm and moist space to rise.
What temperature is best for baking rolls?
The best temperature for baking rolls is 350 degrees.
Should you use boiling water for yeast?
No, if you use boiling water for yeast it will kill the yeast’s active ingredient. Warm water is the way to go.
You may also like these quick bread & roll recipes:
Homemade Dinner Rolls (a.k.a Preston Rolls)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 2 packets instant yeast
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1.5 cups warm water
Instructions
- Place dry ingredients (sugar, salt, 2 cups of flour, and yeast) in a large mixing bowl.1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1.5 tsp salt, 2 packets instant yeast, 5 cups all-purpose flour
- Cut in shortening with a long-tined fork.1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
- Add eggs, beating them lightly with a fork before stirring them in.2 eggs
- Add the remaining flour, melted butter, and water. Stir together well. The dough will look like a big old lumpy blob.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1 stick unsalted butter, 1.5 cups warm water
- Cover with a dish towel and let it sit in a warm place for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle flour over the top and knead three to four times.
- Pat the dough out into a rectangle that's about 3/4-inch thick. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter.
- Place each roll into a greased 9×13 baking dish and cover them with a towel. Let them rise for another 20 minutes.
- Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Brush hot rolls with additional melted butter.
Notes
Nutrition
“Strength comes from the inside,
but must be fed on the outside to be able to grow.”
-Richard Manintveld
Submitted by his loving wife, Deidra.
My family has yet to find some keeper rolls that we have the recipe to. My cousin will make us up a batch but alas, never a recipe to be had. I’m going to try and see if this will be good one to keep since everything I’ve made from your site has been delish. Thank you for the recipes!
I have been looking for a delicious, uncomplicated and fast bread recipe. Thanks so much.
I hope you enjoy Paulette!!
I have loved baking rolls since I was a young bride but now I cheat and use the dough cycle on my bread machine to mix ingredients. We love yeast rolls! I bake mine and then freeze half of them since there is just my husband and I at home now. Then to reheat, I wrap in foil and heat a few minutes in the oven…taste like fresh baked ones! Enjoy your recipes so much, Christy! (I have a daughter named Christy!)
Great tip Pam!! I just happen to LOVE your daughters name!!!
At what point can you freeze homemade rolls? Before the second rise? After the second rise? After baking them? Whats the best way to freeze them? As a lump of dough or as rolls? With only two of us I need to know how to do this. Thank you.
I haven’t ever froze them since they just take an hour start to finish but you should be able to after the first rising if you have a good strong yeast.
Hello Christy! I’ve made these rolls twice now-taste great but seem alittle heavy-where do you let them rise? I let them rise the second time on top of my stove with the oven on for a warm place. I think my water has been correct temperature-maybe the butter cooled down more? Maybe mine need two pans to put in-instead of one pan. Any thoughts on how to improve? I do love the texture and will try again because they do seem to be a great recipe!
I did make Katy’s Lemon Juice cake and put lil’ jelly beans on top for Easter decoration-sneaked a taste and it’s to die for! Keep sending your recipes-bless you and yours for Easter and thank you!
Christy, I would like to make these rolls but it’s just my husband and I, is there a way to freeze the rolls prior to baking? I thought maybe if I froze them before the final rise, then take them out to thaw, rise then bake.
Christy you give me so much incentive to try things I have never tried before. You make baking look so easy. Will definitely try these. Thank you and may you and yours Have a Very Happy Easter lm