I try to avoid adding “the best” in front of my recipes, actually I’ve never done it since every person has a different opinion of what’s “the best” but these dinner rolls are the best! There’s absolutely nothing you can do to improve the taste. They are PERFECT! Soft, tender and warm, straight out of the oven while the butter is still running on the sides - this is what I call dinner! 
I’ve been working on this dinner rolls recipe for a couple of months now and I’m pretty sure I’ve made them 10 times so far. My family asks for them at least once a week when dinner time comes around. Before I developed this recipe we always relied on the buttery dinner rolls I’ve shared the recipe with you in the past, which it’s still the quick version to great dinner rolls. Today’s dinner rolls takes a little bit of time, it’s a little more work involved but the results are so worth it! 
When I first cam up with this idea I wanted to make a buttery, brioche-like soft loaf of bread but somehow I had a hard time finding the right pan size for it. It was too much for a standard 9X5 inch loaf pan and too small for two 8×4 inch pan loaves. After a few more trials I decided to shape the dough into small dinner rolls instead of one loaf. Best decision ever! And you know what’s even better? You can freeze the rolls just after shaping and bake them as needed. It’s that great? I make two batches of dough, shape and place them on baking sheets, cover well in plastic wrap and freeze. When I’m in the mood for fresh-baked dinner rolls (it happens more than I should admit) I just take the baking sheet out of the oven, unwrap the plastic and leave at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours and bake as fresh. 
These dinner rolls have a little twist. Of course they need flour, yeast (afraid of baking with yeast? read Bread Baking 101- baking with yeast) , water, eggs and butter but also a secret ingredient : Greek Yogurt! Yes, you read that right, I’ve added some to increase the richness of the dough without adding additional eggs or butter, not that eggs and butter are a bad thing when it comes to baking, no, no, no! I just wanted to see if adding yogurt to dough will keep the final result moist longer as it does to cakes or cupcakes. I can honestly say that these are the softest dinner rolls I’ve ever had or made, but can’t guarantee how long they stay soft since they disappear in no time. The longest we had some were two days and they were still soft. If you manage to keep them longer, please let me know if they are still soft.
Soft, tender and warm, straight out of the oven - these are the best dinner rolls!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (60 grams) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp dry yeast (I've used Red Star Active Dry)
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I've used Chobani)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 1/4 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour
- 4 tbsp melted and cooled butter
- 2 tbsp salted butter (for brushing the rolls, optional)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water and the dry yeast. Mix to combine and leave at room temperature until bubbly and has a sponge-like texture.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs with the yogurt, salt, sugar and the remaining 1/4 cup water.
- With the dough hook attached and the mixer running, add the wet ingredients to the yeast mixture. It's going to be a very sticky batter.
- Now slowly, on low speed, add the 3 1/4 cups of flour, little by little.
- When all the flour is added pour the 4 tbsp of melted butter and slowly increase the mixer' speed from low to high.
- Keep mixing for 2-3 minutes and turn the mixer off. With a wooden spoon or a spatula, clean the sides of the bowl, scraping down the sticky dough.
- Turn the mixer back on and mix on medium-to-high for another 2-3 minutes or until the dough will start to clean itself from the sides of the bowl. It's still going to be little sticky, don't be tempted to add flour.
- With the help of a spatula/wooden spoon put the dough into a clean buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in volume.
- Punch down the dough and, with floured hands, take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a floured surface.
- Now divide the dough into 20 pieces, shaping each one into a ball. Place them on baking sheet (at this point you can wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for future use) cover again with plastic wrap or a tea towel and leave at room temperature for another 30-40 minutes.
- Meanwhile heat the oven to 375F.
- Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes or until golden.
- As soon as you take them out of the oven brush them with the salted butter.
- Enjoy!
Submitting these rolls to this month #Bakeyourownbread
How to participate (the rules): 1.) Blog about bread. It can be a post about baking bread in any form (yeast, wild yeast, quick breads, flat breads, sweet, savory, loaves, rolls, breadsticks, tortillas, scones, biscuits, etc.). It could also be a recipe that uses bread in it or as a base (pizza, bread pudding, etc.). Or it could be an informative post, a tutorial or how-to post (such as how to make sourdough, bread baking essentials, favorite products for baking bread, etc.). It could be a review of a bread-making book. Anything that will inspire us to bake bread at home. If you don’t have a blog and you’d like to participate, please email me a photo of your bread and the recipe and I will create a page for it. 2.) Include a link back to this post or any of the monthly link-up posts 3.) Please link only posts from the current month.
All submissions will be added to a Bake your own bread Pinterest board. 
If you enjoyed these dinner rolls, you might also like Butter dinner rolls Pani popo Cottage cheese dinner rolls Homemade burger buns Make ahead dinner rolls from The Baker Chick No knead dinner rolls from Cake Duchess Homemade dinner rolls from Simply Scratch Dinner rolls from Brown Eyed Baker Sending love your way, Roxana
{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
Roxana – these dinner rolls looks amazing – Love the texture and great clicks as always
Beautiful! Cant wait to try these!
These are stunning rolls! I HAVE to try them!!!
Dinner rolls are the best, especially for holiday dinners with the family!
These look mouth-watering!
I old love to try making these rolls but I do not have dough hooks. Can I use my regular beaters?
Hi Sherry,
When you say regular beaters you’re referring to paddle attachment or to whisk-like beaters?
Roxana
I guess they’re whisy like. The one’s that came with my beater which I use for mostly for cookies and whip cream.
Those beaters are not going to work. They are mostly used to incorporate air into the batter. You can use your beaters until you have to add the flour.
The yeast dough needs kneading that’s why the dough hook comes to the rescue. You could make the rolls by hand but it’s going to need a lot of kneading to reach that smooth soft, lightly sticky consistency.
Roxana
Thanks so much Roxana. I love your website!
Hi Roxana, I don’t have a dough hook either, but I do have the paddle attachment to my stand mixer. Will that work? Thanks!
Not really, you’ll have to do the kneading by hand. The paddle attachment will only help you until most of the flour is added, after that will be too firm for the paddle.
Roxana
I would love to try making these rolls but I do not have dough hooks. Can I use my regular beaters?
These are the most beautifully golden dinner rolls I’ve ever seen! In my opinion, that certainly makes them the best.
they sure do look like the BEST dinner rolls
Roxana, these rolls look FASCINATING! I’m just tempted by their photos and how you described them. I’m intrigued by adding greek yogurt to the dough. Pinning it to try next weekend!
These are simply stunning, Roxanna! I love homemade rolls!
I’m afraid these wouldn’t make it to dinner. They would be gone as soon as they came out of the oven! Thanks for all the tips.
We’re having a party at Tumbleweed Contessa and I’d love it of you would share these. http://www.tumbleweedcontessa.com/blog/whatd-you-do-this-weekend-3/#
Have a wonderful week,
Linda
Hi Roxana!! loved your dinner rolls…will definately try out this recipe…
I collect cookbooks and always looking for good baking recipes.
I love to bake!
Delicious dinner rolls!! Such an easy recipe
Beautiful buns, Roxana! I mean, your dinner rolls!!! I have wonderful childhood memories with these kinds of dinner rolls. It reminds me of the steak house dinners my dad used to take me to as a child. these buns always come on the side with butter – and I was usually too busy stuffing myself with these! I know they are delicious!!!
These look fantastic! I adore a good quality dinner roll and this looks like that might be it!
When you say the best, I believe you! I simply love how they look and I can almost smell the aroma coming from the oven when they are baking. Wonderful recipe and gorgeous pictures Roxy! Have a lovely week!!!
Oh my these look gorgeous!!! I need to make these stat.
You should just stand outside your house with a roll cart and you could mop up. I wish I had some of these in the freezer, I’d bake myself one for breakfast. I don’t think you should be shy here, I’ll trust you on best, lol.
-Gina-
I loved my mom’s homemade rolls, and I cannot wait to try your recipe. The smell of bread baking in the oven is heavenly!
Gorgeous rolls! I am in the mood to make more bread this week!
homemade dinner rolls are the best! There is quite nothing like them. I have a drawer FULL of yeast packets that were sent to me… now I have no excuse to keep baking with it.
LOVING the greek yogurt here!
i cant wait to try these! They look buttery and yummy and perfect
Gorgeous rolls, Roxy. I would say they look like the best to me and now I can’t wait to try them one night this week. I think they also won’t last too long here. xx
Hi, How long can you keep these so the taste dont change and they are all fresh?
Prabhanthi, mine never lasted longer than two days and they were still fresh
Roxana
Oh Roxana these are really the best dinner rolls. I have never come across something so appetizing like these. I am bookmarking this one. Great pictures too.. makes me crave for some right away. Do you think fat free greek yogurt wud work ? I just have them handy so checking with you. Please let me know.
These are absolutely stunning! I love their golden hue and can only imagine how moist and flavorful they are.
Roxana, I feel like I would eat the entire batch of these soft and delicious bread rolls!
I need your bread baking patience and abilities!
Homemade rolls are SO good. Love love love them!
Do you know how much I would give for one of these rolls right now!!! These are heavenly, Roxana!
These rolls are so beautiful – I love their golden coloured, shiny tops. I have a tub of Greek yogurt at home just crying out to be used in this recipe. Thanks for sharing, Roxana!
Oh my gosh, Roxana….these are like…picture perfect! (Actually your pictures usually are perfect….and beautiful!) Now these dinner rolls look so good…I’d also love to have them in the morning with a bit of jam! And I would call them the best breakfast rolls! ;- }
So golden and beautiful!
Roxana-I made these last night for dinner! They are truly the best rolls ever!
Roxana, I featured these rolls on my Weekly Rays of Sunshine as one of my favorite pins of the week. Hope you can drop by and take a look.
Have a great weekend. Linda
http://www.tumbleweedcontessa.com/blog/weekly-rays-of-sunshine-17/
These rolls look so amazing, I love that you added Greek yogurt!
These look delicious. I am stopping by from the Tumbleweed Contessa.
Could I make it without the Greek yogurt?
Hi Diana,
If you leave the Greek yogurt out you’ll have to add more eggs and maybe some butter. I haven’t tried them this way, so I can’t say how to do it.
Roxana
You always amaze me with your bread making prowess! These are beautiful!!!! Perfect for Easter!
Gorgeous! Really, if I could, I’d stay at home some weekends just so I could make bread…and this dinner roll recipe would be at the top of my list.
Fabulous, I’m quite crazy about any type of brioche, these look amazing!
Very sticky dough indeed! I started to make the mistake of picking the dough up with my hands to move it from the mixer to the buttered bowl. Very good rolls, thanks.
Thanks Vicky,
The dough is indeed a little sticky, that’s the secret to the softest fluffiest dinner rolls.
Glad you liked them.
Roxana
Oh goodness. Those buttery tops! So yummy looking. And Greek yogurt in rolls?! Whaaat. I have to try these!
What an amazing recipe Roxana! I’d eat all of them by myself…
I was wondering if I could toss the frozen rolls into a ziploc bag for storage instead of keeping them on the baking sheet?
Hi Lacey,
If you don’t want to keep the unbanked rolls in ziploc bags, you’ll have to freeze them first on baking sheets and then place them in the bags, to make sure they keep their shape.
Roxana
I have made these buns twice now, and they really are the best buns that I have ever had or made. My husband loves them, thanks for the recipe!
I made these today and they are yummy! I baked half of them and put the second half in a muffin/cupcake pan to freeze. It’s a good thing I didn’t bake them all. They would be gone tomorrow! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Roxana,
Do you need to grease your pans before baking the rolls. Also, when you’re baking bread should the pans be greased (with butter and flour) or just butter? I bake my bread in a cast iron pot. Thanks for your assistance. Love your web-site page.
Hi Tina,
I usually grease my pans just with butter. As for these dinner rolls, you can line it with parchment paper or leave it plain. Your choice.
Happy Baking,
Roxana