Perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, these pillow-soft dinner rolls chill overnight in the refrigerator for easy baking the next day and their homemade flavor is unbeatable!—you won’t be able to have just one!
Let’s talk about pillows. No, not the kind that we caress our heads in every night. Not the ones that we never want to leave in the wee hours of morning. The EDIBLE ones.
Did you know such a thing existed? You’re looking at ’em. These dinner rolls = Legit texture of PILLOWS, you guys!!
You might want to cancel your other dinner plans tomorrow tonight and seriously consider making your dinner solely these dinner rolls.
Chances are you’re gonna end up doing that anyway. 😉
Move over Pillsbury dinner rolls!
These pillow-soft rolls have quickly become a favorite around here. The past few weeks, I’ve been making them every Thursday night for Friday-night dinner, and my family quickly decided that this must become a tradition.
They kinda ignore their roast chicken and mashed potatoes and instead load up on the dinner rolls like they’re worried it’s their last meal or something…
Okay, so my brother Daniel would kill me if he saw me writing about him, but I’m not worried—he doesn’t read my blog, so here we go.
It’s kinda hilarious watching him load up on these buns. He’ll start off with like two. Butter ’em up and devour them. Then go back for another…and another.
And I’m just like looking at him and wistfully thinking: “Really? Why can’t that be me??”
Oh, to have the metabolism of a man.
But I guess a guy does need his bread if he’s gonna make it through all those crazy workouts that they do.
I take this dinner-roll-pig-out as a compliment though. I LOVEEE it when the menfolk love my cooking (they’re all uber-picky)
These rolls took only THREE times to get perfect. The first time they didn’t have enough salt in them. (blech, too sweet) The second time they ended up overbaked (crunchy dinner rolls? pass!) The third time? Pillow-y soft. Perfectly flavorful. Perfectly-perfect. (and so on)
The fourth and the fifth time? Even better. ♥
And I kinda expect they’re just gonna keep exceeding my expectations every time I make them.
Because I’m kinda in LURVE with these things.
It’s kinda mind-boggling to me how flipping SIMPLE these rolls are to make—I mean, they taste like you slaved over them all day! Nobody has to know that you were actually sleeping while they did their magic in the fridge overnight.
If you’ve ever been afraid to try yeast breads, this is definitely the recipe to start with!!
These rolls can rise in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, so feel free to just leave them in the fridge until right before dinnertime. Then bake ’em up and serve ’em warm.
With the butter, um of course.
The last time I made these rolls I asked the fam if I could get their approval to make these rolls for Thanksgiving. Their response?
You must.
Ookay, then! That was easier than I expected.
I’m kinda telling you the same thing now. YOU MUST make these dinner rolls for your own Thanksgiving feast. Must.
My mom told me I should plan on TRIPLING these dinner rolls for T-Day and I gotta say that’s probably a smart idea—This batch alone only makes 20, and something tells me 60 dinner rolls on Thanksgiving aren’t gonna last very long.
And we all know how important T-day leftovers are. To me anyway.
I mean, Thanksgiving Round #2 on Black Friday is possibly even better than the first, because you’re starving from shopping all day and your stomach is still stretched from the day before….
Ouch. The way I just said that was kinda depressing.
But trust me here, guys: Two (or ten) of these rolls is so worth an hour on the treadmill.
P.S. I’ve got something epic coming tomorrow that is going to go SO utterly perfect with these dinner rolls.
So amazing I may cry from bliss. ♥
See y’all tomorrow. 😀
Overnight Dinner Rolls
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Ingredients
- 1 pkg active dry yeast 2-1/4 teaspoons
- 1-1/4 cups warm water 110F
- 1/3 cup xylitol or sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1-3/4 teaspoons salt
- 4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 egg white beaten
Instructions
- In a large stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes, then mix in xylitol (or sugar) oil, egg, and salt.
- With mixer running on low, add flour. Increase speed to medium and keep mixing until dough pulls away from sides of bowl (if dough seems too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until dough pulls away from sides)
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Once dough is doubled, punch down and divide into 20 pieces. Roll each portion into a ball and place balls in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and chill overnight. (or up to 15 hours)
- Remove dinner rolls from refrigerator and brush with beaten egg white. Bake dinner rolls at 375F 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before serving warm.
Notes
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
These look so perfect and fluffy!! I bet they smelled AMAZING while they were baking! So yummy.
Sarah says
The smell of these rolls baking literally swept me off my feet (from happiness obv) 😉 Thanks Jess!!
Katie @The Semisweet Sisters says
These do look like the perfect rolls to make for Thanksgiving dinner! I love overnight rolls.
Sarah says
Thanks Katie!! 🙂
Christy says
do you happen to know how much each ball of dough weighs? I always have trouble making them about the same size, or making it come out to 20 rolls, not 13 or 24!!!
Sarah says
I did not weigh the balls of dough, but I’m guessing each one was about 2-inches in size if that helps.
Sorry I’m not more help! LMK if you have any other questions!
DC says
I take the ball of dough, cut it in half, cut each half in half, then cut each of those into 5 or 6 pieces (ending up with a total of either 20 or 24 rolls). Hope that makes sense…
Sarah says
I’m thrilled to hear that these rolls are a hit with your family, DC! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Pat Garcia says
when you take the rolls out of the fridge the next day, do they need to worm up any, or sit at room temperature for any length of time? Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe! I’m looking forward to trying it
Sarah says
Nope! From the fridge, the rolls can just go straight in the oven.
DC says
Hi! I’ve made these twice already (once for Christmas dinner, then for a dinner a few days later). Both times they were gobbled up and I got so many compliments from our guests. I don’t do the overnight proof since I make them the same day, but I do put them in the fridge after shaping. I let them come to room temp/rise a little before I put them in the oven, which has worked great both times. Making them yet again for a dinner we’re going to tomorrow. They are so easy, and SO delicious, just wanted to say thanks for the recipe!
Lori says
I’d love to try but only have whole wheat, whole wheat pastry or all purpose white flour. 🙁 can I sub 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose?
Sarah says
That would be fine. You may have to add a little more flour, but just make sure that the dough is soft, not sticky.
DC says
I almost always use a combo of whole wheat and some other flour, AP, bread flour, spelt… whatever I happen to have on hand. Bread in general doesn’t turn out well with pastry flour though (something about it not developing enough gluten) so I would try to not use too much of your whole wheat pastry flour if possible.
Sarah, I’ve made these probably 10 times now, and it still stays as my family’s favorite!
Sarah says
Thanks for the info, DC! I’m so happy to hear that these rolls have become a big family-favorite! 🙂
Chandler says
I only have all purpose flour on hand! Will that work for these rolls?
Also, I notice that you used a metal baking pan, but I only have glass in 9×13. Will a pyrex work the same way?
Sarah says
All-purpose flour WILL work, however you may need to add a little more than the recipe calls for. Just make sure that the dough is smooth and non-sticky, yet soft. And yes! A glass pan will work fine.
Mirakol S. says
I pinned this recipe ages ago and just tried it this past weekend for Friendsgiving. I used melted butter instead of oil. After I took them out of the oven, there were 2 left in just 10 minutes. My batch made 23. People LOVED them! Pillowy and slightly sweet. I served them with browned butter mixed with sea salt, cinnamon and honey. SO GOOD. I’ve shared this recipe and will keep it in my repertoire! Thank you!
Sarah says
I’m SO glad to hear that these dinner rolls were a hit for your friendsgiving! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Philana Jeremiah says
I made these last night. I used my bread machine to whipped the dough, because I’ve never done it by hand or with the mixer. I let it rise again in the oven at the lowest temperature of the oven. I ended up getting 21 rolls. I brushed the rolls with melted butter instead of the egg. They were perfect. My family ate them all. I am making more today.
Mrs. M. says
Have you tried freezing them after they’ve risen but before cooking? Then baking them straight from the freezer?
Or do they freeze so well already baked that there’s no reason for this?
Thanks!
Sarah says
I would recommend baking these rolls before freezing them just to ensure that they rise properly. They do freeze quite well after they’ve been baked!