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These Buttermilk Dinner Rolls are delicious and smell fantastic, even before they come out of the oven. Try all the different shapes for your next party!
I've been trying to get ready by stocking the freezer with some soups, chilies and curries to get us through the busy weeks ahead. I also made a double batch of these Buttermilk Dinner Rolls and stashed them in the freezer. A bowl of soup, a simple salad and a basket of warm rolls is a fabulous busy-day dinner, and a wonderful combo to express a bit of love and cheer to a new mom, a recently moved-in neighbor, a shut-in or a friend in need.
I've treasured every minute of being a mom, but there's something fantastically special to me about that first year of life - the velvety smooth skin, soft, peach-fussy hair, the sweet unique fragrance (most of the time), the heartwarming first smiles, hesitant, but proud initial steps, delightful first words - all of it!
And now I'm getting to experience it all over again. Scott and I are expecting grandchild number five, due TOMORROW! Our son, Nick and his wife Lindsay are all set for the new arrival and since our first four grand kiddies live thousands of miles away in London, England, we're super thrilled that this little one will be just "a hop, skip and a jump" away." "Papa Scott" and I ("Grammy") can hardly wait, and every time the phone rings or a text message appears, our hearts beat a little faster.
The rolls are billowy soft and slightly sweet with a touch of buttermilk tanginess. The egg wash transforms the exterior to a shiny golden delight, after a stint in the hot oven. Scatter the rolls with a shower of sesame or poppy seeds before baking or leave them plain, but beautifully unadorned. Whip up a batch; you'll totally see what I mean when I say that the only problem with these Buttermilk Dinner Rolls is that it's impossible to eat just one!
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Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water, 110°F. to 115°F, use a thermometer if you're not used to working with yeast, they're inexpensive and will ensure success.
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ¼-oz. pkg. active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
- ½ cup room temperature buttermilk
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 ½ to 3 ¾ cups bread flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place water and the sugar in a medium bowl; stir in yeast and let sit in a warm spot for about 10 minutes or until yeast is dissolved and foamy. (To create a nice warm spot for yeast to grow in the cooler months, I'll boil a cup of water in the microwave for several minutes, then set the water over in a corner and place my bowl with the yeast mixture in the center. I close the door and it's perfect, warm and a bit steamy.)
- Meanwhile place buttermilk, egg, butter and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast mixture when activated and stir to combine. With the kneading hook, slowly add 3 ½ cups of the flour. Mix until soft dough forms, slowly adding an additional ¼ cup flour as necessary to form soft dough that pulls away from sides of bowl. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Remove kneading hook and push dough to one side of the bowl. Add a bit of melted butter or oil and turn to coat all sides. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in warm place (the microwave trick mentioned above works great) until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Gently punch down dough; turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half; cut each half into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into desired shape*; place on baking sheet.
- Cover rolls with towel. Let rise in warm place 30 to 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (To make ahead, shape rolls, place on baking sheet and cover with greased plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. When ready to bake, let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.)
- Meanwhile, heat oven to 375°F. Combine egg and water and mix well. With a pastry brush, gently brush rolls all over with egg wash, being careful to thoroughly coat each roll, but don't over do so that egg mixture drips off rolls. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired. Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.
Notes
- for perfectly shaped round dinner rolls, Fine Cooking has a great tutorial here. Proceed as directed above for second rise and baking.
- for the fun looking knotted dinner rolls check out this YouTube tutorial. Proceed as directed above for second rise and baking.
- for the spiral, muffin type rolls, roll the dough into a large rectangle, spread with two tablespoons of butter and roll up, jelly roll fashion. Pinch the edge to seal, then cut into 16 equal pieces. Grease 16 muffin pan cups with butter and place a roll in each cup. Proceed as directed above for second rise and baking.
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I made these rolls for Thanksgiving and they were wonderful. The grandkids kept asking for more. They were super easy and fun to make.
Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Wonderful! Thanks so much for letting us know, Roxann!
Hi Chris I'm was just going to start making your buttermilk dinner rolls. I read through the recipe again. It mentions adding sugar with the water and then again with the buttermilk, butter , and egg but I don't see another amount of sugar to add. Maybe I missed something. Please help.
Thanks
Hi Roxann, sorry for the confusion. Yes, the sugar is added with the yeast and not later. I have corrected that. Thanks!
I"m a baby hog, too, so I get you! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us. I'll be making these for our church's Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.
Could these be made in a bread machine on dough cycle?
definitely! Just check the dough after it starts mixing and make sure it's forming a nice ball. You might need to add a bit of flour or extra buttermilk.
Wow, you are an amazing baker...such a cute basket.
I love bread!
Lovely rolls Chris-I would love to try one of each!
The breads you make are always the most beautiful. You really have a knack for it!
Hi Chris, wow.... your dinner rolls look fantastic. Very nice shape, so well baked and the pictures are very professional. Better than those from bakery shop. Nice to go with mushroom soup.
Congrat on your new grandchild. Look like you gonna be very busy with the baby. 🙂
Have a lovely week ahead.
These dinner rolls look heavenly!!! And I don't think the one from bakery could have looked any better than these!! These are super, no, YOU are super!!
Congrats on the new arrival! Love how you made 3 versions. All look spectacular and super professional. I am sure they tasted even better!
These are just beautiful and congratulations on the new grandbaby! I had no idea how much I would love being a grandmother.
These look delicious! I wish I had a warm one that I could slather with butter. Congrats on the new grandchild!
Congratulations! New babies are so much fun.
The rolls look fantastically delicious and so pretty too. There is nothing better than fresh baked rolls slathered in butter. MMMmmm good!
So excited for you! And these rolls look like absolute perfection!
Wow looks like a professional bakery here, what beautiful rolls! I want to shalack them and keep them looking so pretty 🙂
Oh gosh, these rolls look stunning Chris. They are perfect, not a poppy seed out of place! I'm so glad you included the rolling tutorials, too, I'm going to need them. I love the spiral rolled one, but I bet that's the hardest! It's thrilling news about your new grandbaby---can't wait for the announcement!
These rolls are gorgeous! Can't wait to make up a batch!
Thanks for this recipe, I totally want to make my own dinner rolls and I like that you used buttermilk in these!
Congrats to you and your family for the new addition to the family. I remember becoming an aunt for the first time and wanting nothing else but to be with my nephew; it was the same with the five others that came after him. How fun it will be for you, especially since grandbaby #5 will be so much closer. 🙂
These rolls are so, so pretty. Love that feature shot. 🙂
Wishing you, Scott, Nick and Lindsay many blessings as this new grandchild enters the world! Such an exciting time for you all...and I plan to be a baby hog, too, someday...LOL.
PS...your rolls look super! I'd love to learn how to make those knots...thanks for the link!
So excited for you! It's a joy having a grandchild close by!
Oh, so exciting! Your rolls are beautiful! Have a great day Chris!
How exciting Chris. I can't wait to hear of baby's safe arrival. I too am a baby hog and there's nothing wrong with it!
These are beautiful bread rolls and oh so pretty as usual.
Congratulations on the coming new addition, Chris!! 🙂
These buttermilk dinner rolls look delicious! If only I had several to nibble on right now!
Can't wait to hear the great news Chris! Congratulations on the rolls too - ha ha - they are beautiful! You are a gifted baker and I bet you rock as a baby hog - enjoy!
Five grandbabies! Wow. You're a lucky woman. Congratulations! 🙂
These rolls look great, too! Love the different shapes.
Good luck to your son and his wife with their baby! I am sure you will be at the hospital first thing holding that cute little baby! These rolls are perfect to have in the freezer to pull out on busy nights!
Those rolls look like they came from a bakery! In fact they look better than most rolls from a bakery! Great work 🙂
Wonderful Rolls, looking so delicious. I'd love to try your recipe 🙂
These rolls are amazing. I feel as if I've just stepped into a French boulangerie.
Sam
Hi, Chris! First off, congrats on your newest grandchild! They are so lucky to have a grandma like you and so close by! And secondly, your dinner rolls look like professional quality - something that you'd see at Dean and Deluca, Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods 🙂 You are indeed talented and wish I can learn hands-on from you!!! you should be an instructor!
Ohhhh I love having rolls in the freeer, so good with a big bowl of soup! I'm so happy for you Chris, another grandchild!
Haha, I totally misread your first sentence, and thought you were proud that people call you a small pig - curious, not so much the pride part, but rather that people call you, and often, a pig, as you look nothing of the sort in your picture! But now I get it - and I agree, being a baby hog is a great thing. (Also, must get caffeine into me earlier in the day ;^) Congrats!
so delicious
Oh I hear you 😉 My sister in law gave birth yesterday to a beautiful baby girl. So I will practice too cause I love babies and my baby is now 10 years old 😉 I made stew, soups and will for sure add those dinner rolls to the lot for the parents (and for us cause they seem too good) 😉 Enjoy those precious moments, Steph
These rolls look delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I have printed this off, they sound wonderful. Have a good week Diane
Exciting times for your family! These rolls look wonderful. No way could I eat just one!
Congratulations!!! I can't way to hear about Grandbaby #5! Your rolls look wonderful! I'm going to make the dough tonight and bake them for tomorrows dinner! They won't be as pretty as yours, but I bet they will be tasty! We kind of have a thing for rolls and bread in our house!!
PRAY all goes well!!! we have a great grand daughter that will be 15 months tomorrow. Oh the joy after having 2 boys, then 3 grandsons. Took us 43 years to get a girl. I have had a blast buying PINK because that is my color!!!!
Rolls look great. I may try these but use whole wheat flour.
Thank you Charlotte. So fun that you now have girl!
Whole wheat flour sounds wonderful!
What an exciting time for you...pins and needles and smiles, I am certain! You are right, that first year is so amazing...you will enjoy every minute!! Your rolls are beautiful! I have pinned it! Thank you.
Chris, These are wonderful. I make something like these, but I need to add the buttermilk. I also learned several things from you tonight, I will now make a few spiral ones. I love the texture the spiral gives; why did I not think of that? Also, you can make these with all-purpose flour, but bread flour just kicks the quality up several notches.
Congrats on the new baby. Every baby should be so lucky as to have a grammy like you.
So excited for you, Chris! Yay, for the new grandbaby:) You must be elated with joy. Gorgeous rolls...I'll take one of each:)
These rolls are so pretty too. By now you may very well be Grammy for the umpteenth time.Congratulations.
Beautiful rolls and I like the links to shaping. And, let us know when that new baby arrives. Such a blessing!!!
These rolls look so delicious, Chris! I think I need to try at least three... 😉