Sweet Dinner Rolls (Grammie's Recipe!) (2024)

FAQs

Why are my homemade dinner rolls hard? ›

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

But seriously, salt is the key to bread flavour, and salt is not the evil people make it out to be. If your bread tastes yeasty or floury, it's specifically because there's not enough salt, if you want to cure your flavour woes, add more salt until you find the flavour that suits you.

Homemade bread rolls can last up to 3-5 days if stored properly. To extend the shelf life of your homemade bread rolls, you should store them in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature. This will help prevent the bread from becoming stale and prevent the growth of mold.

The secret to soft, light rolls, if you're looking for something like a dinner roll, is an enriched dough that contains butter or other dairy, eggs, or both. If you want something more bread-like, you want a high hydration dough that's been properly kneaded and given at least two bulk fermentations before shaping.

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

Butter basting: Rolls can be brushed with butter before, during, or after baking. While it doesn't brown the surface as much as egg wash will, it does promote browning and adds a lot of flavor.

Too much flour results in a dry, crumbly dough that's unpleasant and difficult to work with. It doesn't stick to itself and tends to fall apart when kneaded.

You can also use all-purpose in many bun or roll recipes, which tend to have lower hydration and rely less on strong gluten and more on butter and sugar for texture. (Though bread flour can still give you a fluffier, almost cotton-candy-like texture in most buns and rolls.)

Salt adds flavor to bread. If none or too little is used in a recipe, the bread will lack the right flavor and taste "bland." If you reduce the amount of salt, try adding some dried herbs to increase the flavor. Too much yeast in bread will give bread an off-taste.

If you add baking soda to a quick bread, the gas bubbles it releases into the batter lifts your bread. When the combination of baking soda and acid combines with heat, proteins in the batter (like eggs) turn rigid. The rigid structure traps the gas and results in a light, fluffy texture.

Why does my homemade bread taste like alcohol? ›

The yeast converts the sugars in bread to create C02 that makes the bread rise, but it also creates some alcohol, just like in beer and wine fermentation. That flavor just means that the yeast has been given sufficient time to work. The alcohol evaporates at the temperatures that bread bakes.

After Shaping: You can also pause dough making after forming the balls. Cover the shaped rolls tightly and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. At least 3 hours before you need them, remove the rolls from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours before baking.

You can also freeze the baked dinner rolls. Allow them to cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired. If reheating the whole pan, lightly cover and reheat in a 300°F (149°C) oven for about 10 minutes or until warm.

While it's safe to keep many baked goods at room temperature, it depends on the item and should be taken on a case-by-case basis. For instance, breads and rolls can last up to four days at room temperature, but any bread with meat or hard-boiled eggs should be refrigerated within two hours, according to the USDA.

Incorrect Activation or Wrong Yeast. For the bread to appear soft and fluffy, You must ensure that your yeast ferments correctly. It's not just the temperature in your kitchen, but also the activity of the yeast. Also, you must add the yeast to warm water to activate it.

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

If your dough feels dense and tough to handle when you stop the mixer, it is a sign that it is becoming over-kneaded. Over-kneaded dough can become very hard to work with and produce a more flat and chewy bread.