No stand mixer, no knead, no special equipment required. These No Knead Dinner Rolls are perfectly soft and fluffy and are astonishingly effortless to make. Just combine the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon – that’s it! It’s the easiest recipe for bread rolls in the whole world!
This recipe for bread rolls will blow your mind!
These dinner rolls are:
made without kneading;
without a stand mixer or any other electric appliance;
take 2 minutes of active effort to mix the dough;
have golden tops and are soft and fluffy on the inside.
Every single time I make these, I am in utter awe of how effortless they are, and how amazing they taste. They are in every way just as good as classic dinner rolls, made by kneading the dough by hand (tired arms, tired arms!) or using a stand mixer.
I truly believe to my very core that only those with a refined palette and/or baking experts can tell the difference between these No Knead Dinner Rolls and traditional kneaded-tired-arms dinner rolls!
See how soft and fluffy they are??
Kneaded vs No Knead Dinner Rolls
In the interest of being completely open and honest, here are the differences that I notice between kneaded dinner rolls and these No Knead Dinner Rolls:
The kneaded rolls stay a wee bit more moist for longer. ie. they are slightly better the next day compared to the No Knead ones. But actually, homemade bread, muffins etc, being preservative free that they are, are always best consumed fresh so I don’t see this as a major disadvantage. Neither the kneaded nor No Knead rolls are great the next day. They lose their moisture and both need to be warmed up before serving to make them moist again. It is just that with the kneaded ones you could possibly get away with not warming up (but they aren’t great), whereas the No Knead ones definitely need warming up;
Kneaded rolls rise a wee bit more. Not noticeable for normal people, and you’d never say the No Knead ones aren’t soft and fluffy. They are, they really are. It’s just that the kneaded ones rise a touch more with the same amount of yeast.
I’m so convinced of the merits of no-knead breads however, that I have since posted No-knead Artisan Bread and Focaccia – both spectacular loaves in their own right that don’t require single minute of kneading!
Dump-and-mix NO KNEAD Dough
In terms of the prep, the batter is literally a dump-and-mix job. There is a major difference in rise time compared to kneaded dough which can rise in 30 – 45 minutes for the 1st rise, then around the same for the 2nd rise after forming the rolls. For these No Knead Dinner Rolls, the dough is much wetter than kneaded dough, so it takes longer to rise. 1.5 – 2 hours, depending on how warm it is where you are. If you use my ridiculous-but-effective tip of rising the dough in your (empty! warm!) dryer, it takes 1.5 hours. 🙂 (See recipes notes for details)
You can see in these photos how different the dough is compared to traditional bread dough. It’s not knead-able, it’s way too sticky. It’s almost more like a muffin batter!
Quick little tip: To get a beautiful golden surface, the dough needs to be rolled tightly and smoothly into balls. With sticky dough, this is tough to do. So here’s my work around: Press the dough down lightly, then bundle it up like a money-bag (mmm…Thai Money Bags…). Flip it over and you have a nice smooth surface with the dough stretched tightly = smooth golden surface. I demo this in the recipe video too (below recipe).
Make-ahead and bake on demand
Another big bonus for these rolls: you can roll the dough into rolls then refrigerate overnight (uncooked) and bake them fresh when you’re ready to serve! It’s quite amazing actually, I wasn’t sure it would work but it does.
Easter is coming up! That’s why I decided to squeeze these in so soon after sharing Hot Cross Buns (which you can make using this No Knead technique, the recipe is in that post). I know some people think baking with yeast is daunting. But I swear to you, watch the video. See how soft and irresistible these rolls come out. And be prepared to be blown away by how easy these are to make!
Carb Monsters unite! – Nagi xx
More No Knead Breads & Flavour variation options!
Cheese and Bacon Rolls (use this no knead dough for that recipe)
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
No Knead Dinner Rolls recipe video! No laughing at the Baby Hands – you’ll cop a serious eyeful in this video!
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SOFT NO KNEAD Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
Buns:
- 1 tbsp dry yeast (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup caster/superfine sugar , or sub with normal white sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water (Note 2)
- 4 cups bread flour + extra for dusting (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt , cooking/kosher salt
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm, whole or low fat, (Note 2)
- 50g / 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted and cooled
- 2 eggs , at room temperature, beaten with fork
Brushing:
- 1 tbsp butter , melted
Instructions
- Place the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a medium bowl, then pour in water. Leave for 5 minutes until it froths.
- Place flour, remaining sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Make a well in the centre. Add milk, butter, eggs and pour in the yeast liquid, including all froth.
- Mix until combined with wooden spoon – it will be like a thick muffin batter. Not pourable, but thick and sticky.
Rise #1:
- Leave dough in the bowl, cover with a wet (clean) tea towel and place in a warm place (25C/77F+) to rise for around 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until almost tripled in volume. See Note 4 for how I do this (you will laugh – but it works every time!). Dough surface should be bubbly (see video or photos in post).
Forming Balls (watch video, it’s helpful):
- Line a 31.5 x 23.5 cm / 9 x 13″ tray with baking paper with overhang.
- Remove tea towel and punch dough to deflate, then mix briefly in the bowl to get rid of the bubbles in the dough.
- Dust work surface with flour, scrape dough on work surface. Dust top of dough then shape into a log. Cut log into 4 pieces, then cut each piece into 3 pieces (12 in total).
- Take one piece and press down with palm, then use your fingers to gather into a ball, flip (so smooth side is up) then roll the dough briefly to form a ball. This stretches the dough on one side and that’s how I get a nice smooth surface on my roll. (For this step, use as much flour as needed to handle dough and avoid piercing inside into the wet dough)
- Place the ball with the smooth side up on the tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Line them up 3 x 4.
Rise # 2:
- Spray surface of rolls (or cling wrap) with oil (any), then place cling wrap over the tray.
- Return tray to warm place and leave for 30 – 45 min, until the dough has risen by about 75% (less than double in size).
- Partway through Rise #2, preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan/convection).
- Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until the surface is a golden brown and the roll in the centre sounds hollow when tapped. The surface colour is the best test for this recipe.
- Remove rolls from oven. Brush with melted butter.
- Use overhang to lift rolls onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool to warm before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
When he got sent to the naughty corner and he was wondering whether he was allowed back in….
If I use Instant Yeast, I add it directly to the dry ingredients.
Do I still add the sugar and water to the ingredients?
Hi Chua, it will work adding all the ingredients to the bowl – no need to mix it with sugar and water prior. N x
Thank you for the reply. May I confirm the sugar and water for the yeast are still added to the flour?
Can’t believe how well they turned out ! I used all purpose flour and fresh yeast (only 10g for 300g of flour because that’s all I had) ! They’re so fluffy it’s incredible. The only downside is that I didn’t add salt because I used salted butter but that clearly wasn’t enough, you could tell that there was something missing.
Hi, I made the no knead rolls and they were delicious, but I think I can skip the 2nd rise, because the rolls were quite large with lots of moist tasty dough inside which we just pulled out because they were too thick. My husband was wondering if when I make the log and cut it into 4 pieces if I can shape them into 4 hero breads instead of rolls. I will try it and report back.
This was my first time making bread and they turned out amazing, thanks Nagi! Well detailed and easy to follow instructions. Soft and fluffy just like the recipe says they’ll turn out, this will be my go-to bread/bun recipe now!
I made these today and they turned out perfectly. I have to admit I was ever so slightly skeptical that they’d be as soft as described but they absolutely were. My kids are inhaling them as I type. Thank you for the great recipe!
for your no knead soft dinner rolls which I have made twice and they turned out great. I need to make again but need to substitue the milk and butter, can I more water and for the butter use oil?
Hi Virginia, they just wont be the same unfortunately! N x
I am addicted to these rolls. I was a bit nervous when I was making them because my batter seemed wetter than that in the video but I plunged ahead and they were perfect.
Hi Nagi, been following you for a while now and you’re an inspiration. We find the amount too much for myself and my missus, can the amounts be halved? x
Made them yesterday and everyone loved them. Will definitely make the again as they were easy to make and delicious. Thanks Nagi
Never made bread before. They came out just as expected, which is great! I prepped them last night and baked this morning. Thumbs up all around the breakfast table. Thanks!
I made these on Easter and they were amazing. Haven’t decided if I like your videos or your Dozer pictures better. Now I’m looking to make hamburger buns. Wondering if the texture of this recipe would hold up or be too soft? Any recommendations on what to do? Or do you have another recipe for hamburger buns? Thank you. Keep up the amazing work.
Hi Naomi, I think these would be great ad burger buns, just make them slightly larger – they will be soft and pillowy like store bought! N x
We used them as hamburgers buns and they were the best ever.
Super mięciutkie i delikatne, dziękuję za radosny przepis 😘😋
You’re welcome Ewa!! N x
Can you tell me… what would happen if I used a dough hook to mix this and kneed it?? Will it still turn out the same.
Hi Seasons01 – there is no need! 🙂 N x
Hi! Do you also use the dryer method for the second rise??
So excited to try these!
Hi Karla, the second rise isn’t as long so I don’t find it necessary 🙂 N x
What a lovely recipe and detailed instructions. It came out really well. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much Chris! N x
Hi Nagi, made these great rolls today and they taste great. Only issue is that they are not light and fluffy. They are heavy but soft. Any idea why?
Hi Sil, sorry you are having issues here – sounds like it could be the yeast you’re using – N x
Hi Nagi!
I only have Saf instant yeast (gold), can I use it in this recipe? How much? Thanks!
I have made these several times and they are the best rolls I have ever made! I gave your website to our male neighbor and he was blown away by how easy and delicious they are. I was wondering if I could make hot dog buns out of this recipe? Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful recipes!!
Wahoo! Thanks so much! N x
Tried baking for the first time ever and followed your recipe.. turned out amazing 🤩🤩 thank you
Wahoo, that’s great Dee! N x
Baked this today. Loved it. However, I substitute it with wholemeal flour but it was still soft and tasty. It didnt rise as much but I suspect it was because of the wholemeal/wholewheat flour. I will definitely try it again using bread flour.
Hi Sally, yes the wholewheat flour doesnt have quite the same effect unfortunately! N x
Thank you Nagi, love this recipe. Made tonight to have with pumpkin soup and the family was blown away with how good they are …I was blown away with how easy they were and how good they turned out xx
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Chris!! They’re so easy you wont look back now!
It’s Super easy! Soft inside and crispy crust! Yummy!
That’s great Sharon! N x
Why do you use “Unsalted Butter” then add 1.5 tsps of salt ???
Is unsalted butter going to give you a better recipe result ?
Many Thanks
Tony ……
Hi Tony, I use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt going into a recipe. By all means you can use salted butter but you’d need to reduce the amount of salt that goes in. N x