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….
What??? How??? I have never succeeded in baking satisfactory bread before. Emboldened by past successes with Nagi’s recipes, I tried these no-knead rolls today… Oh the delight! Perfect in look, texture and taste! I am in Canada and used 4 1/2 cups bread flour, but had a moment of stress since the dough was too compact. So I added about 1/4 cup water and it turned out great. Next time I’ll start with a little less flour. Bravo Nagi! My family loves and thanks you!
Wahoo Julie!!! You’ll be forever converted now!! N x
Many thanks Nagi!
Ive done it twice and love it! Was just wondering if I could let the dough sit overnight for the first proof? thanks
Hi KC, it would be too long – I’d put it in the fridge to slow down the yeast 🙂 N x
This is the besssssttt
Thank you!
Help I followed recipe to the number and when I came to rise 2 my bread mix was still runny and gooey and wasnt able to work with it any ideas please thanks
Hi Charlotte, sorry you are having issues here – sounds like it may need a little more flour. You’re definitely using 600g? N x
Yep double checked all measurements I’m going to attempt again today thanks for the reply
Wanted some quick dinner rolls and came across this recipe. Am making this now. Since I love ginger and garlic in my breads I decided to add in fresh ginger juice mixed with garlic, I can’t wait to eat them. Thanks for the recipe.
YUM! Sounds great!! N x
I forgot to put the butter😢😢😢 what should i do?
Have you make a loaf of bread from this recipe?
I haven’t Ladonna! N x
I just finished making these rolls. Couldn’t wait for them to cool. Simply delicious. Thanks for the easy recipe.
Wahoo! Thanks so much for letting me know Janet! N x
Not sure about how to use instant yeast in this recipe? As opposed to active dried yeast?
Hi JJ – Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before using, while instant yeast can be mixed right into dry ingredients – N x
Can I substitute unsalted butter for salted, and leave out the salt?
Best bread I have ever made.Will be my go to recipe from now on. @ bbbakes
WOOT!!!! Thanks Bev! N x
Frrrr this bread is so good and easy to make. Ive never made bread before this and today my first time was amazing! whole fam loves it
That’s great to hear!! N x
Loved these and have made them twice. I want to make sandwich bread. Would this recipe work as a loaf…or does it make 2 loaves?
Hi Elizabeth, I haven’t tried to be honest – would love to know if it works! N x
I sacrificed the last of my flour to make these (shops are empty of flour and butter, so fingers crossed I will get them via online shopping) I have a batch baking right now! I’m sat in front of the oven watching them lol…looking forward to having these with my homemade soup 😋…thank you.
I live in France and we have no flour left l!!!!
I have no flour left 🙁
But I did make those rolls 👍
A great sacrifice if you ask me!! Enjoy Jenny! N x
If i dont have butter. Can i replace it with margarine?
Hi Yana, that should be fine! N x
These rolls are fabulous! Made them four times now and everyone who eats them wants more immediately. They freeze very well for re-heating another day if you don’t want to just eat the whole pan in one day. Or maybe that’s just me… 🙂
Yes they are great to have in the freezer – I’m so happy you love them Sofia! N x
It’s my 2nd time making it today… n… I did it as garlic buns instead. Loads of garlic butter before I roll them into balls. It was lovely, thanks Nagi. Will make those cinnamon rolls soon!
YES!!! I’ve done this before with the cinnamon scroll method and rather than cinnamon sugar, used garlic & herb butter – works perfectly! N x
Hi. I tried this recipe. Its great on the day i baked. I follow your instructions to leave and baked the other half the next day. But it seem to taste yeasty.
Hi Elaine, sorry you found it too yeasty, there is a decent amount in this recipe to help the bread rise – can I ask what type you were using? N x
Wowwww ..it came out soooo soooo soft…my boys loved it. Can I make it with wholemeal flour and would the quantities for ingredients still be the same?
High hopes dashed …. followed exactly and they proved well and they looked right going in the oven but they have come out of the oven very spread out and flat. They didn’t hold their shape at all. Not sure what I could have done wrong. Kids scoffing them anyway
I messed up the recipe last night. There was only an egg. I scaled all ingredients half amount of what recipe said. But I have forgotten to make half amount only milk and luke warm water. Dough get too runny and I added some flour more…I also put all sugar in flour mixture and forgotten to raised with yeast in the begging.
it was chaos, I thought.
But I didn’t give up. First raising made it one hour and second raising also a half and I threw it in oven.
Amazingly, it still worked !
The outcome was like a brioche or scone.
It was delicious.
Next time, I will try with exactly what a recipe said(lol.)
Could I use Gluten free flour??? Would the measurements be the same??? These looks so good 😊