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….
can this recipe be used for making a loaf of bread?
Hi Nagi. I tried increasing the recipe using your slider thing but it still said 4.5 cups flour for 24 rolls. It said same amount for 12 too so i wasn’t sure how much to use. Was super sticky so I just added random. I always make these with 13 rolls recipe. Please tell me how much flour for 24. Thanks
Hi Nagi, Can’t wait to try these today! Can I use salted butter? Thanks
Yes 100%, just reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp in the recipe 🙂
Made them vegan with plant milk, vegan butter, and flax eggs — worked out amazing! Also slathered them with butter and garlic after baking, which I will always do from now on. Thank you Nagi!
Is there anything else I can use instead of eggs or flax egg?
Maybe applesauce?
That’s great to know Tyas! N x
Lovely soft rolls. Fantastic recipe. Everything was spot on. 2nd prove overnight in the fridge worked a treat.
Thank you
Wahoo! I’m so glad you loved them Diane!! N x
I tried them and it turned out yummy 😋
My family loved them. Thank you so much
Can I use water instead of milk? Will it still be same ?
Hi Carmina, it wont be quite the same unfortunately – N x
Thank you so much they turned out great and very easy!! 😋
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Amy! N x
These were so much fun to make and taste out of this world. Totally soft just like you said. Husband was impressed since I usually only made loaves before. Another winner from Nagi 🙂
Wahoo! I’m so glad they turned out for you Sue!
These bread turn out excellent, light, fluffy, delicious & soft, Thank you so much Nagi for sharing and please keep up with the good work, continue to share with us your yummy recipes!
Thanks so much Jo!
I rarely leave comments, but these are amazing! I make bread and buns all the time, but these are truly the best yet. Thank you so much for sharing!
OMW! I can’t believe I actually made these! I’ve always been reluctant to try making bread and rolls. They turned out light, fluffy and delicious. Thank you so much Nagi!
I have never made bread but after reading the recipe, all the notes, and watching the video I believed I could do this. The rolls were soft, lighy, fluffy, and delicious! My family love them!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Esther!
Hi Nagi,
Can I use instant yeast? I can never get the yeast to froth no matter how hard I try 🙁
Hi Yolanda, instant yeast is what is used here 🙂
Yowza! Not only were these easy and delicious, but oh so much fun to make – from putting them in the dryer to using your workaround to shape them into balls. Thank you so much, Nagi, for making my day!
That’s lovely to hear Lisa, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
I laughed so hard when reading the note about letting the dough rise in the dryer! I live in an apartment building with a washing room, and I would just love to see the face of my neighbours if they were to open one of the dryers and see a bowl of bread dough! 🙂 Can’t wait to try these!
Haha could you imagine?! I hope you give the rolls a go – love to know what you think 🙂 N x
Hi do you think I can use this dough for vegemite scrolls???? I adore everything you make!!!!!
Yes you can!!! Use this method for rolling out – https://promotown.info/no-knead-cinnamon-rolls/%3C/a%3E Then spread Vegemite and top with a sprinkle of cheese in place of the cinnamon sugar.
These are amazing! I made them twice last week (finishing up old milk that was on the turn). The most simple bread roll recipe I’ve found.
The first batch stayed fresh for 3 days (slightly going stale on the third day), and the second batch I froze – defrosted portions worked absolutely fine.
Delicious with slices of leftover ham.
Wahoo! You wont look back now, they’re so easy!
Hi Nagi,
I made this yesterday and baked this morning. It’s very fluffy and moist! I will definitely make this again! Thank you!
PS: can I use this ingredients to make loaf bread?
Hi Nagi,
I’ve made this couple of hours ago and it’s sitting inside the fridge. I am planning to bake this first thing tomorrow. So far it’s looking fluffy and it rose beautifully. Anyway, I have a question. I have a leftover char siu. Can I use this dough to put the leftover as a filling then bake it? Thanks in advance!
Sounds like a fabulous idea Anne!!!!
I’m a bread lover and would try any easy recipe the minute I come upon it. Yours is one of the easiest I’ve seen. These are really good. I have a second batch in the fridge which I plan to bake tomorrow morning for brekkie.
A note on easy rising. Put a big bowl of hot water in the bottom of your oven. Put dough on top shelf. Close oven door. Dough will rise in the quickest time. I don’t even cover my dough because the hot water makes air in oven very moist.