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….
Oh no… Mine is pourable not sticky enough.. What to do?
Hi Brandy! Just add flour 🙂 Pour it out, sprinkle over plenty of flour and knead lightly to incorporate. It will be fine! This recipe is rather forgiving! N x
Thank you! I did your dryer trick and my mom is now calling them dryer rolls but it worked it’s been in there an hour and nearly tripled already!
DRYER ROLLS! LOVE IT!!
Hi I am making these right now for thanksgiving tomorrow and I followed the recipe exactly and when I mixed the milk, egg, yeast, and butter together with the flour it wasn’t as sticky as it was in the video. Should I add a little more liquid?
Hi Sarah, if it was still sticky been if not as sticky as my video, that’s fine keep going without adding liquid. If it was really dry, i.e. none of it sticks to your fingers when you touch it, yes add a splash of milk 🙂
Hello, I’m planning on doubling this recipe and separating into two bowls for the first rise as suggested. I was wondering, do I need to double the yeast as well?
Hi Ros! Yes please double everything in the recipe, use the recipe Scaler by clicking on the Servings and slide!!
Have you tried doubling the quantity by just making smaller rolls?
Yep, it works great 🙂 I find half is a bit small so my preference is to make 18 instead of 12. 🙂 N x
How can I turn these into crescent rolls?
Hi Rachel! Roll it out like a large pizza base (do 2), then cut into wedges. Then roll inwards into a crescent roll shape!
I went ahead and made these tonight for Thanksgiving, would you recommend freezing/ refrigerating them uncooked till then or bake them a day early and hope for the best?
Hi Jan! Personally I prefer baking then cooling and freezing, then defrosting and reheating to serve. I prefer that to freezing the dough. But I prefer overnight refrigerating over freezing cooked rolls, if I can manage it 🙂
What is your suggestion on making these with whole wheat flour. Add more liquid or something as wheat tends to be a bit dryer???
Hi Donna! There’s plenty of wetness in this dough so there’s plenty of “headroom” to use whole wheat without adjusting the recipe 🙂
Could i follow this up to the point of rolling into balls but instead just make loaves?
Hi James, this recipe doesn’t work that well for loves, as I found out when I tried! The dough needs tweaking 🙂 You could make 2 or 3 long baguette type loaves, but don’t try this in 1 loaf tin 🙂
Note to self (and others like me): read the whole recipe before starting it. Prep time was misleading because it does not consider rising time. We will have to try them tomorrow 🙂
Hi Den, unfortunately there’s no box for inactive time but I have put it in CAPS at the top!
These look great! Question about the salt: are you using table salt, kosher, sea salt, etc? I usually weigh my salt and I want to make sure I don’t use too much. Thanks!
Hi Joe! Kosher or table is fine for this one 🙂 If I use sea salt flakes, I specify as such! N x
I just made these today. I had the same question, but went ahead and used regular table salt. They turned out perfectly. They are SOOOOO good!! I’ve been making bread for a long time and this recipe is perfect for dinner rolls. I made them smaller than the recipe stated, though.
That’s so great to hear Diana! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this, thanks for taking the time to let me know! N x
I am so grateful to you for sharing this recipe. It was my first time baking bread so i was quite skeptical.. but to my surprise it turned out really great.
Thanks to you!!!
That’s great Febin! I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks for taking the time to leave a review! N x
I have made this recipe now 3 times with all purpose flour and granulated sugar it came out perfect each time. Today I’m making with 100% whole wheat flour. A little drier but I’m confident it will come out. In 2 hours we will see how well dough rises. Love this recipe.
That’s great Maria! I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks for taking the time to leave a review! N x
Nagi, I loved these rolls of much I have friends who want me to make them for their Thanksgiving dinners. I have so many pans to make. How does the freezing them process work? Can I make them and freeze them raw after or before the second rise?
Thank you
Gina C.
Hi Gina! So pleased you like these! The make ahead directions are in the notes 🙂 N x
I love this recipe and the dryer tip! I’m always looking for good inexpensive recipes since I have a large household. I.would love to see a homemade banana pudding recipe from scratch! Thank you for sharing youryour ideas!
Hi,thanks for the great recipe!I live in Canada,do i use 4 cup of flour or 4 1/2 and can i use all purpose flour (ex:Robin Hood)for this recipe.Thank you!
Use 4 cps!
I was wondering if I can make ahead of time and freeze them then thaw and rise do you know if it would turn out good or not I love then when I bake them fresh
I have those notes in the recipe Jessica!
Made these today, and they were delicious. Would the baking time change if I made them smaller like Parker rolls? I’d like to take them to a friend’s for Thanksgiving.
Hi Barb! I think just a couple of minutes less, go by the colour of the top for these 🙂
Oh my! Just took these out of the oven and they are amazing! I️ am so excited because this is my first time using yeast. Am a very experienced baker but yeast has always scared me for some reason. Don’t know why-these are ridiculously easy and perfect! Wish I️ could post a picture,they are beautiful. These will be on the Thanksgiving menu for sure. Thank you!
That’s terrific to hear Deb! So glad you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
Hi Nagi. I made this today. Oh my, this is very good buns. My husband love it too. Thanks:-) Can I use this recipe of buns for the cinnamon roll?
YES YES!!! In fact I’ve shared the Cinnamon Roll recipe!