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….
These are the best rolls! I make them for everything. So easy. Everyone always complements them!
Nagi – you are an absolute godsend! I love your recipes – and these rolls with your Guiness stew was just what I needed on this COLD day. Have been following you since 2017 – and love your recipes. Much love from Norway.
Love your recipes including your notes that are really helpful for first time bakers like me. Keep the baking posts coming!
What I love about your recipes Nagi is the whole journey not just the result……so simple, great fun to prepare & so achievable & always a great taste at the end. You’re a legend 🤟. Thank you heaps.
Can you use rapid rise yeast
Hi Nagi
With a super sticky dough during the shaping process, how do I yield it into the ball shapes. So soo so sticky.
Is the rise time insufficient (although it has tripled in size) or should I add more than 4cups of flour next time?
By the way your receipes have been life savers during this period of lockdown 🙂
These came out perfect! I cant kneed my dough because of arthritis and this was the solution to great bread.
Hi C Collings, instant yeast is what’s used in this recipe 🙂 N x
Hi will any other flour work in this recipe like spelt, multigrain or wheat flour
Hi Almasm they all have different hydration rates so it’s something I’d need to test sorry! N X
Hi Nagi, I made this rolls it came out perfect and fantastic, I never believed one can make bread without kneading with hand or machine, my family is in love with the rolls thanks to you!
You’re converted now Lawrence!! N x
Help, my dough was really sticky after first rise. Was hard to do much with. Can’t figure out why was so sticky?
Hi Yasi – did it resemble the consistency shown in the video – it should be quite sticky 🙂 N x
My dough did not look like the consistency in the video even though I measured everything with a scale. It was almost pourable . Used bread flour in the UK. Should I add more flour? Help
I made these with high grade flour and they turned out outstanding, I’m not very good in the kitchen but your recipe was so clear and easy to follow! Thank you so much my husband was very impressed!
Due to being in COVID lockdown there is no flour available at my local supermarkets and I live on an island. Do you think I could make these with whole meal flour? That’s all I have left!
Thank you 🙂
what kind of salt do I use for this recipe? Kosher salt, table salt, sea salt???
Loved it! It was my first bread in life at 43 y old. Did great, all friends and family are copying and loving. Can I fill it up with mince meat or wont be nice?
I added currants, spices, and a bit more sugar. It’s rising right now!
Great recipe, worked brilliantly. I used wholemeal bread flour. My first attempt and they were so quick and easy……..and yummy!
I used this recipe to make Cheese & Bacon rolls – so so good!
Perfect Bec! N x
Hi Nagi.. I request you to post sourdough recipe and more tea cakes using different flour.. Thanks..
Have been making these rolls every week since I first found this recipe! Thankyou Nagi, so easy and yummy 🙂
Brilliant. Novice baker. Tried this recipe. Brilliant result.
So so simple and delicious I’ve made these to have with soup and even for lunches with salad… Yummo 👏🏻
Hi Nagi, could I make this with homemade sourdoug starter instead of the yeast? xx
Hi Dawna, I’m sure you could but I haven’t tried just yet – love to know if you give it a go! N x
Sorry if this has been asked before. Why do you use unsalted butter but then still add salt to the recipe? Can we use salted butter instead? Or will that affect the rise?
Hi Li Yen, I use unsalted as it allows me to adjust the salt in any recipe. If you use salted butter here, just omit any added salt. N x
Ah. ok then. thank you!