Lion House Dinner Rolls

5 from 16 votes

Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, these soft and buttery, homemade Lion House Dinner Rolls grace our table. Of all the roll recipes I have tried (and actually LOVED), these are the ones that get made the most often at our house! They really are the best dinner rolls, and they're easier to make than you'd think!

Prep Time15

Cook Time14

Total Time29

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: rolls

Calories: 192kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

2 cups warm water
⅔ cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
⅓ cup salted butter, softened
1 egg beaten
5-6 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
¾ cup salted butter, melted to use during shaping and after baking

Instructions

Stir together the water and dry milk powder in a large bowl of a stand mixer until the milk powder dissolves. Add the yeast and let it proof for 5 minutes until foamy.
Mix in the sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups of flour and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Switch to the dough hook and add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until a soft, only slightly sticky dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I almost always use 5 ½ cups of flour, but you might need a little more or less. Knead for 5 minutes by mixer or 10 minutes by hand until the dough is smooth, supple, and elastic.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl greased with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is coated on all sides with oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.
When the dough has doubled in size, generously dust a clean counter with flour, then turn out dough onto the floured surface and divide it in half using a bench scraper. Working with only half of the dough at a time, roll out into a large, approximately 11"x14" rectangle, about ¼-inch thick, and brush with ¼ cup of melted butter.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the rectangle in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 12 small rectangles, approximately 2"x4" each. A good guide is by making an "L" shape by holding your palm out flat with the thumb extended and cutting the rectangles to be the same length and width as the "L" shape.
Roll each rectangle up and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, placing the tail edge of each roll flat on the pan. Repeat with the remaining dough, then cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Close to the end of the rising time, heat the oven to 375 degrees and melt the remaining ¼ cup of butter. When the oven is hot, bake the rolls for 14-16 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter while still hot.

Notes

Make Ahead:

To make-ahead, freeze the dough before the second rise. Shape the rolls like normal, then wrap the baking sheet with the shaped rolls in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer before they begin to rise for the final time. When you are ready to bake them, remove the tray from the freezer and allow the rolls to sit at room temperature for 4 hours until they have had a chance to thaw and complete their final rise before baking, then follow the baking instructions like normal.

Storage:

Store: Place rolls in an airtight container, freezer bag, or covered in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Freeze: Baked Lion House rolls will freeze well as long as they are already completely cool before you put them in the freezer. Just use a Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container to protect them.

Nutrition