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 theย ingredients in a bowlย and mix with a wooden spoon โ thatโs it! Itโs theย easiest recipe for bread rolls in the whole world!
This recipe for bread rolls will blow your mind!
These dinner rolls are:
madeย without kneading;
without a stand mixer or any other electric appliance;
takeย 2 minutes of active effort to mix the dough;
haveย golden tops and areย soft and fluffyย on the inside.
Every single time I make these, I am in utter awe of how effortless they are, and how amazing they taste.ย Theyย 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 differencesย that I notice betweenย 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,ย are always best consumed fresh so I donโt see this as a major disadvantage. Neither the kneaded nor No Knead rolls are greatย the next day. They lose their moistureย and both need toย 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 arenโt great), whereas the No Knead ones definitely need warming up;
Kneaded rolls rise a wee bit more. Not noticeable for normal people, and youโd never say the No Knead ones arenโt soft and fluffy. They are, they really are. Itโs just that the kneaded ones rise a touch more with the same amount of yeast.
Iโm so convinced of the merits of no-knead breads however, that I have since posted No-knead Artisan Bread and Focaccia โ both spectacular loaves in their own right that donโt 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 canย rise in 30 โ 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 isย much wetter than kneaded dough, so it takes longer to rise. 1.5 โ 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. ๐ (See recipes notes for details)
You can see in these photos how different the dough is compared to traditional bread dough. Itโs not knead-able, itโs way too sticky. Itโs 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 hereโs my work around: Press the dough down lightly, then bundle it up like a money-bag (mmmโฆThai Money Bagsโฆ). 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 rollย the dough into rolls then refrigerate overnight (uncooked) and bake them fresh when youโre ready to serve! Itโs quite amazing actually, I wasnโt sure it would work but it does.
Easter is coming up! Thatโs why I decided to squeeze these in so soon after sharing Hot Cross Buns (which youย 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 byย how easy these are to make!
Carb Monsters unite! โ 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 โ youโll 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 โ 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 โ 2 hours or until almost tripled in volume. See Note 4 for how I do this (you will laugh โ but it works every time!). Dough surface should be bubbly (see video or photos in post).
Forming Balls (watch video, itโs helpful):
- Line a 31.5 x 23.5 cm / 9 x 13โณ 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).ย
- 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 thatโs how I get a nice smooth surface on my roll.ย (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 โ 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 โ 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 inโฆ.
Made these tonight for dinner. They turned out soft and fluffy but were denser than I imagined. No worries though, I made chicken fried steak sandwiches with them. They are perfect for hamburgers too!
This recipe is delicious ,thanks
Youโre so welcome Hala!
Is there a way to substitute the yeast with sourdough starter?
I havenโt tried sorry Liz!
I did this with sourdough starter, it took a heaping 3/4 cup of starter to replace the yeast and warm water.
This recipe is delicious I loved ,thankโs
Hi there have done these countless times and love love them. Now trying something new want to bake them the next day, do I cover them with cling wrap for over night in the fridge?
Hi Noma, yes cover them after you shape them and pop them in the refrigerator ready to bake the next day โ N x
I was a little confused about the flour. In the recipe it says 4 1/2 cups for US, 4 cups everywhere else except Japan. But then farther down the page it has the flour measurements for Canada lumped in with the US. So I wasnโt sure whether that meant it counted as the same as the US or everywhere else. I am part way through making this recipe. I went with the 4 1/2 cups of flour. And I double checked that all my other measurements were correct. But my dough is not sticky like a thick muffin dough. Itโs a firm ball. Did 1/2 cup of flour do all that? Was it something else?
Hi Danielle, sorry you are having trouble! Sounds like youโve used the right amount of flour โ Iโm not sure what happened here. I usually weigh ingredients here to be more exact โ N x
Thank you for the amazing receipe. This was my first bread bake ever and I loved how it turned out โค๏ธ
Youโre so welcome!
Can I use bread maker for the dough?
Hi Delza, I havenโt tried as itโs a no knead recipe and doesnโt need any kneading โค๏ธ
Giving this recipe a red hot go tomorrow to pair up with some pumpkin soup. I love the simplicity of this recipe, anything which frees up time is a bonus in my book.
*update*
The rolls turned out beautifully and are so soft and pillowy! I did an egg wash before baking to give them some extra sheen. Iโm definitely book marking this as my go-to roll recipe from now on.
Wahoo, thanks for the update Shan, I love hearing how recipes turn out!
Can you use this recipe for Hot Dog buns? If so, how many buns do you recommend?
Hi Scott, sounds like a GREAT idea!!! Iโd say youโd get about 6 rolls. Love to know how it goes
first time going to try it
I hope you love them Sandra!
The buns I tired is quite dense and smell yeasty. 1st proof 2 hrs, 2nd proof is 30 min.. should I shorten the time?
Hi Eileen, thatโs not right at all, is your yeast in date?
These are so easy and scrummy- my son asks for them every day for lunch! Love your idea about using the dryer to help with the rise ๐ Iโve been known to park my car in a sunny spot and leave bread dough to rise on the dashboard โ get some funny looks from the neighbours, but it works every time!
I love that idea Kate!!! ๐
My family loves these. We also use for deli sandwiches. Perfect size for them and easy to eat in the car.;)
Great!!
Made these today and they worked perfectly. Super easy and so soft. Your tip on where to let them rise is ingenious.
The only thing the smell and taste of the yeast is very strong, is there a way to lessen this? Would leaving them overnight help or use less yeast in the recipe or rise for longer.
Hi Catherine, I havenโt tried with less yeast sorry!
Can I use multigrain flour or will it be to heavy
Hi Nagi, Iโm looking forward to making these rolls for dinner tonight. Iโve invited guests and wondering if I double the recipe would timings need adjusted?
Ah sorry! Iโve just noticed your doubling note. I should have checked as you are so thorough with your notes -itโs very helpful, thank you x
Youโre so welcome Mary!
Is there a gluten-free way to make those no knead rolls cuz they look stinkin yummy
Hi Leigh, I have made them with gluten free flour, they donโt rise as much as regular flour but were ok! โ N x
Made these for Easter and they were fantastic! My dough really raised so my buns were bigger. Used the dryer method LOL and it worked great. Thanks again for your EXCELLENT recipes.
Sounds amazing Linda, youโre so welcome!
This is an amazing roll recipe. Itโs not intimidating and impossible to mess up. Now I do the dryer technique every time I make bread. Iโm gonna make this for all the holidays.
Iโm so glad you love this recipe!
I see this can be refrigerated overnight, uncooked. For how long can they be refrigerated? Itโs just my fiancรฉ and I, so i was hoping I could bake as needed.
Hi Mary, just overnight unfortunately. You could always make a half batch or freeze any left over rolls โ N x
Tabbing to the comment box takes me right to the top of the page!
But, my main comment is to say that this recipe is WONDERFUL! I made 12 (large) buns to take to a friends chili supper and they loved them, too.
Iโm making them again today; this time I weighed the flour and what a difference โ the dough was much less sticky (I used my โregularโ method of spooning the flour into the measuring cup and levelling it off with a butter knife, then weighed the 4 cups โ I found Iโd used less flour yesterday. Weighing IS the way to go; thanks for adding that to the recipe).
Iโm making 6 buns and a loaf.
Just out of the oven and they look AWESOME!
Wahoo, thatโs so great to hear Sandra!!
Just want to add that this bread is wonderful as BREAD and especially BUNS, but is too soft to make nice toast (it falls apart).
Tried them today but my buns had a grainy texture. Is that right? Need guidance on where did I go wrong. Thanks!