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.
Did you use tap water or filtered? And by filtered,I mean bottled. I donโt use tap water where I live to bake because of high mineral content in the water.
Another issue might be your butter. If thereโs an off-flavor in your fridge and itโs in your butter (no matter what it is) then itโll transfer to it.
Iโve never had yeast give an off flavor unless I used too much for the recipe.
Good luck!
Hi Iโm going through the recipes and loving them,
But Iโm diabetic so i have to be careful what I eat, do you have any recipes that are more suitable for persons with diabetes
Thank you
Colleen
Hi Colleen, Iโm so pleased you enjoy my recipes! Iโm sorry I donโt have a specific section for diabetics but if you leave a question on any recipe I can try to help you amend it ๐ N xx
Hi Chris, I can honestly not imagine what would contribute to a bitter taste!! Perhaps your pan, is your yeast past itโs due date or another ingredient???
hi- if your flour is old, it turns bitter- i know cuz it happens often w whole wheat flour that goes rancid faster- sometimes within a few weeks.
use fresh bread flour.
Hi Grace! So pleased it worked out for you ๐ The dough is still very soft and sticky after the 1st proofing, so you need to sprinkle enough flour on to handle it. Iโve also found that the climate affects the stickiness of the dough โ the warmer the dough, the sticker it is, so in summer I needed more flour and now that itโs winter here, I donโt need as much. ๐ So just sprinkle with enough flour so that you can handle e. N x
WOW are you good! Iโm not a baker, but these came out awesome!! My Husband loves them. Thanks!!!
So you ARE a baker!!! ๐ค
Can these be frozen? At what point?
Hi there! Please see note 6 ๐
I made these yesterday and they came out perfectly.thank you so much. So easy and yet yum.
Fantastic! So pleased to hear that Milo, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Your recipes are so easy to follow,I have tried a few since I โfoundโ you via someoneโs link!
I loved these dinner rolls & where I come from we call them โMabhanziโ.
Thank you!
I love hearing all the different names for these rolls! Iโm so pleased you are enjoying my recipes, thank you for letting me know! N xx
Awesome, been looking for a recipe like this for years. Thank you so much! Canโt eat them often because they are high in cholesterol but will work on trying to find ways to reduce or just make for the holidays using this recipe.
Hope you try and LOVE IT! โค๏ธ
Do these rolls taste as yeasty as the kneaded ones?
Hi Anne! These donโt taste yeasty ๐ N xx
I totally forgot to add the salt!
Would I have to start back over? Itโs currently In the dyer risingโฆlol please helpโฆ
Donโt worry! Just add a sprinkle of salt when you brush with butter, that will help!
I forgot the salt in the recipe. .will I have to start back over? Itโs in the dryerโฆ rising of course lolโฆ
Donโt worry! Just add a sprinkle of salt when you brush with butter, that will help!
I need ur recipe books..plz
Hi Nadia! If you are signed up to my email list there are links in every email to download them ๐ N xx
I make a No knead pizza dough in my Cuisinart โฆ do you know if I could do the same with the soft No Knead Dinner Rolls ?
Iโm sorry I donโt know Camille. ๐ N xx
I am going to experiment and make simple cinnamon. Rolls with this recipe is it okay to post what I did and a picture ?
That being said Only if the cinnamon rolls turn out good ? Camille
I would love to see a photo!!! I am planning a huge baking session to use this recipe for stacks of things, and cinnamon rolls is right at the top of the list! N xx
I want to know tooโฆ.been dying to try this recipe to make cinnamon rolls!! It is my FAVORITE recipe of the last year.
I couldnโt wait for you to try the cinnamon roll idea โ so I immediately went out to the kitchen and made your whole recipe, half of them for dinner โ and then rolled out the rest of the dough, slathered them with a walnut-cinnamon-butter mixture and rolled it up and cut them into rolls, baked them and iced them with a cream cheese icingโฆโฆoh LORD, Nagโฆ.do them youโll see!
Gaaah!!! Might have to do them TONIGHT! โค๏ธ
These look amazing! I canโt wait to try them!
And on another note, I would have on my deserted island:
1.) Any Italian wine. ๐ท
2.) Dark chocolate. ๐ซ
3.) All the cheeses. ๐ง
๐
Come be on my island! ๐ N x
How high are the sides of your pan?
I love to cook and bake for my family and friends one day I would like to start my own business
Around 2cm / 4/5โณ ๐ N xx
I have never hand made bread. These rolls turned out a treat.
Next time I will stick with the 1 tblspn yeast, as the 2 sachets made it a teeny bit yeasty.
I am really happy that I tried, and really grateful for your excelllent recipe.
So pleased you enjoyed it Sandra! Yes please do stick with 1 tbsp if you thought 2 sachets was a bit yeasty, I thought it was ok ๐ N xx
Looks devine and easy to makeโฆ. can this be made eggless? What can I substitute the eggs with?
Hi Smita, Iโm sorry but I donโt think so.
Hallo Nagi!
I made your soft rolls AGAIN today (Iโve made them atleast once or twice a week since I came across your blog!), but this time I made them with a South African twist and boy o boy! My children gobbled them up in a matter of minutes! The dish is called โAnysbolletjiesโ of โMosbolletjiesโ in Afrikaans, and it translates to aniseed buns (and when you dry them out over night at a low oven temperature, itโs called aniseed rusks) Our favourite is to have them soft and warm out of the oven with coffee. It is more like desert than bread, so I used more sugar (150ml) and added about 10ml of aniseed. After baking I glazed them with a milk and sugar glaze (25ml sugar dissolved in ยฑ15ml milk) It turned out absolutely perfect! Traditionally it is made with condensed milk, more sugar and lots of butterโฆ..and you have to knead the heck out of the dough, let it rise a looooong time, knead again, rise again, make the balls and let it rise AGAIN! Very tedious! Your soft no knead rolls made them SO easy and they were sweet enough even without all the sugar and condensed milk.
They were SO GOOD! Thank you for giving me a quick and super easy way to make one of our favourite South African treats!
I LOVE hearing that Mariette! That sounds delicious, I just googled it to have a look too ๐ Thank you for sharing how you used this recipe as a base to make your personal favourite! N xx
Thank you so much for the recipeโฆthe buns were utterly softโฆwas a delightโฆthanks again
Thatโs terrific Salima! So pleased you enjoyed it, thanks for letting me know โ N xx