Soft No-Knead Dinner Rolls
These soft, golden dinner rolls are made with a very wet, sticky dough that requires no kneading or stand mixer. The dough is mixed with a wooden spoon, left to rise, divided and shaped, then given a second rise before baking. A final coating of melted butter gives the warm rolls a soft, glossy finish.
Print Pin Servings: 12 rolls
Ingredients
Buns
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- 1/4 cup caster/superfine sugar, or sub with normal white sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 4 cup bread flour + extra for dusting
- salt, cooking/kosher salt
- 1 cup milk, lukewarm, whole or low fat
- 50g / 3 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 eggs, at room temperature, beaten with fork
Brushing
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Activate the Yeast : Place the yeast and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a medium bowl, then pour in water. Leave for 5 minutes until it froths.
- Combine the Dry Ingredients : Place flour, remaining sugar and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Add the Wet Ingredients : Make a well in the centre. Add milk, butter, eggs and pour in the yeast liquid, including all froth.
- Mix the Dough : 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
- 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.
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Recipe Notes
- Check your yeast before continuing. The frothy surface after 5 minutes is important. If the yeast does not become frothy, it may no longer be active, which means the dough is unlikely to rise properly.
- Keep the liquids warm, not hot. Very hot water or milk can kill yeast. Aim for a comfortably warm temperature—if the liquid would feel pleasant as bath water, it is in the right range.
- Don't be alarmed by the sticky dough. This is intentionally much wetter than traditional kneaded bread dough. It should resemble a very thick, sticky muffin batter rather than a firm ball of bread dough.
- Give the first rise enough time. Look at the dough rather than relying only on the clock. It should be close to tripled in volume with visible bubbles on its surface.
- Use flour for handling, not kneading. When shaping, flour your hands and the exterior of the dough as necessary. Avoid working large quantities of extra flour into the dough because its high moisture level helps create the soft texture.
- Pay attention to the shaping. Gathering each portion underneath and leaving a taut, smooth surface on top helps produce smoother, more evenly golden rolls.
- Use the color as your baking guide. The rolls should have a good golden-brown surface after approximately 15–18 minutes.
- Brush them while they're hot. Apply the melted butter immediately after the rolls leave the oven for a softer, buttery finish.
