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….
Wendi Lancaster says
This is the best dinner roll recipe I have ever seen! I made them for the first time when my daughter’s friends came over for a play day. Only 4 of them (5yr olds) but they finished 12 of these dinner rolls. lol they loved it so much, and so as my rest of family. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I hope you don’t mind me to use your pictures and video to share it with other people.
Nagi says
HIGH FIVE!!!
Tegan says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was a bread baking virgin until today. I have been looking at no knead bread recipe’s for months, and finally had the guts to try one. Chose your recipe as it seemed really easy to understand, and the video helped A LOT as I was able to see how each step should be done. My rolls turned out so well! I put a little too much sugar in them, but I’ll know for next time to add less so they’re a little more savoury. I have been trying to learn to cook a few new things as my partners family is full of amazing cooks, so I felt I needed something to up my game a bit. And this is perfect for that! Thank you! Plus, I REALLY appreciated your tip of using the dryer for the rise. We only just hit Autumn here, and its chilly today, so this really helped with the process.
Nagi says
I absolutely love hearing that Tegan! So glad you enjoyed this! N xx
Fiona says
Nagi, how should I tweak the recipe if I were to use a 7 x 11″ pan instead of 9 x 13″ per recipe? Will it work it I substitute the caster sugar with brown sugar?
Nagi says
Hi Fiona! Just squeeze them in – they will just be taller! N x
Rosemary says
Hi Nagi – this is a brilliant recipe, as is the cinnamon roll alternative. Thank you 😊
I’d like to make 100% wholemeal rolls, but I know that the wholemeal flour soaks up more liquid.
Following the general rule that, “wetter is better”, I’ve tried a half batch of these today with an extra 50ml milk – let’s see how they go!
Interested to know if you have tried this already and what you would recommend when using this type of flour.
Rosemary
PS: I over proofed my second rise on one bath of rolls, spectacularly, they did reshape and there was enough active yeast left to get a third (!) rise, but the taste was awful! Too fermented 😩
Nagi says
So pleased to hear that Rosemary! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Kelly Osborne says
These are the absolute best! I made them last night then popped them in the fridge overnight for the second rise. I omitted the eggs (simply because I didn’t have them) and they were still perfect. They’re going to become a favourite in our house very quickly. I can’t believe how easy they are to make. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Nagi says
Love hearing that! So glad you enjoyed this Kelly! N xx
Jasamine says
Hey Nagi! I totally forgot to warm up my milk I already mixed it in and set it to rise. Will it still rise even though it was cold?
Darné says
Hi Nagi… I’m not the best baker, but this recipe is absolutely nothing short of AMAZING! So easy and so perfect each and everytime. Thank you so much for sharing. X
Nagi says
So glad you enjoyed this Darne! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x
Julie says
Hi Nagi, thanks for posting this recipe. I made a half batch of this over the weekend and ran into a similar problem as one of the other commenters. Basically, I got rolls that were hard on the outside with a soft biscuit-ish texture on the inside. I retraced my steps and I think I may have made the following mistakes. I wanted to run them by you and get a little feedback:
1. I didn’t have bread flour and attempted to make my own by mixing 1 tsp Vital Wheat Gluten with the flour but I didn’t add more water to the recipe as some bakers might recommend. I also used half all purpose and half whole wheat flour.
2. My first rise went for 3 hours instead of 2 and might have over proofed.
3. I shaped and refrigerated the rolls overnight before baking but forgot to spray the plastic wrap. Might they have dried out a little in the fridge?
4. For my second rise, I tried to create a warm environment by turning my oven to 175 F and then turning it off. But perhaps this was way too warm for rising? The inside of the oven did get pretty hot and I left the rolls in for about 30 min before baking.
I intend to try again and be more vigilant in following rise times more exactly. Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Julie! I can’t comment on #1 because I’, not familiar with the gluten you mention, sorry. On #2, go by eye – so yes if it had already risen by 2 hours and you left it for 3, then it over proofed which takes the rising strength out of the yeast 3) If you forgot to spray the plastic wrap, yes that would have affected it as well because when you peeled the cling wrap off, I expect it ripped the skin off which was stuck to the cling wrap. This deflates the dough 🙁 #4 – 175F is 80C and yes I’m afraid that’s too hot for yeast, it kills it. Sorry to disappoint! 🙂 N x
Julie says
Thank you so much for the feedback. I will try again and stick very close to the recipe. Baking with yeast is a bit of an exact science, as I’m learning. I’m hopeful that this time will yield better results. Thank you again!
Yuri says
OMG ! I just made this for tonight dinner. It is so fluffy and so soft dinner roll ever I made !
Our family member is only 3 adult ,so I don’t need 12 of them. So I decided half of potion I make. It is no problem even I did half of amount. And also I was using with my bread machine . Even so any problem whatsoever !! I love this ,and definitely my repeating recipe. thank you so much !!
Nagi says
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed it Yuri! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
Marion says
Did the daught last night, laughted at it as i put my daught in the dryer lol and it did work!! Yay! So today i m taking them out of the fridge and baking them!! Lets see how it goes in a few minutes!
15 mins later…perfectly cooked and sooo soft ! My husband just told me that i should have made them a bit sweeter than this but oh well he also said that these are soooo good! And i did put my eggs cold from deidge and also my milk soo again with mistakes it worked nice and ooh no bread flour so all purpose flour! Good recipe!! Thankss!
Nagi says
I know, it feels ridiculous carrying the bowl into the laundry, doesn’t it – ba ha ha!! So glad you enjoyed this Marion! N xx
Tan Siew Lian says
I just tried this and the bread turned out great! however, wished there is no butter so can be healthier. if you have another recipe without butter, pls share, that would be great! thks
Nagi says
Hi Tan! So glad you enjoyed this 🙂 Sorry to say I haven’t tried this without butter, sorry!
Tan Siew Lian says
hi, it’s ok. thks for replying! hv a hpy CNY
Amanda says
Hi! I made these last night- wow! I am a beginner. I knew I’d have lots of beginner mistakes, and sure enough, got started and then didn’t have enough flour. I looked in my cabinet and found some (out of date) whole wheat flour. Should I scrap the project or go for it? I went for it. Everything seemed to go smoothly, though you should have seen me shaping the rolls! Well, they turned out REALLY good! Even my mistakes were forgiven with your FABULOUS recipe! Can’t wait to try more from your website!
Nagi says
That’s wonderful to hear Amanda! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Veronica Bochio says
I absolutely loved this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it! Super easy to make and delicious. My kids loved them.
lots of love all the way from Brazil!! 🙂
JEANNETTE STREHLE says
Nagi, you are wonderful, I made these tonight and for me it was a big undertaking as I am a home baker and have always had success with cakes, pies, cookies, etc but yeast breads and rolls terrify me as I have not had much success with them. Your recipie looked easy and delicious, I followed the it exactly I even had my kindle in tbd kitchen in front of me. Well they rose well and I was excited, but my dough was not sticky. I made the little pouches and they looked great. I baked them and they did not Brown and they were good but are not fluffy they are more biscuit like. I a. Proud that I tried. And they taste good,but what did I do wrong, not enough liquid, liquid too cold?? I want to make these again. Please help me…. Thank you.
Nagi says
Hi Jeanette, I’m sorry to hear that you had troubles with this I wish I was there to help troubleshoot! If the dough was not sticky then it sounds like there was not enough liquid, is there a chance it was mis measured? 🙂 N x
vonn says
making this recipe now will post a comment later on how it turns out 😀
thanks in advance
Lisa says
Hi…Nagi, I just made these rolls today. They were very light and fluffy. My husband made a sandwich with this. It looks so good. Thank you very much another easy and tasty recipe.
Nagi says
That’s terrific to hear Lisa ! Thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x
Louise Blais says
I made mine with 2 cups of Whole Wheat and 2 Cups of White Flour and it didn’t have it sticky like yours it was more on the dryer side. Would that be because I used Whole Wheat flour?
Nagi says
Hi Louise! I’ve made this with whole wheat and it was still fine with the same quantities 🙂 Just add a touch of warm water, this dough is actually very forgiving!
Adina says
Fantastic recipe! I wanted them less sweet so i added less sugar and omg!! cheese filled. This is how they turned out: https://instagram.com/p/Bd7T39cH5qS/
Cheri Tate says
The best rolls I have ever made! Super easy and fun to make. My daughter is learning to bake and was very easy for her to follow the recipe and the directions. Thank you so much
Nagi says
I love hearing that Cheri!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
Karen dunn says
Great recipe but I put in 1and a half teaspoons of salt and it was misleading, think it should have been just a half whoops! They were still lush and easy to make
Nagi says
Hi Karen! 1 1/2 tsp of salt is right! N x