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This is, hands down, my favorite bread/roll recipe. It always works for me which means soft and fluffy rolls every time. Usually I make nine buns, nice and snuggled up close together in an eight by eight pan, but I also like making them extra extra mini. The beauty of this recipe is that you can shape the bread into any size you want.

The key to soft and fluffy rolls is making sure that you’re kneading the dough long enough, so make sure that you reach the windowpane stage – that’s when you know that you’ve developed enough gluten in your dough. If you’re never done the windowpane stage thing, don’t worry, it’s easy. When you’re done kneading and your dough is smooth and elastic, take a bit of dough, about the size of a golf ball, and try to stretch it out using your fingers. The dough should easily stretch into a translucent membrane that you can see through. If the dough breaks you need to knead a bit more.

That’s it! I see soft and fluffy buns in your future :)

Soft and Fluffy Dinner Roll Recipe
makes 9-12 buns
prep time: 2.5 hours, including proofing time
bake time: 15 minutes
total time: 2.45 hours

• 120 grams water, warm (1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 250 grams bread flour (1 3/4 cups)
• 15 grams sugar (1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 large egg, lightly beaten
• 25 grams butter, at room temperature (2 tablespoons)
• egg wash, if desired

Notes: I often find myself scaling recipes and having things call for 1/2 large egg. I usually whisk a whole egg in a small bowl, then measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of the whisked egg. Save the other half of the egg for the egg wash.

Sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water and let proof. Meanwhile, in the bowl of your mixer, stir together the flour, sugar and salt.

Whisk the egg into the foamy yeast mixture, then add the mix to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir together until everything comes into a ball. Switch to a dough hook and knead on low until the dough pulls away cleanly from the sides.

Add the room temperature butter and continue to knead on medium-low, for about 10 minutes, until the dough reaches the windowpane stage – take a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball and stretch it out between your fingers and thumbs. If you can stretch it without the dough breaking and you can see through the stretched dough, you’re good to go. If the dough doesn’t windowpane, knead a bit longer.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Take the dough and tip it out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down lightly then divide into 9 or 12 (depending on how many buns you want) equal portions if you’re making regular size buns. If you want to be precise, use your kitchen scale to see how much your dough weighs, then divide by 9 or 12.

Shape the portions of dough by bring the edges towards the center and tucking into balls. Lightly grease a 8×8 baking pan and place the buns in. There will be space between the buns, don’t worry, they’ll rise. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 356°F. Whisk the remaining 1/2 egg with a teaspoon of water and brush onto the buns. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

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