Soft Dinner Rolls (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a soft roll and a dinner roll? ›

Soft rolls and hard rolls are yeast breads, but quick breads are chemically raised doughs (with baking powder or baking soda). Soft rolls would be dinner rolls or sandwich buns which are usually enriched with dairy, butter or some other fat, and normally are sweetened to some degree.

Sugar: Not only does it sweeten the bread, but sugar also retains moisture. This means that adding sugar can indeed make bread softer. Baking Soda: When added, especially in recipes with acidic ingredients, it can make bread soft and spongy. However, it's essential to balance the quantities to avoid a soapy taste.

Cover the rolls with a slightly damp, clean kitchen towel. Microwave the rolls until just warmed through, 30 to 45 seconds. To reheat the dinner rolls in a slow cooker, cover the top of the slow cooker with a second damp, clean tea towel. Cover and heat on the low setting until warm, about 30 minutes.

Hard rolls, French- and Italian-style breads, and whole wheat, rye and pumpernickel breads are considered lean. Enriched dough (for soft rolls, brioche and challah) is produced by adding fat or tenderizing ingredients such as sugars or syrups, butter or oil, whole eggs or egg yolks, milk or cream.

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

Commercial bread is softer due to the steam process used by bakeries, which is made to keep bread hydrated and fresh. Use cold water in a pan and put it on a rack beneath your bread to create steam.

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

As you knead, you'll start to feel the texture of the dough change; it will begin to smooth out and feel softer and more elastic. The length of time a dough requires kneading depends on the recipe. Some doughs take just 3–5 minutes, while others can take up to 10–15 minutes.

Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough.

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

What is the best way to store soft dinner rolls? ›

Let the rolls cool completely on a cooling rack. Always remove rolls from the pan immediately after baking to prevent moisture buildup that can cause sogginess. Once cooled, place in an air tight container or ziplock bag.

Additionally, the rolls are baked close together which lowers the amount of browned “crust” on the rolls, which yields an overall softer texture – pull apart pillow heaven! Lastly, the tops of the rolls get brushed with butter which helps seal the rolls and keep them nice and soft.

Cloverleaf roll – American version, consisting of three small balls of dough in a muffin cup, proofed and baked together. Finger roll – soft roll about three times longer than it is wide. French roll – generic term for the bread roll. Also a sweeter, softer roll with milk added to the dough.

Place bread flour, water, sugar, egg, 2 tablespoons softened butter, yeast, and salt into the pan of your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle and press Start.

Dinner rolls are broken open with the hands, never cut with a knife. Butter is taken from the butter dish with the butter knife and placed on the side of the bread plate. Never butter bread directly from the butter dish. Pieces of bread are broken from the roll, buttered and eaten using the hands.

Rolls are typically proofed and baked closer together for a softer, “pull apart” result. This makes them great for dipping or eating alongside other food. On the other hand, buns are proofed with space between them, which makes them crustier.