Why we love this Honey Butter Rolls Recipe

We hope y’all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was great! We got to spend it at our mom’s house in New Mexico this year which meant we only had to travel to one location, rather than 2-3 as it usually is. It made it a lot easier on us with the dog and all of our stuff. We actually enjoyed being able to do a lot of the cooking. Is there something you always make for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner? Something maybe that you bring to every gathering? We told our mom ahead of time that we didn’t want her to buy rolls this year and we wanted to make them. We're glad we did! They turned out great! Everyone loved them and the guys even packed some for lunch on their hunting trips after Thanksgiving.

We know that for people who haven’t made bread with yeast before, it can seem a little intimidating and daunting at first, but we promise, try it! You’ll find out that its actually more waiting around for it to rise than actual work. We were a little worried our first time making bread with yeast and not a typical quick bread but we're happy we did!

If you decide to double or triple this batch, make them separately. Make each batch separate, let each batch rise in their own bowl, and bake them in their own dish. We've tried doubling and tripling this recipe and because of the rising and kneeding, we end up breaking it up to make it easier anyway.

These dinner rolls are the right amount of sweet. They aren’t too sweet or rich, but sweet enough to eat them alone or you can even add honey butter to the rolls!

Note – You can always freeze these rolls and pull them out as needed!

Honey Rolls ingredients

Water – you’re going to need water warmed up to the temperature recommended on your yeast package. We often use Red Platinum yeast so we warm ours to 120ºF. You can check the temperature using an instant-read thermometer.
Instant Dry Yeast – it’s important that you use yeast that is not expired. Your bread will not rise if the yeast is expired. When you combine the yeast with the water, it should foam. If it does not, you’ll want to start over with different yeast.
Egg – you’ll need one whole large egg for this recipe. We do not recommend using any sort of egg replacement.
Canola Oil – if you don’t have canola oil on hand, you can also use any other neutral flavor oil. Both vegetable oil and avocado oil work well
Honey – use your favorite honey. A little will go into the dough and a little will go into the honey butter.
Salt – we like to use coarse kosher salt, but sea salt works great as well
Bread flour – It’s important to use bread flour in this recipe and not all-purpose flour. Bread flour has more protein which helps it rise higher. Higher-rising dough means fluffier rolls for you.
Butter – don’t skimp on the butter. You want it to be flavorful so use your favorite butter.

How to make this Butter Rolls Recipe

Start by warming the water in the microwave or on the stove until it reaches the correct temperature instructed by your yeast brand. We use Red Platinum yeast, so we warm ours to 120ºF.
Once the water is at the right temperature, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle in the instant dry yeast. With the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low for a couple of seconds to mix the yeast with the water. Let the yeast and water stand for about 10 minutes.
Next, add in the egg, canola oil, 1/4 cup of honey, and salt to the mixing bowl. Continue to mix on low speed.
Once combined, add in 3 cups of bread flour. Continue to mix until well combined. You will most likely need to increase your speed to medium.
Once the dough has started to are ready, remove the paddle attachment and put on the dough hook. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add in the remaining 1/2 cup of bread flour. You’ll want the dough to no longer be sticky. You can keep adding more flour if needed until it is no longer sticky, but your bread will be dense with the more flour you add. We find that 1/2 cup is plenty for our rolls.
Let the mixer run at low speed with the dough hook for 9 minutes.
Spray a large glass bowl with non-stick spray and put the dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature for 2 hours. It should double in size.
Once the dough has risen, place it onto a floured work surface. You can also use a silicone mat.
Roll the dough with your hands into a long tube about 2 inches in diameter.
Cut the dough into 16 equal pieces.
Take each piece and roll it into a ball. For smoother rolls, you’ll then want to take the dough ball and basically turn it inside out, exposing the smooth surface.
Place the dough balls into a 9×13 casserole dish lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and allow the rolls to rise for another 30 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap and bake the rolls in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to prevent burning.
Place 3 tablespoons of honey with 3 tablespoons of butter into a microwave-safe dish and melt it in the microwave. You can also melt them on the stove.
Stir the butter and honey together and brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture.
Allow the rolls to cool in the pan before removing and enjoy!

What to serve with Honey Butter Bread rolls

We love serving honey dinner rolls with savory, comfort food dishes. Some great options include:

How to store and reheat this Honey Roll Recipe

Honey Rolls are best stored at room temperature in an airtight container. They’ll stay fresh for a couple of days, but will become dry and dense with time.

To reheat honey rolls, we suggest popping them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

Honey Butter Rolls FAQs

Makes 16

Ingredients

1 Cup water warmed to the temperature advised on the yeast package
1 – ¼ ounce packet instant dry yeast
1 large egg
3 TBSP canola oil
¼ cup honey + 3TBSP
¼ tsp salt
3 ½ cups bread flour
3 TBSP butter

Method

Warm the water in the microwave or on the stove until it reaches the right temperature.
Once the water is at the right temperature, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle in the instant dry yeast. With the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low for a couple of seconds to mix the yeast with the water. Let the yeast and water stand for about 10 minutes.
Add in the egg, canola oil, ¼ cup of honey, and salt to the bowl. Continue to mix on low speed. Once combined, add in 3 cups of bread flour. Continue to mix until well combined. You will most likely need to increase your speed to medium. Once the dough has started to are ready, remove the paddle attachment and put on the dough hook. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add in the remaining ½ cup of bread flour. You’ll want the dough to no longer be sticky. You can keep adding more flour if needed until it is no longer sticky, but your bread will be more dense with the more flour you add. We find that ½ cup is plenty for our rolls. Let the mixer run on low speed with the dough hook for 9 minutes.
Spray a large glass bowl with Pam non-stick spray and put the dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours. It should double in size.
Once it has risen, put dough out onto a floured work surface or sil pat. Roll the dough with your hands into a long tube about 2 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into 16 even pieces. Take each piece and roll into a ball. For “pretty” rolls, you’ll then want to take the dough ball and basically turn it inside out, exposing a smooth surface. Place the dough balls into a 9×13 casserole dish lined with foil and sprayed with Pam non-stick spray. Preheat the oven to 400F. Cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap and allow the rolls to rise for another 30 minutes.
Place 3TBSP of honey with 3TBSP of butter into a microwave safe dish and melt in the microwave. Stir together and brush the tops of the rolls with the honey butter mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to prevent burning. Allow the rolls to cool in the pan before removing.