These soft and fluffy, quick dinner bread rolls are loaded with green onions and topped with flaked sea salt for an explosion of flavour in your mouth. They are flaky and buttery and are the perfect complement to any dinner you are serving. Plus, they take just an hour and a half to prep and bake (and that includes an hour rise time). So so quick and easy!
What is in these Dinner Rolls?
- all purpose flour
- milk and butter - adds fat content to make the rolls fluffier and softer.
- eggs - promotes rising because eggs are a leavening agent (similar to baking powder).
- instant yeast - ready to use right away, and takes less time to prep than using active dry yeast.
- salt - for flavour.
- sugar - helps the dough rise faster.
- green onions - finely chopped and as dry as possible.
- salt flakes and white sesame seeds- for topping.
Dinner rolls are a great addition to any meal in your day. These rolls are also customizable. I love them with green onions but you can leave them plain by removing the green onions, or incorporate other ingredients and flavours. Easily incorporate dried herbs (such as rosemary), minced garlic, cheddar cheese, ham or even chopped hot dogs.
How to Make the Best Dinner Bread Rolls with Green Onions
- Prepare the dough. In a large bowl, add milk, butter, egg, yeast, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Mix well with a spatula to combine. Add flour and stir well to combine until there are no dry flour particles visible in the bowl. Fold in chopped green onions.
- Knead the dough. Transfer the dough onto a clean and lightly greased surface. Knead the dough by pushing the dough down and outward using the palms of your hands. Fold the dough in half toward you and press down. Repeat this motion by pushing the dough down and outward, and then folding over towards you. Knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky. It should take less than 5 minutes.
- Shape the rolls. Roll the dough into a log and divide it into 15 equal pieces. Cover the dough with a damp cloth or cling wrap to prevent it from drying. Take one piece at a time and shape each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange the dough balls in a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Proof the rolls. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil or another baking pan upside down, on top. Let the rolls rest and rise for one hour. The rolls should almost double in size.
- Bake the rolls. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg wash (egg and milk). Apply egg wash on each roll and sprinkle salt flakes on top. Bake for 20 minutes in a 375 F preheated oven or until the tops are golden brown in colour. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
FAQ and Tips for Making Quick Dinner Bread Rolls
- What makes these dinner rolls quick? Typically, bread dough needs to rise twice before baking. However, these small batch dinner rolls only require one rising period (proofing), meaning they are a lot faster to make. Also, the addition of egg in the dough promotes rising.
- Do I need to knead the dough? Yes, but takes relatively less time to knead these dinner rolls than it does with other breads. Kneading can be quite an intimidating task especially when dealing with high hydration dough over 75%. But because of the high fat content (butter and milk), this pastry-like dough only takes 5 minutes of kneading to create a smooth and supple ball of dough.
- How do I know if the dough is well-kneaded? A well-kneaded dough should be smooth and bounces back quickly when poked with your finger. If the indentation doesn’t bounce back right away and stays like a dimple, keep kneading for a few more minutes.
- What is the texture of the dough like? With the butter and milk present in this recipe, the dough should be a bit sticky in the beginning. After a few minutes of kneading, the dough will turn smooth and not sticky. By lightly oiling your hands when kneading, it will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands initially.
- How to store dinner rolls? You can store the dinner rolls in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days, if they last...
How to Serve Dinner Rolls
You can serve dinner rolls warm or cold. The rolls will stay soft and fluffy because of the butter and milk. You can serve these with or without butter alongside any meal. Some of my favourites are skillet chicken with lemon garlic sauce, farfalle pasta with light creamy mushroom rose sauce or almond-crusted halibut with lemon garlic butter. You can also dip these into your favourite soup. Try coconut curry lentil soup or roasted butternut squash soup.
More Quick and Easy Bread Recipes
- Quick and Easy Skillet Dinner Rolls
- Small Batch No-Knead Bread
- Quick and Easy Pita Bread
- No Knead French Baguettes
- Easy Homemade Biscuits (No Yeast)
- Easy Small Batch Ciabatta Rolls
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Recipe
Quick Dinner Bread Rolls with Green Onions
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 15 (two-inch) dinner rolls
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Soft and fluffy, quick dinner bread rolls are loaded with green onions and topped with flaked sea salt and sesame seeds. Ready in just 1.5 hours.
Ingredients
- 150 grams milk, at room temperature (½ cup) + 1 tablespoon for egg wash
- 50 grams butter, softened at room temperature (¼ cup)
- 2 large eggs, divided
- 3 grams instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
- 8 grams granulated sugar (2 teaspoons)
- 6 grams salt (1 teaspoon)
- 325 grams all purpose flour (2 + ½ cups)
- ¼ cup green onions, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt flakes (for topping)
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds (for topping)
Instructions
Prepare the Dough:
- In a large bowl, add milk, butter, one egg, yeast, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Mix well with a spatula to combine, about one minute. The butter might still be a little crumby in the mixture at this point.
- Add flour and stir well to combine until there are no dry flour particles visible in the bowl. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with the spatula.
- Add chopped green onions and slowly fold into the dough. Make sure the green onions are dry before folding them in. You don’t need to mix and incorporate the green onions evenly in the dough at the point. Kneading will help disburse them evenly.
Knead the Dough:
- Transfer the dough onto a clean and lightly greased surface. The oil will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands initially. You can even lightly oil your hands too.
- Push the dough down and outward using the palms of your hands. Fold the dough in half toward you and press down. Repeat this motion by pushing the dough down and outward, and then folding over towards you. This helps build up gluten strength in dough that is responsible for making the bread fluffy.
- Continue kneading and folding the dough until the dough is smooth and not sticky at all. Because of the high fat content (butter and milk) in this recipe, it should take less than 5 minutes of kneading by hand to achieve a non-sticky and smooth dough ball. A well-kneaded dough is smooth and can hold its shape. You can test the dough by giving it a firm poke with your finger. The indentation should bounce right back. If it doesn’t bounce back and stays like a dimple, keep kneading for a few more minutes.
Shape the Rolls:
- Roll the ball of dough into a log and divide it into 15 equal pieces with a knife or bench scraper. Cover the dough with a damp cloth or cling wrap to prevent it from drying. When the dough loses moisture, it tends to form hard skin around its surface, which creates a crust when baking.
- Take one piece at a time and shape each piece into a smooth ball. Flatten each dough, fold and press all edges into the centre. Turn it over and cup the dough in your palm, making circular motions. It should take less than 30 seconds to roll each piece into a smooth ball.
- Arrange the dough balls in a parchment-lined baking tray.
Proof the Rolls:
- Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil or another baking pan upside down, on top. Let the rolls rest and rise for one hour. The rolls should almost double in size. Letting the dough rise in a warmer area will help the rolls rise faster. I leave my baking sheet in the oven (turned off) and leave another pan filled with boiling water at the bottom of the oven to help the rolls rise (proof) faster.
Bake the Rolls:
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Apply egg wash on each roll and sprinkle salt flakes and white sesame seeds on top. You can apply egg wash twice (two layers) to create extra shine on the crust. This will help create a nice golden brown crust when baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown in colour. Let the rolls cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
How to customize: You can make these plain by leaving out the green onions. You can also incorporate other ingredients and flavours such as dried herbs (try rosemary), minced garlic, cheddar cheese, ham or even chopped hot dogs.
The texture of the dough: With the butter and milk present in this recipe, the dough should be a bit sticky in the beginning. After a few minutes of kneading, the dough will turn smooth and not sticky. By lightly oiling your hands when kneading, it will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands initially.
Kneading the dough: Kneading can be quite an intimidating task especially when dealing with high hydration dough over 75%. But because of the high fat content (butter and milk), this pastry-like dough only takes 5 minutes of kneading to create a smooth and supple ball of dough. A well-kneaded dough should be smooth and bounces back quickly when poked with your finger. If the indentation doesn’t bounce back right away and stays like a dimple, keep kneading for a few more minutes.
How to store: You can serve dinner rolls warm or cold. You can store the dinner rolls in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The rolls will stay soft and fluffy because of the butter and milk in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes (+1 hour rising)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Asian
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Bakerrrstreet_16 says
Super easy to make and super duper yummy ..... thank you for sharing such such an amazing recipe... 🤗💕
Bakerssstreet_16 says
Super easy to make and super duper yummy 😋.. thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe...🤗💕
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much! So happy you like the recipe!
Rebecca says
Hi, how much dry active yeast would I have to use if I want to substitute the instant yeast?
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
You would use the same amount of active dry yeast. You will just need to premix it with the milk first and let it sit for 5 minutes just to activate it. And then add in the rest of the ingredients as per step 1 of the recipe.
Carol Borchardt says
This is definitely my kind of dinner roll recipe! They're so beautiful and love the added flavor of green onions. Some nice soft butter and I'm in heaven! Also pinned because I plan to try soon!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
It's so good, you are going to love it! Let me know if you make it 🙂
Kay says
Tried them for lunch today (without green onion as I didn't have any) and they came out perfectly, nice to have a quick easy roll recipe for when I run out of bread at home.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks Kay, so glad you liked the recipe! It's such an easy go-to bread to make!