Soft Bread Rolls
Serves: 12 rolls
These soft and fluffy bread rolls are perfect for hamburgers, sandwiches, dinner rolls, or anytime you want a soft white roll. Recipe for soft bread rolls with step-by-step photos.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 500 g (3 ⅓ cup) white bread flour
- 9 g (1 ½ teaspoons) fine salt
- 24 g (2 tablespoons) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 7 g (2 teaspoons) instant dried yeast, see Kitchen Notes
- 300 ml (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) milk, warmed slightly to about 37°C/98°F
- 30 g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
For the Bread Rolls
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) milk, whole milk
- sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional)
- poppy seeds, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
To Make the Dough
- Measure the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook.
- Lightly mix the ingredients together.
- With the speed on low, slowly add the warmed milk.
- Keep mixing on low speed until the ingredients come together into a sticky dough.
- Add the butter, about a tablespoon at a time, waiting for it to be completely incorporated before adding the next tablespoon.
- Once all of the dough ingredients have been added, mix the dough on a low-medium speed for about 15-20 minutes, or until you have a soft and smooth ball of dough. When you poke the dough gently, it should bounce back immediately.
- Lightly oil a large bowl.
- Place the dough into the bowl, and cover with some plastic wrap or a reusable bowl cover.
- Leave the dough somewhere warm for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size (see Kitchen Notes below).
To Portion the Bread Rolls
- Remove the dough gently from the bowl.
- Weigh the dough and divide this number by 12 to get the weight for each bun.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
To Shape the Bread Rolls
- Line a large, high-sided baking tray with baking paper.
- Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball by pulling the edges together to form a ball, pinch the edges together, and roll gently until you have a smooth ball.
- Place the buns somewhat close together on the baking tray so that they will touch each other after the second proofing.
- Place the tray of buns somewhere warm for about 30 minutes to puff up slightly.
To Bake
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/390°F (without fan).
- Brush the bread rolls with some milk.
- Sprinkle the bread rolls with sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds (optional).
- Bake the bread rolls for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/356°F (without fan).
- Continue baking the bread rolls for another 10-15 minutes. If the bread rolls are browning too quickly, cover them loosely with a sheet of aluminium foil for the remainder of the baking time.
- The bread rolls are cooked if an internal thermometer reads 85°C/185°F.
- Carefully remove the bread rolls from the tray.
- Let the bread rolls cool on a wire rack. If you leave them on the baking tray or baking paper, the buns will steam on the bottom and get a little soggy.
- Serve warm or cool.
Kitchen Notes
- MAKE AHEAD TIPS
To start the dough the night before:
* Make the dough as per the recipe.
* Place the bowl of dough (covered) in the fridge to proof overnight, or for at least 8 to 10 hours. During this time, it should have at least doubled in size.
* The next day, proceed with the rest of the recipe. As the dough will be cold, it may require a bit more time for the second proofing period. - VARIATIONS
This recipe makes 9 hamburger-sized buns, 12 dinner rolls, or 15 mini dinner rolls. - LEFTOVERS
Just like my parents did in the bakery, any leftover bread rolls should be kept in a sealed plastic bag (such as a ziplock bag), and they will remain soft and fresh for several days. - DIFFERENT TYPES OF FLOUR
For Swiss readers: I use Zopfmehl (or farine pour tresse) when making bread and enriched dough. - DIFFERENT TYPES OF YEAST
Please note that there is a difference between instant yeast (also called instant dried yeast or fast-action dried yeast) and dried yeast (also called active dry yeast). If you are not sure what type of yeast you have, please check the packaging for instructions on how to use the yeast.
* With instant yeast, you can add it directly to the flour mixture without having to activate it first.
* With dried yeast, you will need to activate it first (usually in some warm liquid).
* If you are using fresh yeast, you will need about half a block (20 g fresh yeast = 7 g instant yeast). Crumble the fresh yeast into the warm milk, and stir to dissolve the yeast. - PROOFING THE DOUGH
Dough needs a warm environment for the yeast to activate and cause the dough to rise. If you don't have a warm place in your home, try one of the following ideas:
* In the oven with the oven light switched on (works only for some ovens).
* In the oven with a tray of boiling water on the bottom shelf.
* In the oven or a steamer oven at a low temperature of about 25-40°C (77-104°F). - OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer's handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.