Before I begin, just a quick reminder that my April giveaway is in full swing. Claim your free, easy, daily entry here. Don’t forget to visit Jennette’s website, so you can tell me which Thrive food storage item you’d like to try. Jennette has generously provided our wonderful prize.
Have you ever eaten something so delicious, so yummy, you knew there was no way you could ever recreate it in all its glory at home? That’s how I used to feel about Jenna’s rolls. Those lucky enough to know Jenna know what I’m talking about. Her rolls are DIVINE! Just the mere mention of her rolls brings a blissful, longing look to people’s faces. When I mention that I’m bringing “Jenna’s Rolls” somewhere, there is an excitement and longing that cannot be contained. Just the words “Jenna’s Rolls” are spoken with reverence and respect. They are SO GOOD!
Remember when I said my cinnamon roll recipe was amazing? (And they are!) These are better! Perhaps that’s because anything made with white flour and sugar is going to be one of my most favorite things in the world. Bread is better than dessert to me, so you can imagine how much I LOVE these.
Jenna was kind enough to share her recipe last year when she taught a class on making her life changing rolls. Today, I’m going to share her fantabulous rolls with you. These easy, delicious rolls will become a staple in your home. When you share them with friends, they will love you even more than they already do. They will be in awe of your roll-making ability!
Best Dinner Rolls Ever by Jenna
Makes 32 rolls
Ingredients
2 cups almost hot water
1/2 cup sugar or honey (if you use honey, decrease the water by 1/2 cup)
6 cups flour (I use 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 bread flour, but you can use all-purpose if you don’t have bread flour)
1 stick softened salted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 well-beaten egg
Proof yeast by adding a little sugar and the yeast to the water. Let sit until bubbly. (If using instant yeast, you can skip this step.) Add yeast mixture, 3 cups of flour, and remaining sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix well.
Add the remaining flour, butter, salt, and egg to the mixing bowl and mix until well combined. If you are using a stand mixer, turn the mixer to medium and let the mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead for about 10 minutes until the dough springs back when depressed.
Cover dough and set aside. Let rise until double (about 45 minutes – 1 hour). Shape into rolls. Let rise again for about 10 minutes or until puffy. Bake in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 12-15 minutes (until light golden brown). Check with a toothpick to see if the dough is still sticky inside. If it is, bake by one minute increments until the toothpick comes out easily. Brush rolls with the 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
You can use 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 white flour if you desire. I’ve used quinoa and ground flax seed as well (with about 1/2 of the mixture other “flours”), and they were still lovely. Not quite as light, but still super yummy.
Here’s my photo step-by-step, so you can make these at home.
And these fabulous rolls are so much less expensive than the rolls you buy at the store. My local Costco carries some pretty good dinner rolls. They’re about $4 for 3 dozen. These cost me about $1.
Better Rolls + Saving Money = SCORE!
April 8, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Thanks for sharing!
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April 8, 2014 at 12:06 pm
There’s nothing like homemade food 🙂
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April 8, 2014 at 12:09 pm
licks piggy lips. These look delicious my friend. I could eat one or a dozen – snorts. XOXO – Bacon
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April 8, 2014 at 12:16 pm
Oh my goodness! Looks so good!
I made a new recipe for my “white bread” last night and it turned out pretty good, I think I’ve found my go-to for that. And I am making your artisan bread like it’s nobody’s business! Now a roll and a biscuit are next on my list, and I think this roll will be it, it looks divine! (I’m also still on the search for a dough hook for my vintage mixer! 🙂 )
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April 8, 2014 at 12:36 pm
Yum! You’ve sold me. Definitely trying these.
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April 8, 2014 at 12:37 pm
These look delicious — and the recipe seems like something I ought to be able to manage. I’m going to try these tonight — wish me luck! I’ll let you know how they turn out. If I don’t manage to ruin them so way or another, and they are as delicious as you claim, I think in my house we’ll call them “Laurie’s rolls!” 🙂
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April 8, 2014 at 12:46 pm
Those look great!
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April 8, 2014 at 1:05 pm
These look amazing! I think I’ll make them for Easter dinner! 🙂
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April 8, 2014 at 2:18 pm
These look amazing thank you for sharing!
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April 8, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Oh these look so soft and fluffy! I can smell them all the way here.
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April 8, 2014 at 5:01 pm
These look so good
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April 8, 2014 at 5:20 pm
My boys…ok all of us, LOVE homemade rolls. Money truly are better than any store bought roll. These look great!
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April 9, 2014 at 10:49 am
What did auto correct do to me?! THEY truly….not money!
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April 8, 2014 at 6:19 pm
I can’t wait to try these because they look amazing!
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April 8, 2014 at 8:28 pm
These rolls look so tasty. I’ve never made any like this before, but I think I will definitely be trying my hand at these. Thanks for the great directions!
Irene
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April 8, 2014 at 11:12 pm
Flour and sugar, oh yes! And when it’s deep fried? Oh my word! 😀
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April 8, 2014 at 11:21 pm
awesome! these look so tempting. great going
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April 9, 2014 at 7:39 am
The look amazing!
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April 9, 2014 at 7:48 am
guess I better get some yeast today to make these over the weekend!! Thanks for sharing!!
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April 10, 2014 at 9:42 pm
woww.. these look good. gonna try this! thanks for sharing -xo
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April 11, 2014 at 7:26 am
I make all my yeast breads from scratch and these rolls will definitely be tried in my kitchen! Have you tried to makes these without the “crescent” roll shape? If so, how did you do them? I am thinking I could just make them in a 9″ x 13″ and make small dinner roll balls and follow the rest of your recipe to a “T”. Have you tried this, and if so, did it work too? Thanks for sharing and I have already printed it out!! 🙂
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April 11, 2014 at 9:28 am
You can shape these any way you want: balls, crescents, twists, etc. I haven’t done the balls myself, because it is so simple to do the crescents. Let me know how it works out for you. 🙂
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April 12, 2014 at 9:10 am
Will do, and I plan on trying them next weekend for our Easter family dinner. Will post a couple photos and reply here with how the balls turn out. Thanks for getting back to me 🙂
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April 13, 2014 at 4:21 am
These look amazing! I’ll be making them very soon.
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April 13, 2014 at 7:07 pm
Please let me know how they turn out for you. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!
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April 15, 2014 at 6:34 am
You must have more patience than I could ever hope to. Keep up the good work. Scott
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April 20, 2014 at 8:33 pm
Laurie,
I made these rolls for our family Easter dinner and they were a hit. I do have a question. Mine puffed up a lot. How would I get them not to be so big and plump? Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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April 21, 2014 at 9:13 am
I’m so glad the rolls were a success. To answer your question completely, I have a couple questions of my own. 🙂 Is it that the rolls were too large? Or is it that you wanted a more substantial (dense) roll?
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April 21, 2014 at 2:34 pm
The rolls were just large. The flavor was great and they were not too dense had enough fluff they just looked liked pillows.
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April 21, 2014 at 2:50 pm
Hmm… Did you divide the dough into two parts before cutting them? This should make 32 rolls. I wonder if I forgot to include that part. Let me check…
I did, but it’s in tiny print with the pictures. I’ll fix that in the recipe.
If you did that and they were still huge, feel free to cut the dough into smaller pieces. I’ve made as many as 40 rolls out of one batch of dough. Just make sure you watch your cooking time that they don’t burn. If they are smaller, the cooking time will be shorter.
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April 24, 2014 at 12:11 pm
Maybe that’s what I missed. I didn’t use the photos I just printed the directions.
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April 22, 2014 at 12:13 pm
Mine turned out amazing!! I posted photos on my blog to show them. I cut the recipe in 2 and it made 20 dinner rolls in a 9 x 13. Everyone loved them and I will definitely make them again. Oh, and btw, I made them with all AP flour – thanks for sharing this!!
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May 13, 2014 at 6:22 pm
I’m going to make these for my visiting family tomorrow! I wanted to make cresents, but didn’t want to spend the time on the delicious recipe I have already which requires 3 hours of rising! Yikes! Thanks for sharing…I have high expectations for these rolls 🙂 Ready to be impressed!
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May 14, 2014 at 8:27 am
Best of luck! Please let me know how they turn out for you. 🙂
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