Homemade Potato Dinner Rolls

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The addition of potato flakes in this recipe for Homemade Potato Dinner Rolls is a best kept secret because it makes the yeast rolls extra fluffy and soft. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to make homemade rolls; just try it! Plus, they’re the perfect accompaniment to almost every meal.

 

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These Homemade Potato Dinner Rolls are soft, fluffy, and fuss-free. It’s actually a pretty simple recipe to make. Sure, it’s easier to buy dinner rolls, but homemade is always best.

Potato Rolls are similar to yeast dinner rolls; however, the best dinner rolls recipes use potato flakes to make them even more soft and fluffy.

There are a million yeast roll recipes out there, but this is a tried-and-true recipe that everyone raves about. It’s the same recipe we learned in culinary school, so they are guaranteed to be delicious.

In my opinion, it’s the best easy recipe for making homemade dinner rolls.

Serving fresh dinner rolls adds an extra special touch to any meal but is especially wonderful for serving during the holidays. These potato rolls are delicious paired with most main entrees such as Sheet Pan Italian Chicken with Potatoes, Rosemary Apricot Glazed Turkey, and Vegetable Beef Soup.

Dinner rolls are a wonderful way to use leftover meat too, by slicing them in half and making miniature sandwiches.

Why This Recipe Works

This recipe may take a little more time to prepare, but it uses a very simple and straightforward method. Anyone can make homemade dinner rolls.

It’s a no knead method, thanks to using an electric mixer, which does the kneading for you. Using a mixer speeds up the process too.

Potato Dinner Rolls are great for the holidays. Serve these at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.  They can even be frozen and re-warmed if you decide to make them ahead of time.

How To Make Potato Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

• Pantry Staples: all purpose flour, sugar, salt
• Nonfat Dry Milk Powder
• Potato Flakes
• Instant Yeast: instant dry yeast does not need to be proofed before using it in recipes. If you use active dry yeast in place of instant yeast, you will need to activate it in the warm water first. You can read how to do that under the Prep! heading in this recipe for Rosemary Focaccia.
• Unsalted Butter
• Warm Water

The entire recipe and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can print the recipe from the card, if needed.

Prep!

Set the butter out about an hour ahead of time to come to room temperature.

Create!

Add all of the ingredients, except for 1/4 cup of the flour, to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Do not allow the yeast and salt to touch. 

Mix on low speed, then medium until everything is combined and smooth, adding the extra flour or light spritzes of water, as needed. The dough should be tacky at this point.

You can either turn the speed up on the mixer and allow it to knead the dough for you, for 5-7 minutes, or turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it by hand for 5-7 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic now. It should bounce back when poked.

Note: you want to knead the dough enough for the gluten to develop, but be careful not to over-knead the dough or the rolls may turn out tough. Set a timer for 5 minutes, then check the dough consistency.

Conduct a windowpane test to ensure the gluten has developed by taking a small piece of dough and slowly stretching it out into a square. The dough should stretch very thin to the point of transparency without tearing easily. If it does not pass the test, continue kneading the dough. 

Lightly coat the inside of the mixing bowl with oil or non-stick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl, then flip it to coat both side. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place until doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour.

You can place the dough by a sunny window, in a warm room, or in the oven if you have a “warm” setting.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into 16 equal sized pieces. Keep the pieces covered with plastic wrap as you shape the dinner rolls.

Take out one piece of dough at a time. Place it on a table and using the palm of your hand, press down and roll it into a tight, smooth ball. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or in a lined baking pan and keep covered with plastic. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Allow to proof in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Chef’s Tip: you can brush the tops of the dinner rolls with an egg wash (an egg whisked with 2 tablespoons of water) prior to baking. You can also sprinkle on any seeds or seasonings like you like at this time. Some suggestions are sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, garlic butter, and/or dried herbs.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden brown and the internal temperature has reached 190°F when taken in the center with a food thermometer.

Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Present!

Serve warm with butter, if desired.

Tips and Techniques

• You can use active dry yeast in place of instant yeast but will need to proof it in the warm water for about 15 minutes, or until foamy, before using.
• For a shiny, golden finish, you can brush the tops of the rolls with an egg wash prior to baking. To make an egg wash, whisk together one egg and 2 tablespoons of water.
• To enhance the flavor of dinner rolls, you an add sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, garlic butter and/or fresh herbs before baking.

FAQ’s

How Do You Store Dinner Rolls?

Dinner rolls can be stored in plastic bags or airtight containers at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Can You Freeze Dinner Rolls?

Yes. Place cooled dinner rolls in a freezer bag or airtight container before placing them in the freezer.

To reheat frozen dinner rolls, place them on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 300°F until hot to the touch and warmed through, about 20 minutes.

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