innkeepers dinner rolls;
These traditional innkeepers dinner rolls are perfect for any meal you want to impress with homemade bread! It’s a straightforward recipe that takes a little bit of time but makes delicious, fluffy dinner rolls!
Make sure you plan enough time for two rises. These innkeepers dinner rolls will be worth the wait, but if you’re timing it with other dinner elements like a Thanksgiving dinner or family meal, you’ll need to keep an eye on the timer.
Make sure you plan enough time for two rises, especially if coordinating with multiple dishes for a meal.
secret to success
The rise is important to make sure they get light and airy, but don’t overproof and become poofs of nothing. Ask me how I know. I actually almost gave up on this recipe since I made it 3 times before I got it to come out right. The first time I’m pretty sure my yeast was dead, so they came out like billiard balls. The second time I underproofed them so they were still rather hard. But I guess third time’s the charm because we got some good innkeeper dinner rolls and they got devoured right quick!
It’s winter currently, and we’ve been on a bit of a crazy cold streak. This 2026 winter storm has been cold as all heck, and the frozen ice just won’t melt! If you’re anything like me, your kitchen isn’t exactly the warmest place in winter. So when it comes to proofing your innkeepers dinner rolls, my age-old trick is to pop them in an oven (turned off) with the oven light on. The insulation, coupled with even the dim heat of the light, causes enough warmth to get a decent rise on bread.
Kitchen cold in the winter? Try proofing in the oven.
secret to success
I love big, flaky salt on these innkeepers dinner rolls. Big flakes are really satisfying to crunch against the soft, fluffy bread. I use Maldon salt typically, but in a pinch, you could use table salt. However—and I can’t stress this enough!—you’ll want a light hand when sprinkling table salt. These rolls are so small you don’t want to overpower that fresh-baked deliciousness. Just a little sprinkle will do, or skip it entirely and just rely on salted butter to get the saltiness tailored to your preferences.
Big Maldon salt flakes give a tiny crunch to these soft rolls.
secret to success
Innkeepers dinner rolls are soft, light, and sweet, and the perfect addition to any dinner table! They might take a little bit of elbow grease, but warm, freshly baked bread can’t be beat! Especially when served with flaky sea salt and butter.
secrets to success;
Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!
more recipes;
Looking for other recipes? Check out these favorites.
- If you like biscuits and gravy, make your own homemade sausage gravy and toss it over these innkeeper dinner rolls! Or make these sour cream and chive biscuits for a twist on the classic biscuits and gravy!
- Focaccia bread is an overnight, easy-bake bread that is oh so good. Perfect as a side dish or to make sandwiches! Or make a sweet version, similar to cinnamon bread, this cinnamon focaccia is a wonderful smell to wake up to in the mornings.
- Too much effort to let yeast bloom and make your own bread? This bloomin’ cheesy garlic pull-apart bread amps up a store-bought loaf with a delicious cheesy garlic topping!
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter 227g, melted (1 cup)
- 2 Tbsp 45g yeast (1/8 cup, 2 Tbsp) (¼ cup)
- 1 cup milk 2 cup
- ½ cup sugar ~200g sugar (1 cup)
- ½ Tbsp salt 1 Tbsp
- 2 eggs
- 5 cups bread flour divided (10 cups)
top;
- Olive oil
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- Recipe makes 20 4 oz. rolls but can be easily halved.
- **transparency note: I did not develop this recipe. The baker before me used these measurements for many years and I am unsure if he developed this himself, or found it somewhere. The recipe I reference is hand written by him.
- Melt ½ cup butter and set aside.
- Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. When it reaches 105°F – 110°F, remove ¼ cup to a bowl or measuring cup. Meanwhile, add 2 Tbsp yeast (mine goes in directly from the freezer) to the 110°F milk and allow to bloom
- Leave the remaining milk on the stovetop and add ½ cup of sugar, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
- In the bowl of a kitchen-aid mixer, add 2½ cups of bread flour (approx. half of the 5 cups flour) and ½ Tbsp salt. Add in cooled melted butter, and 2 eggs and mix with a dough hook a few times around (enough to evenly distribute the salt).
- Make sure the sugar milk from the stove has cooled to 110°F before adding to the yeasty milk, then recombine and add to the stand mixer.
- Knead the dough on low and slowly add more flour ½ cup at a time. The dough is done kneading when it is not sticking to the sides of the bowl and feels tacky but not sticky. The texture is more important than the amount of flour used!
- Spray the bowl with grease then cover with plastic wrap and proof until doubled in size. (~3 hours, in the oven with light in winter)
- *proofing in the oven with the light on or on top of the refrigerator are good spots. If you are in a rush you can run a hot water bath in the sink and set the bowl in it ( be careful to not get water inside the bowl).
- Once doubled, punch down the dough and turn out onto a slightly floured (or greased) surface. Use a bench scraper to section off 1 ounce balls of dough, then round each ball by rolling them between your palm and the counter. Add 4 balls to a greased 4 ounce ramekin, or muffin tin.
- You may also choose to do only 2 balls per regular size muffin tin for smaller rolls. (My mom calls these butt rolls).
- Brush olive oil and add a sprinkle of salt on top.
- Proof again until doubled in size, then bake at 350 F
- (176 C) for 12-15 minutes. The rolls should be brown on top.
