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the best sweet yeast roll dough i have ever found

(50 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Kathie Carr
North Liberty, IN

This is a traditional sweet yeast dinner roll recipe. It takes quite a while to make these. It's not fast or easy. I won a 4-H Championship with this recipe years ago and have used it constantly since then. It is an amazing, versatile dough. This recipe can be used for dinner rolls, fruit and/or cinnamon tea rings, stollen, cinnamon or pecan rolls, coffee cakes, cinnamon twists, monkey bread, filled coffee braids, kolacky, cinnamon frosted soft pretzels, and more. You can form this dough into any shape and add any filling. Be creative!

Blue Ribbon Recipe

These homemade rolls are a recipe that brings back memories of childhood. It's a basic, old-fashioned yeast roll recipe. They smell amazing while baking but be patient... good things come to those who wait. Dense but tender, they remind us of a Hawaiian roll in flavor but with a firmer texture. These rolls are delicious alone, smeared with butter, as a bun for sliders, or used to sop up some gravy. You won't be able to just eat one.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(50 ratings)
yield 12 serving(s)
prep time 2 Hr 55 Min
cook time 25 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For the best sweet yeast roll dough i have ever found

  • 1/2 c
    milk
  • 1/2 c
    sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    salt
  • 1/4 c
    butter, melted, plus more for greasing and brushing
  • 1/2 c
    warm water (105-115 degrees F)
  • 2 pkg
    Fleischmann's active dry yeast
  • 2 lg
    eggs, beaten
  • 4 1/2 c
    all-purpose flour, more or less

How To Make the best sweet yeast roll dough i have ever found

  • Scalding milk in a saucepan.
    1
    Scald the milk by bringing it just to a boil and removing from the heat immediately.
  • Sugar, salt, and butter stirred in.
    2
    Stir in the sugar, salt, and butter. Set aside and allow to cool to lukewarm.
  • Dissolving yeast in warm water.
    3
    In a large bowl, mix the warm water and yeast. Stir until dissolved.
  • Stirring milk into yeast mixture.
    4
    Stir in the lukewarm milk mixture.
  • Adding beaten eggs.
    5
    Add the beaten eggs.
  • Stirring in some of the flour.
    6
    Stir in half the flour. Beat until smooth. Add remaining flour gradually, mixing as you go. You may need a bit more or less than the amount called for in the recipe, depending on the humidity and other factors.
  • Dough formed into a ball.
    7
    Your dough should be elastic and slightly stiff, but not dry.
  • Kneading the dough.
    8
    Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and very elastic. This usually takes 8-10 minutes.
  • Dough rising in a bowl.
    9
    Butter the inside of a large mixing bowl coated in melted butter. Place the dough in the bowl and turn dough over a couple of times to coat it all with the butter.
  • Allowing the dough to rise.
    10
    Cover the bowl and place in a warm place so it can rise.
  • Dough doubling in size.
    11
    It will take about 1 hour to double in bulk.
  • Punching down the dough.
    12
    At that time, punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured board to shape.
  • Dough formed into balls.
    13
    Shape and fill as desired. To make dinner rolls, pinch off about 2-3 tablespoons of dough and shape it into a ball. Place each one in a buttered muffin tin or baking pan, barely touching each other. Do not crowd rolls.
  • Dough balls rising under a cloth.
    14
    Cover the prepared rolls and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
  • Rolls doubled in size.
    15
    Rolls should now touch each other. (A little more rising will occur during baking.)
  • Rolls baking in the oven.
    16
    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F when rolls are about 10 minutes from being ready for baking. Bake 20-25 minutes. They should be browned nicely and smell so good and yeasty!
  • Brushing baked rolls with butter.
    17
    Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter immediately when removed from the oven.
  • Butter soaking into the butter.
    18
    Allow rolls to sit for at least 10-15 minutes before eating.
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