No-Yeast Dinner Rolls (Pillowy Soft)

No-Yeast Dinner Rolls - Crispy, Crusty, golden brown on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside – that’s how we want our dinner rolls to be. Don’t we?

Here is a Dinner Roll recipe that uses no egg, and no yeast. But still, it succeeds in giving you a classic dinner roll which as I said is crunchy on the outside and soft, flavorful on the inside. Don't you feel like grabbing one of your screen right away?

Guess what - We had been breaking our heads for yeast for no-reason at all. You might also like this No-Yeast Pizza Dough Recipe or this No-Yeast Banana Cinnamon Rolls or No-Yeast Garlic Butter Naan.

Dinner Rolls will always be a staple food for Thanksgiving dinners. In fact, why just Thanksgiving, my family loves it for Easter and Christmas as well. In fact, I would not hesitate to use it as sliders or to dunk them in a bowl of creamy soup and have them at any time of the day.

They are soo appetizing that you feel hungry by just looking at them. If you want to have that shiny glaze on top you can glaze it with some honey or egg wash. But I prefer keeping things simple. Hence, I glaze by dinner rolls with some melted butter. (of course, Salted Butter)

How is it possible to make a No-Yeast Dinner Roll?

Well, as they say, we get what we want. And in this case, I wanted to make a recipe where I’ll make dinner rolls and I won't use yeast or yogurt or vinegar or eggs. I guess its challenges like these that keep me motivated to keep experimenting in my kitchen.

While making the dinner rolls, I had seen how people were wary about using yeast. How they were wondering how much we should use. How do we know whether its activated and yada yada? I thought. Let me share with the world a recipe that will help them keep these worries aside and just enjoy the beauty of a pure, crispy, crusty, soft dinner roll.

As a replacement for yeast, I have just used 2 teaspoon of baking powder, and just to get that activated I have used about a quarter cup of lukewarm milk.

What are the ingredients that I have used to make these dinner rolls and why?

• Oil – I have used canola oil to make my dinner rolls. I could’ve used some melted butter. But, to be honest with you, I was running out of butter at home. And, whatever I had I wanted to save it for the glaze so that I could get the buttery taste when I bite on the dinner rolls.
• Lukewarm Milk – Milk is an exceptionally important part of this no yeast dinner roll recipe. Why? Well, because milk (lukewarm) reacts with the baking powder to create leavening in our dinner rolls. And, milk also provides the moisture in our rolls. Otherwise, it would be so dry and tasteless.
• Salt – I have used just a tad bit of salt just to get that little salty taste when I bite into it. I have seen that a little salt helps bring out the other flavors in the recipe.
• Sugar – I got to tell you that I am a bit of a sweet tooth. Therefore I have used about 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. After all, won't the salt feels lonely without sugar? No, seriously, Salt and Sugar creates a beautiful combination that makes the dinner roll taste wholesome.
• Flour – I have used Whole Wheat Flour to make these dinner rolls. I could’ve made this with All-Purpose Flour or Almond Flour (if you are looking for a healthier version of this recipe). But, I really love my dinner rolls to have that crusty, flaky texture which I guess can only be found with some whole wheat flour.
• Melted Butter – This is used for the last step where we glaze the dinner rolls with some melted butter when they are done.

Some Important Tips to get this Just right

• Do not add too much flour or else it will taste too dough-y. We don't want that.
• Change the baking time depending on your baking tray. A ceramic pan would need less time. I have used a non-stick metallic pan so it has taken me about 40 minutes.
• Also, the color of your pan will make sure how the dinner rolls are colored on the base. Since I have used a dark baking tray so they turned out sort of brownish.
• From cheese to garlic to herbs to raisins there is a lot that you can stuff your bread with.

How to Roll them like a Pro?

First, press the insides of the ball with your fingers so that you create a puffy top. Then grab the sides and twist it in the bottom so as to seal it. That will create a beautiful puffy top and smooth bottom for your dinner rolls.

Why Do we use Baking Powder in place of Yeast?

It goes without saying that yeast is really good. It causes the bread to rise. Reacts with sugar to generate CO2 and rises the bread. But, if we don't have yeast. Or if we don't have that much time that yeast takes i.e. about 5-6 hours then we can use baking powder in that case. The baking powder would do the same thing and that too in just 2-3 hours.

What goes well with this Dinner Roll?

There is a list of things that you can serve with this dinner roll. Starting from Mashed Potatoes to Cauliflower Gratin or baked pasta or some creamy chicken soup and etc.

How to Serve them?

You should always serve your dinner rolls when they are warm. Grease the top with some melted butter. Sprinkle some herbs on top, also some salt (only if you want), and enjoy!

Are these Dinner Rolls Freezer Friendly?

The Good News is  - YES! they are. You can bake them just as you bake. Then, let them cool down completely. Now wrap them with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. It would stay good for up to a month.

How to Warm up Frozen Dinner Rolls?

Once you are ready to eat your dinner rolls, preheat your oven to 350F and glaze the top of these rolls with some melted butter, sprinkle some salt, and then warm them up for about 10-minutes in the middle tray of your oven.