Julie Clark
Updated:
Brown and Serve Rolls Recipe
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Serve fresh rolls at short notice with this Homemade Brown and Serve Rolls recipe. They’re soft and fluffy with a golden brown top.
Thanksgiving is such a busy holiday. But it’s also one of the best! In our family, Thanksgiving is a way to connect with our family and give thanks for how much we are blessed with. One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is sitting down at the table and enjoying a feast together.
A Thanksgiving key item is my soft rolls. A soft, fluffy roll on my plate will make my Thanksgiving Day dinner! If you are really busy during the holiday season you may use brown and serve rolls. Today we’re sharing a homemade brown and serve rolls recipe. It’s the best of both worlds!
Why you’ll love brown and serve rolls:
- Homemade rolls that you don’t have to take the time to make the day of Thanksgiving.
- Classic Amish recipe from our favorite cookbook.
- Bake your rolls halfway, then freeze and bake the rest of the way when you need them.
- Soft, fluffy and golden brown!
Working with Yeast
If you’re unsure about making your very own yeast rolls, let me assure you. I used to not be that comfortable using yeast either. What type of yeast is best? How do I know how warm enough to make the water so the yeast will activate but yet cool enough so it won’t die?
We used active dry yeast for this recipe. Be sure to read the back of your yeast packet and add the yeast according to the instructions. Every type of yeast is different!
Use a thermometer to test the water to make sure your yeast will work. For this recipe, the water should be anywhere from 110 to 115º Fahrenheit. If the yeast is activating correctly, it will get bubbly and frothy and start dissolving.
Before You Begin
Here are 4 tips to remember when making brown and serve rolls.
- Because of the yeast, this dough needs to rise 3 times. I know it seems like a lot of time, but that’s what makes these rolls fluffy and delicious. You need that rising time to get that perfect homemade bread flavor. Plan ahead!
- If you only have salted butter, lower the salt to 1 ¼ teaspoons.
- Bread flour works great, but you can use all purpose flour if you’d like. Bread flour gives a sturdy structure, while all-purpose flour leads to softer rolls.
- We used a stand mixer to knead the dough. You can use your hands if you’d like. Just don’t add too much flour while kneading. The dough should be slightly tacky to touch.
How to Make Brown and Serve Rolls
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for 5-7 minutes until the yeast is frothy and activated.
- Heat the milk in the microwave for about 1 and a half minutes, until it is hot. Add the sugar and melted butter and allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes until it is 110-115º Fahrenheit). Add this to the yeast mixture.
- Add 2 cups of flour and mix until it makes a very soft batter. Cover and allow this to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
- Add the salt and another 2 ½ cups flour so that it makes a soft dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes by hand or 5 minutes on low speed using the dough hook on your stand mixer.
- Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a warm place until nearly double, about 30 minutes.
- Punch dough down and on a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 24 equal portions. Roll each portion into smooth balls. Place the rolls in a greased cake pan and allow them to rise until nearly double, about another 20-30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 275ºF. Bake for 20 minutes. The rolls should not be browned but will be fully cooked through. Allow the rolls to cool on wire racks, then freeze them in plastic bags in the amounts that you’d like.
- When you are ready to bake the rolls, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 45 minutes. Bake the rolls at 400º Fahrenheit for 8-12 minutes. Brush with melted butter to soften the tops.
What if my rolls shriveled?
They key to not ending up with shriveled brown and serve rolls is to cook them correctly the first time. If the rolls are not done when you pre-bake them, they will shrivel as they cool. Cook them through (ours took a full 20 minutes). Then they’ll bake up beautifully golden brown the second time.
If you choose to make larger rolls (making less than 24 rolls), you’ll have to bake them longer during that initial bake.
And there you have it! The ultimate homemade rolls! You or your guests won’t notice that they’ve been in the freezer for a few days or weeks. Soft, fluffy…They’re simply perfection.
You may also love our apple butter cinnamon rolls, mashed potato rolls and pumpkin dinner rolls.
Brown and Serve Rolls Recipe
Serve fresh rolls at short notice with this Homemade Brown and Serve Rolls recipe. They're soft and fluffy with a golden brown top.
Servings 24
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 package active dry yeast 7 grams
- 1/4 cup warm water 2 ounces
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 12 grams
- 1 1/2 cups 2% milk 12 ounces
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar 60 grams
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened) 84 grams
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 7 grams
- 4 1/2 cups bread flour (or all purpose flour)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for 5-7 minutes until the yeast is frothy and activated. 1 package active dry yeast, ¼ cup warm water, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Heat the milk in the microwave for about 1 and a half minutes, until it is hot. Add the sugar and butter and allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes until it is 110-115º Fahrenheit). Add this to the yeast mixture. 1 ½ cups 2% milk, 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add 2 cups of flour and mix until it makes a very soft batter. Cover and allow this to rise for 1 hour in a warm place. 4 ½ cups bread flour
- Add the salt and another 2 ½ cups of flour so that it makes a soft dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes by hand or 5 minutes using the dough hook on your stand mixer. 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover it. Allow it to rise in a warm place until nearly double, about 30 minutes.
- Punch dough down and divide it into 24 equal portions. Roll into smooth balls. Place the rolls in a greased pan and allow them to rise until nearly double, about another 20-30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 275ºF. Bake for 20 minutes. The rolls should not be browned but will be fully cooked through. Allow the rolls to cool, then freeze them in zippered bags in the amounts that you'd like.
- When you are ready to bake the rolls, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for 45 minutes. Bake the rolls at 400º Fahrenheit for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of the rolls. Brush the tops with melted butter to soften them, if desired.
- If you'd like, you can bake these rolls immediately instead of freezing them. If you'd like to do this, just bake them at 375º Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes.
Notes
- Add herbs if you’d like. Garlic, rosemary, a touch of poultry seasoning all would make great variations.
- Instead of traditional dough balls, make cloverleaf rolls. For this shape, each roll will be 3 small dough balls, risen together in muffins tins, then baked, so that they easily tear apart.
Nutrition
Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 323mg | Potassium: 47mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Perfect rolls. Taste better than store brands. I doubled the recipe with no proboems
This was absolutely the most amazing brown and serve recipe ever! I was so excited to make these because my husband loves store bought kind and I said absolutely not. So I spent the time to make these and it was well worth it and everyone loooooved them. I’d make these any time. Thank you for such a wonderful roll recipe. By the way the way they grew was crazy!! They went from golf ball to triple the size and wow I was amazed. I wish I could post a picture but I cant.
I have finally found my GO TO Recipe for Rolls! These come out so Soft & just enough flavor to go with any dish. Especially dishes with gravy! Oh So Good!
How do you know the rolls are done after 20 minutes at 275? Mine fell after I took them out. Obviously they were not done.
These are the best rolls ever. Exactly the texture and crumb I want for bread. Do you think I could use this recipe for a loaf?
What would the measurement be for 1 packet dry yeast?
I am so excited to find this recipe. Because we are the travelers for holiday, we are asked to bring Brown and Service rolls. Convenient, but can’t stand the taste and smell of commercial dough conditioners. So I will be making these. If they are baked completely, can they be put in the oven for a bit of a warm up? Thank you!
I haven’t tasted yet but I’ve made this all the way to the freezing step and so far so good! I’m very excited about it though!
Can this recipe be doubled without any modifications?
Thanks!
Will you clarify what type of flour used in your recipe?
I made these for Easter today and they were awesome! I’m (finally) in bed and I can still hear them calling my name! I will have to fight the temptation of sneaking downstairs into the kitchen tonight for another one! One question: Do you leave the lumps in the batter after first mix? I smashed them with a fork but was wondering if that was necessary. Thanks for this recipe!
Hi. Just wondering if you could replace some of the white flour with whole wheat floor?
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Just a comment on your Brown n’ Serve Rolls. ☺ We always had them when I was raising my family, bought ones, and my family always liked them. But this year I was going to my daughters and she didn’t want sweets, I had no way to go shopping so, I went recipe shopping on line and saw your recipe, knew I had all the ingredients, so made them Wednesday and took them to her house and baked them on Thanksgiving Day. Everyone raved about them. All thought they were better than bought. There is another plus to them, no… Read more »
Hi. Can you use powder milk or do you suppose to use whole milk? Thank you.
This recipe did not work at all. I had the same issue as another person here, where the buns were still dough on the inside.
When I thawed and cooked the buns, they stayed flat and did not fluff up again.
I’m willing to bet the issue is that I did this by hand as I don’t have a stand mixer.