(Update 11/10): I originally posted these rolls nearly three years ago and had been making them a couple of years prior to posting them, which basically means they are one of my longest standing roll recipes, which is saying a lot because I swear I try a new roll recipe out at least monthly. These rolls are exactly what their name implies – a little nugget of french bread goodness in roll-form. Really, they are scrumptious. They continue to be one of the easiest, no-fail roll recipes around. Not only that, but I use them in every recipe I own that needs a roll perfect for sandwiching delicious ingredients in the depth of the rolls, like these meatball subs, this Italian beef recipe, sloppy joes, BBQ pulled pork, and the list goes on and on.
Can you tell I love them? Oh yes I do, and I know you will, too!
As with all yeast doughs, I never use the flour amount called for in the recipe as a hard fast rule (unless a weight measure is given and then I pull out my kitchen scale). Because humidity, temperature, altitude and a multitude of other factors can impact how much flour you need in your yeast doughs, I always judge when to quit adding flour by the texture and look and feel of the dough rather than how much flour I’ve added compared to the recipe. This tutorial on yeast may help identify how a perfectly floured dough should be. Also, here's a short video on how to shape the rolls.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3/4 tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, give or take a few tablespoons
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour (if you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, let the yeast proof in the warm water and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly before adding the oil, salt and flour). Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Judge the dough not by the amount of flour called for in the recipe but in how the dough feels (see a tutorial on working with yeast here). The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.
- Knead the dough in the stand mixer or by hand until it is very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 8-10 minutes by hand. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled (this usually takes about an hour).
- Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form the dough into round balls. Place the rolls on a lightly greased or silpat-lined baking sheet about an inch or two apart. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap taking care not to pin the plastic wrap under the baking sheet or else the rolls will flatten while rising. Let the plastic wrap gently hang over the sides of the pan to fully cover the rolls but not press them down. Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.
Notes
*Freezable Option: I almost always make a double or triple batch of these rolls. Once they are baked and cooled, I place them in a zipper-lock freezer bag and put them in the freezer. I either take them out a few hours before I need them or I take them out frozen and microwave them for about 2-3 minutes on 70% power.
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Hi Kim – I’m so happy these rolls worked out for you! We must have been on the same wavelength because I made them the same day you did. There’s nothing like homemade rolls! As for your questions, I mostly use table salt but occasionally will randomly reach for my bamboo holder of kosher salt and they still turn out great, albeit slightly more salty than when I use table salt. I always use canola oil but have used EVOO when I have been out of canola and if you like the taste and flavor of EVOO, it actually works great as a substitute. The flavor isn’t overpowering but I can definitely taste the olive oil vs. the mild canola, does that make sense? As for the egg wash, the original recipe called for an egg wash but I never use it, mostly because I like the softness of the rolls without it. However, they are a sturdy enough roll to stand up to a light egg wash before baking and for a hamburger bun, I think they would be delicious with an egg wash and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. I’m a plain Jane kind of roll girl, so I never adorn them but they would definitely be great that way.
Thanks for the additional information, Mel. My leftover rolls are thawing as we speak, and I can’t until dinner tonight!
I made these for hamburger buns and oh man were they good! I replaced some of the flour with whole wheat like you said and they were fantastic. Perfect texture. I have made hamburger buns before but these were sturdy enough for the sandwich but still moist. I also watched your tutorial on getting them round which was extremely helpful. I froze some and pulled them out last night and they were just as good the second time. I made some into hot dog buns and I couldn’t quite get the shape right. Do you have any tricks to make them into cylinder shape? Thanks so much for posting!
Hi Renee – no tricks for the hot dog bun shape, except that I have learned to make them much smaller than I think. The first few times I made hot dog buns/sub buns they ended up HUGE. So usually I roll them into about 1 1/2-inches wide by 3 inches long and that does the trick.
Hi Melanie, I was looking for instant yeast and I noticed that the package said 50% faster rise time. Do I change the time for the dough to rise or anything? Silly question I know. And by the way I adore your blog! Your recipes are amazing!
I have used this recipe 4 times now when making buns for burgers and hot dogs. Not only are they AMAZING, but each time they are shared, my friends have asked for the recipe! Thanks Mel. I am LOVING your website!
Hi Sommer – instant yeast is sometimes called rapid rise yeast so while I’ve never noticed that it actually rises 50% faster, that could definitely be the case. I never change any of the rising times when using instant yeast. Except for the proofing part (active dry needs to be proofed in water whereas instant does not), I don’t change anything when using it. Hope that helps!
hi Mel, ok so I have a question for you…
I made these tonight and they were good but something went wrong. Just so you know both times my dough rose beautifully and it had definitely doubled in size. However, after the second rise (once the rolls were shaped into circles) I put them in the fridge because there was still a couple of more hours to dinner.
I took them out of the fridge a couple of hours later and saw that all the previously risen balls had deflated. I put them straight in the oven and baked them. They came out flat just like when they went it…
Can you put the dough balls in the fridge once they have risen or no? What did I do wrong?
Please help!
Thanks!
Love these rolls! Made them a few weeks ago and they made my house smell sooo good! I even froze the rest of the batch, but now those are gone too. We used the rolls for burgers and sandwiches and they were great. The video you posted on how to roll & shape these rolls was a great help to me. I’d love to use this recipe to make a sub sandwich roll, but was wondering how you make them into sub sandwich rolls. Do you use more than 2 oz per roll? How do you shape them for a sub sandwich?
Thank you!
Hi Leslie – so glad you like this roll recipe! When I make them into hamburger buns or sandwich rolls, I use about 3 to 3 1/2 ounces per roll. For the sub sandwiches, I roll each piece of dough into a little log-shape, about 3 inches long by 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. They rise quite well and expand to the perfect sub roll shape. I hope that helps!
n82 – I’m sorry the rolls flattened! That can be frustrating. When I want to refrigerate the rolls before baking, I don’t let them rise on the sheet pan before refrigerating. I shape them, place them on the pan, then cover with greased plastic wrap and immediately put them in the refrigerator. Then, depending on how long they were refrigerated, I take them out and let them come to room temperature and rise until doubled before baking (sometimes if I refrigerate them overnight, they double in size in the fridge and I just take them out for 30 minutes or so to let them come to room temp). My guess is that because you let them rise and THEN refrigerated, they continued to rise in the refrigerator and collapsed. I hope that helps a little!
Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate your time in writing back. I am sure you are right with why they flattened. I will definitely have to try them again.
Also, when I was rolling them into balls (following your video), the dough seemed to be too sticky and I kept having to spray my counter with Pam for each roll to prevent sticking. Otherwise it was just too sticky to form the balls. Why do you think that was?
n82 – if they are that sticky, it sounds like they need a bit more flour. If properly floured the dough should be slightly tacky but should roll into a ball without leaving a lot of doughy residue on your hands. Try adding a bit more flour and see how that works for you.
Once again I’ve found a winner..or you’ve shared a winner
I made these rolls tonight and I even forgot to include salt and they are phenomenal!!! So soft and tender…I could go on and on. They’re super easy and they will definitely be a main staple in my house from now on. No more store bought rolls and buns for me 
I’ve made these twice in the past week. They make for the perfect burger! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!!!
Ok I don’t know why I have been having so much trouble with these rolls! I have tried other roll recipes and they come out perfect. I am just determine to get these to work too.
I always half this recipe. If I halved everything would that work? Does 1/2 TBS active dry yeast with 3/4 cup water work?
n82 – I’m sorry you are having difficulties with this recipe. You might try making the full batch to see if that would make a difference. The halved recipe should work just fine with that yeast amount but if it really is giving you a lot of trouble, try making the full batch just to see.
These were so good I made them twice in the last week! I was so surprised how easy they were. We used them as buns for pulled pork sandwiches and the sweetness in them was the perfect balance to the smoky spicy pork. The only thing I changed was to swap out half of the AP flour for white whole wheat flour. Thank you for the thorough detailed instructions and the delicious recipe, it will be a regular around our house!
I am new to your site and have never used yeast before. I was nervous, but these rolls turned out perfect!!!! Thanks for the great step by step directions. I made them with your sloppy joe recipe, and my husband LOVED it!!!!
[...] recipe of Mel’s french bread rolls, OR a frozen bread loaf, [...]
just made these for the first time. I didn’t add enough flour, I know, as they were too sticky to ever shape properly.
However, is the qty of 12 correct? I got 12 hamburger sized rolls. and your photo looks as if yours were placed touching
in pan. Thanks for your help.
sweetpea – yes, I make about 12 rolls out of this recipe. If you want smaller rolls, you might get upwards of 14-16. I place mine slightly touching or about 1/4 to 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheets.
Many thanks for your response. I’m going to make again soon with a tad more flour–very nice taste. And easy!
I made these last night and they were a huge hit! The only thing I changed was that I used bread flour instead of AP. They were great!
FINALLY made these today (I have so many of your recipes bookmarked, it’s hard to get to them all!) and… umm… they’ll do
Couldn’t be more perfect – thanks!
I did it!! I braved the bread! It turned out that my mom came over today & both my parents were here for supper. My mama couldn’t wait to tell my daddy that I made homemade bread. She said she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it for herself! Ha!!! Everyone loved the rolls AND your pulled pork bbq that we put in them!! You made me a star! LOL! Thanks!
Mel. WOW. I am in awe of these rolls. I stumbled upon your blog on FoodBuzz today and found these rolls, and since I was making black bean burgers for dinner decided to round them out with these rolls. They are far and away the best rolls I have ever made in my whole entire life. Can I stress that again? THE BEST!!! Wow. I am still in awe. The outside was just barely hard and the inside was like biting into the softest most elegant bread I have ever tasted. The only thing I changed was using olive oil rather than canola because I’m an olive oil fanatic. Anyway, thanks for an absolutely positively amazing recipe!!! Can’t wait to try more!
Great recipe! I will definitely be making these again….perfect with the pulled pork!
I’ve commented on this post before to let you know I had made these rolls. I’ve made them a few times now, but I want to tell you about today. We had Christmas with my husband’s family today & our lunch was BBQ sandwiches with typical side dishes. I was the last one to be assigned a dish so buns & baked beans were my lot. My proud husband told his mom that I would make the buns. He’s so proud of my newfound skills, but I was nervous about doing this for the family & almost bought hamburger buns to have as back-up in case I failed. These were the best rolls I’ve made so far!!! Everyone was so impressed & I ended up being way too proud of myself! Seriously, these were a HUGE hit – thank you!
love these rolls, they are easy, delicious and have come out perfect every time! I keep making them! This past time I’d recently made an angel food cake, and saw the extra dozen egg yolks sitting in my fridge… and used them to replace some of the liquid in the recipe. I had 1 1/2ved the recipe to make 24 med. sized rolls (a full jelly roll pan still) and they were so beautiful golden yellow!
[...] French Bread Rolls from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe [...]
I made these tonight and, while they were delicious, they came out a little too “yeasty” to really match the flavor I expected in a French bread. I added the one tbsp of active dry yeast only, so what am I doing wrong? I let it rise in a room temperature area until doubled— I’m so confused!
Jen – if the yeast flavor was too much for you I’d simply try cutting down the yeast to 1/2 tablespoon of active dry yeast. That will still be plenty to help the rolls rise (it might take them a bit longer) but it may counter the yeast taste a bit. Incidentally I haven’t noticed an overly yeasty taste to these rolls so maybe it is just a matter of preference, although, I have noticed if I let my rolls rise too quickly (if my kitchen is too warm), they’ll develop a strong yeast taste. Good luck!
I made these a couple of months ago, and they came out superb! I have the shredded chicken in my crock pot in prep for lunch tomorrow, and I wanted to make them again today. I decided to double the recipe…and as I began adding ingredients, I totally flubbed up. I couldn’t find my tablespoon measurement or my teaspoon (pesky kids!), so was using a half teaspoon. It was a bit hectic here this morning, and I also misread the yeast measurement as teaspoon instead of tablespoon. Then I realized that I ran out of regular flour and only had self-rising….so it ended up being a quarter regular, a quarter self-rising, and half whole wheat. Needless to say, I did not put in enough yeast, and only put in half the oil and sugar than was called for. I figured out that I did it wrong when I had already added all of the extra flour. I decided to add what I didn’t put in properly in the beginning. I mixed the oil and sugar and added. Then I added the rest of the yeast on top of that.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to end up with….but they came out just as lovely as before. Not that I would ever make the same mistakes again (pregnant brain is a real thing, I am proof of that!)….but it’s nice to know that even when things get messed up….it still worked out!
These rolls turned out great! I shaped them into 6 sub buns. They were soft and fluffy. I only needed 3 cups of flour for them to turn out perfectly. This will be my new go-to recipe for sub buns!
Mel- Making these right now, but I want to use them tomorrow, so can I leave them in the fridge for the first rise and then follow the recipe? Or should I shape them into rolls and then put them in the fridge?
Luda – if you want to bake them tomorrow, I’d suggest letting them go through the first rise and then shaping them on the baking sheet. Cover them with greased plastic wrap and then refrigerate until tomorrow (don’t let them rise at room temperature). Pull them out maybe 1 1/2 to 2 hours before you want to serve them to give them time to rise and bake.
Hey Mel! If you are using this recipe to make hoagies or sub loaves for meatball subs or cheesesteaks do you only divide the dough into 6 pieces and shape it in oblongs? Or how would you recommend?
Alley – if I am making this dough into hoagies or sub rolls, I divide into about 8 pieces (I’ve tried 6 and the rolls are still enormous). If you have a kitchen scale, you can use that method. When I make the dinner rolls, I weigh the pieces out to be about 2 1/2 ounces each. When I make larger hoagie/sub rolls, I weight them out to be about 3 3/4 ounces each.
I have been so happy with your “perfect dinner roll” recipe that I had not yet tried this one. I think I slightly prefer your recipe that calls for instant potato flakes for a stand-on-its-own dinner roll, but these French bread rolls were also fantastic. And I love the idea of making my own hamburger buns with it. There have been so many times that a trip to the grocery store just to get buns for burgers ends up costing me a lot more . . .
Anyway, my question is about doubling/tripling this recipe. I can fit 2 dozen of the perfect dinner rolls on my large rimmed baking sheet, but these rolls seemed bigger (or expanded more), and I don’t think I could fit 24 on one sheet. How do you handle doing double and triple batches? How many can you fit on your pans, and then do you bake in batches or use a convection setting? I’m afraid to ruin recipes and so I never use my convection setting, but maybe I need to get a little more comfortable with it as it seems that my wish for double ovens is probably not going to come true. Thanks for your advice, Mel.
Beth – I’m glad you like this recipe! When I double a batch, I portion the dough into 24 equal portions and fit them all on one sheet. I think when I weigh the dough portions, they are about 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 ounces each in weight. I don’t use a convection setting because I don’t have a convection oven so I just bake in batches. It doesn’t seem to hurt the pan of rolls baked second to sit out an extra 15-20 minutes. Hope that helps!
Hey Mel, this is the third time I’ve tried to half one of your bread recipes and it did not rise
I was sure to proof the yeast first. I don’t want a full dozen, there are only 2 of us.
Any suggestions? Last time it was your bread bowls, I made a double batch for a party and the were beautiful! But they didn’t rise when I halved it. What do ya think? Is it just the amount of yeast?
Hi Karen – sorry the recipes aren’t turning out when you halve them. It sounds like if you have had success with the original recipes but not a halved version that it may be the yeast. There really isn’t harm in adding more yeast except for maybe a stronger yeast taste so I’d recommend with a halved recipe of the French Bread rolls to add 1/2 tablespoon instant yeast (or slightly more than that if using active dry) and see how it goes. The other factor to consider is overflouring but if you don’t think that is an issue (overflouring can seriously hinder rising) then try the extra yeast and see how it works. Good luck!
Hmm.. That’s how much I used. I didn’t even use 2 cups of flour either, but maybe I over floured. I do everything by hand, no mixer, so maybe I over kneaded too. Thanks for the tip! I’ll give the sloppy joes on homemade rolls another shot tomorrow.
I make these for everything! Hamburgers, sloppy joes, pulled pork, shredded chicken… the list goes on. They are wonderful, taste better than store bought and cost so so much less. I use my bread maker and then shape and do the final rise as stated in the instructions. Thank you!
First, let me say that you have made me into a bread maker. My results are never as pretty as yours but oh my are they always delicious. I get so excited to try your recipes that we are now having homemade bread at least once a week. My hubby couldn’t be happier. In fact, when I was looking at your Blitz Bread recipe, he announced, “I bet I could make that!” and he did! Thanks for that, Mel! As you can perhaps tell, I am buttering you up to ask a little free advice about experimenting with these rolls. They are so yummy and easy that I’d love to make them for my daughter’s upcoming 1st birthday party. Since the theme of the party is rainbows and butterflies, I have been researching ways to make Rainbow Bread for finger sandwiches. What I’m finding out is that at some point you divide the dough for as many color layers as you want, then knead food coloring into each section. After, you roll the sections, stack them (obviously in rainbow order) and roll into a loaf shape. This leads me to my question (finally): if I were to attempt Rainbow Rolls using your recipe, when do you think I should divide and knead in colors? Also, do you suppose I could just slice the rolls, instead of shaping into balls after the first rise? I would think this would preserve the rainbow effect but I’m not sure how they would look shape-wise after the second rise. Any ideas you, or any of your readers, might have would be very appreciated! Not that I mind a little trial and error, of course. Just means more delicious rolls
Thanks!
Hi Mandy – so glad you are enjoying the bread recipes (and tell your husband I’m impressed with his bread making skills also!). I’m new to the rainbow roll concept, I have to admit. If it were me, I’d knead the food coloring into the portioned dough after it has gone through the first rise (right before shaping and letting the rolls rise on the pan). I’m not sure what you mean by slicing the rolls instead of shaping them into balls – are you wanting to make slices of bread or actual rolls for the finger sandwiches? I think the idea of stacking the colored layers and rolling into a loaf shape should work great as long as the colors are vibrant for each layer. Sounds like a fun project!
These rolls really are amazing! I just made them, but being skeptical that they were really that good, I only made one batch. I think I need to make another batch today because I have a feeling that I will need more for my family of 5 (which includes 2 teenagers). I’m sure they will not be satisfied with just one roll (I made sub-sized for meatball subs tonight so there were only 6).
Hey Mel. We love these rolls. I will be making them with your pulled pork( my husbands favorite) on Saturday for his graduation party. I was wondering if I made them tomorrow and froze them will it remove the “wow” factor they currently hold or will they still be as tasty as normal? Trying to save me some time on Sat.
Carlie – I make and freeze these rolls all the time and they are just as delicious and tender out of the freezer (as long as they are thawed all the way). Sometimes I’ll slightly warm them in the microwave before serving, too.
Every member of my family loved these rolls when I made them last night,my 6 year old requested them for her birthday dinner…. it’s not her birthday for another 5 months!!
I just made these tonight with the BBQ Chicken Braid. I made one braid, then from the other half of the dough I made rolls for later this week. Can I just say they are INCREDIBLE!!! Thanks Mel!!!
I also have a question on the shape of the rolls…yours look so beautiful in the picture! How do you get them to be so deep/tall? Mine look round like yours and are very soft and yummy, but I can’t seem to get them to be as tall. Any tips???
Rachel – I don’t have any major secrets for the shape of the rolls. I roll them into balls and place them about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet so that when they rise, they use each other to keep their shape (meaning they don’t have a lot of space to flatten out so they rise tall instead of wide, if that makes sense). If your rolls are flattening instead of getting height while rising, you may need to add just a touch more flour to the dough. Good luck!
Love that I found you on pinterest! I’ve made beef stroganoff, homemade pizza and cornbread and turned out wonderful. I made these rolls… mine had a harder outer shell and were soft on the inside. They were good but I don’t think quite right. So I was trying to make the night before so I made the dough and then put it in the refridgerator to slow rise overnight like the pizza dough recipe. I took out this morning and made into balls and let them rise before baking. Just wondering what I did wrong or if I can use the slow rise technique
LAN – whenever I’ve refrigerated the dough overnight, I’ve done it after shaping it into the balls. I shape the rolls, put them on the sheet pan and refrigerate covered overnight. I take them out to rise doubled and then bake them.
I know I’m incredibly late, but I had to tell you that I made these last night and I’m pretty sure I’m the best wife on the block according to my husband!!
They were so easy, thanks so much!!!
I made these rolls yesterday with pulled chicken bbq sandwiches and the rolls were amazing and good enough to eat plain but when I put it with the bbq the flavors did not go well together
so I made KAF recipe for egg buns and those went perfectly and I used these buns to make amazing breakfast sandwiches. All and all I would use these for a meatball sub, deli sub or egg sandwiches but not for grilling… Probably just my opinion… And I still love the rolls! Thanks for a great recipe again!
[...] recipe comes straight from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, from where I also took my first lesson on yeast and bread-making! Thanks, [...]
[...] http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2007/12/french-bread-rolls.html View more posts in: [...]
[...] http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2007/12/french-bread-rolls.html View more posts in: [...]
[...] I first saw the post from Mels Kitchen Cafe on these beautiful French Bread Rolls, I knew that I just have to try to make them. Not just [...]
I just wanted to say these rolls are great! My husband came home for lunch today and they came out of the oven so he took one and called to say that the rolls were so good! I have tried the recipe many times, and actually, messed up a lot. Once I forgot the salt, once my daughter stopped the timer, so they were a little too done, but not bad, and another time, I took another reader’s advice and added a little more salt, but I didn’t like that. Anyway, finally, I got it right and they worked and I am so glad! So, if they don’t work out the first time, or the second, try, try again!
Thank you for this recipe! They were so easy to make and paired great with your Italian Meatball Sub.
Your recipes are ALWAYS a hit in my home. 
I just made these for hotdog buns, I used this pan.. USA Pans New England Hot Dog Pan
Worked great, after the first raise I spread the dough into the pan and let it raise until it was a half inch below the lip. I baked at 400 for probably 17 min with a cookie sheet over the top of the pan weighed down with a glass bread pan (empty). Thanks for the great recipe!
My family loved this! I read in one of your comments that you usually sub some whole wheat flour. Could you tell us how much, and if any of the other steps change, or if you add anything like vital wheat gluten? PS, my kids now ask when I make a new recipe if if comes from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe! PSS, my 13 year old daughter made your “best” cinnamon rolls and they were amazing! Thanks for your help.
Hi Maria – so glad you are enjoying the recipes! As for the whole wheat flour, I always sub in white whole wheat flour and usually just add 2-3 cups to start and then finish with all-purpose flour. The only other change I make is to knead for about 3-4 minutes longer if I’ve used whole wheat flour.
Making this again…the 400th time. I love this recipe!!!!
I have been searching and searching for a roll/bun recipe that is both soft and strong enough to stand up to a beef patty….thank you for this one!
these look so light and fluffy mouthwatering rolls in which I would only need probably nothing on to eat and enjoy.
[...] Mel did in her recipe that I only wish I had the time, energy, ambition that she does was to make homemade rolls. Um I am sure that would have put me at a 9.2 rating but the local bakery rolls are going to have [...]
I was lazy one day and decided to use this as a pizza dough rather than my usual one that takes longer. It was delicious!!!
Holy Moly. I just made these rolls to go with our sloppy joes…. and The kids are hoovering over them eating them all… they are yummy.
Thanks for the fab recipe and I am so happy I happened upon your blog.
Hey, I just looked at your beautiful picture and wondered how close you usually put your rolls together? I made them for the first time as rolls (well, they were sub rolls) and they were delicious but more wide than tall. I feel like the plastic wrap was holding them down. Do you think putting them closer together helps them from spreading too much out and helping them go up?
Because oh man were they delicious. I seriously couldn’t stop eating them.
Diane K, I usually space them out about an inch but by the time they’ve risen, they are touching. I usually take care not to let the plastic wrap get trapped underneath the baking sheet because if the rolls don’t have room to rise up they can flatten, so I just lay the plastic wrap lightly over the top of the rolls. Placing them closer together could definitely help them keep their shape.
This had become my go to for a quick pizza crust, stromboli, etc. It’s easy to whip up. I always have the ingred. and it always turns out great! I just made pizza pockets for my kids lunches. Hoping it will be a nice change from sandwiches.
I am attempting to make these today, wish me luck, I have never baked anything before lol
Yum…yum…yummmmm!!!
I don’t have a breadmaker and kneaded this by hand and tried (unsuccessfully) to roll them into “sub” shapes (I need to work on my shapes…my kids were pretending they were animals at the dinner table)….but they were AWESOME!
Tried these rolls tonight, and they were great. I actually liked that the bottoms of my rolls were a little crisp, but if you don’t like that I guess lower the temp. I was expecting soft, light airy rolls (not sure WHY I thought French bread rolls would be light) but they definitely have a French bread texture. Delicious and easy!
Tried this today for our Christmas dinner and they were wonderful! They looked great. I worry about trying a recipe for the first time at Thanksgiving or Christmas but this one was a big success and I’ll be baking a lot of these.
Mel- I’ve made this recipe several times, and they are always great. I have a couple of questions, as I’ve learned so much about bread baking from you. I would love to say all our bread is homemade like you do! I’m trying to master one thing at a time. Anyway, I’ve tried to figure out just the right amount of dough to use for hamburger buns, and they are always too small or too big. If you have it down pat, could you share? And this is more of a general dough question: I regularly need (or think I need) more flour than called for in most recipes. I live in the humid South, so this is probably not surprising. But I always feel like I’m doing something wrong. Would you say it is pretty much a rule of thumb that when I’m mixing the dough in my KitchenAid, I am looking for the dough to pull away from the sides? And if so, how quickly should I expect this to happen? Perhaps I’m not being patient enough. Thanks
Hi Lillie – do you have a kitchen scale? When I make homemade hamburger buns, I use about 3 to 3 1/2 ounces of dough per hamburger bun. Have you seen these two posts I’ve done on the how-to’s of yeast and bread? Tutorial on Yeast and Whole Wheat Bread Step-by-Step. The pictures may help a bit. I’ve never used a Kitchenaid so it’s hard to say when the dough will pull away from the sides. I assume it’s pretty similar to my dough in a Bosch mixer. I usually judge by feel, though, more than looks. I like to pull a piece off (stop the mixer first!) and roll it in my hands to see how well it is holding it’s shape. Being in a humid climate, it’s not surprising that you have to add more flour but take care not to overflour. As long as your bread/rolls are rising fine and tender and light, it sounds like you are on the right track.
I do have a scale, and I will try that. I have also looked at your tutorials, which are very helpful. I like your description of the feel – that makes sense to me. I’ll keep at it – you make a good point. If it turns out ok, I must be doing something right.
[...] decided to bake up two different roll recipes today. I have wanted to make both for some time now and being indecisive, I decided to [...]
Thank you for a great recipe. These were really good even though I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t let them rise for an hour before shaping. So I just let them rise for 2 hours on the baking sheet. A definite repeat for me.
Mel,
Just made these for dinner tonight for our corned beef sandwiches. These rolls were awesome. They were light and fluffy. Thanks for another awesome recipe.
[...] the door. We thought it was time the Little Chefs tried their hand in bread/rolls. We found a French Bread Roll recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe which she describes as her no fail recipe. That is the perfect [...]
i’ve had success with every recipe i’ve printed off that you posted Mel- but these rolls are amazing! thank you for my new favorite go to roll recipe for everything!
I cannot tell you how many times I make these rolls. Anytime any recipe calls for “bread dough,” or if I ever need buns/rolls for burgers/sandwiches. I use these rolls. Not to mention if I just want some good rolls
This recipe is truly fabulous and must-have-always-on-hand.
I’m going to use this recipe for your cheesy ham and broccoli crescent braid. Will that work? How long should I cook it? In the ham recipe it says 350 for 20mins but in the bbq recipe that uses this bread recipe it says 400 for 15-20mins. Thanks! I love your blog.
Hi Jane – I use the french bread roll dough for braided recipes like the one you are referring to all the time so it should probably work (I haven’t made that cheesy ham and broccoli braid recipe in years). I would use the time/temp in the BBQ braid recipe.
Not that these need another positive review (because there are SO many), but these are AMAZING! Super easy and so delicious! I think it’s tacky when I like the food I make too much, but I couldn’t help but repeat how good they were
I’ll make these again and again and again…