Make-Ahead Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
These buttermilk dinner rolls are amazing – light and fluffy and so flavorful (thanks to the buttermilk). Plus the dough can be made ahead and refrigerated!
This recipe may look a little familiar seeing as how it’s been resting in the archives of my site for six years now (well, actually, I hope the rolls don’t look familiar since the old pictures were very awful and very terrible).
Every time I make these tender buttermilk rolls, I think “gosh, these rolls are good” – that sentiment usually being echoed across the table – which means it was only a matter of time before the post got a little facelift. Now seems appropriate.

If you’re still yearning for the perfect roll recipe to fall into your lap as you crazily menu plan for next week, you might be at the right place at the right time today because these are magnificent.
The best part? The dough can be refrigerated for up to seven days (not all yeast doughs can survive this way, trust me) and once pulled out of the fridge, the shaped and baked rolls are as delicious as if they had been made start to finish at the beginning.
In fact, they might even be a bit tastier after the dough rests in the refrigerator.
Buttermilk is the key (no substitutions, pretty please, although homemade buttermilk is completely acceptable) – it contributes to the light and tender dough as well as the amazing flavor.
There’s just nothing quite like a pillowy, soft dinner roll. Thanksgiving or anytime really. If there’s homemade rolls for the taking? I’m there.
Make-Ahead Buttermilk Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 cups buttermilk at room temperature
- 3 cups (426 g) flour
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 6-7 cups (about 852 to 994 g) flour, more or less
Instructions
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer (I only ever use a Bosch, never tried this in a Kitchenaid), mix the buttermilk, 3 cups flour and yeast together. Cover and let stand at room temperature until puffy and bubbly, 2-3 hours.
- Add the sugar, eggs, salt, oil, and baking soda. Mix well and start adding the remaining flour until a soft dough is formed that clears the sides of the bowl and is smooth without being overly sticky or overflowed. Knead for about 7 minutes.
- At this point, you can roll out the dough or cover and refrigerate for up to seven days. If doing so, place the dough in a large container or bowl as it will expand a bit in the refrigerator.
- To use immediately, shape the dough into rolls: cloverleaf (three balls each about 3/4-inch in diameter popped into a greased muffin tin), crescent (divide the dough into thirds and roll each section into a 10- or 11-inch circle, brush with butter and cut into 8 or 12 sections and roll up), classic dinner rolls (about 2-3 ounces of dough rolled into a taut ball and placed in a 9X13-inch baking dish or on a large baking sheet). Cover the rolls with greased plastic wrap and let rise until double, about an hour or so.
- Bake at 375 degrees until golden and baked through (exact time will depend on shape; for cloverleaf about 11 minutes, crescent about 15-16 and dinner rolls about 16 or so).
- For refrigerated dough, pinch off the desired amount and shape. If the dough is really cold and hard to work with, let it rest covered at room temp for 30-45 minutes before shaping.
- Once shaped, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rolls rise until double in size, 2-3 hours (dough taken from the refrigerator will take longer to rise since it’s been chilled) and bake with the above instructions based on shape.
- Remove from the oven and butter the tops, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from my sister-in-law Erin and her sister, Melanie (yeah, it gets a little confusing)
When this says “knead for 7 minutes” – does that mean in the stand up mixer? Or by hand?
I knead in the mixer.
What are your thoughts on putting the refrigerated dough in a 200* warmed (and turned off) oven to speed up the rising time? Also, have you formed the dough before putting it in the fridge? I’d like to make this (or any rolls!) for guests coming to dinner on Sunday, but I’ll only have about 1.5 hr between church and dinner. TIA! 🙂
I think 200 degrees is too warm (even turned off – at least for the first little while). Just make sure when you put your hand in to test the temperature it is warm and not hot at all. Yes, you can form the rolls and then refrigerate!
Every time I make these people ask for the recipe. It’s so easy, and my go to recipe now. I prefer a more buttery roll, so I just do half oil/half softened butter and it’s perfect for me. I’ve made it with all oil only twice and it’s still really good. If you don’t own a dough bucket from KAF and you love this recipe, buy one right now!! The dough fits perfectly in the 6 qt in the fridge. Also, my professional size kitchenaid has a hard time with this recipe…the motor quit last time I made them but luckily came back to life after a rest. I’d hand knead if you don’t have a Bosch. Thanks for another keeper Mel!!
My Kitchenaid pooped out also when kneading bread. They replaced it, but told me their handbook says to only use low speed for kneading breads. Very disappointed in Kitchenaid for that! Thanks for posting this bit of valuable info for those with these mixers.
Thanks Shante! The dough bucket is a great suggestion. I actually have them for my business. I got them at Restaurant Depot. Thanks for the idea! Happy baking!
I love your bread recipes. Everyone in my fam thinks I’m a pro! But I’m just wondering…and anyone can respond…what’s the best way to grease the plastic wrap? And, is there a more eco friendly way to cover bread without it developing a crust? I would appreciate any advice!!
Hey Lindsay – I’ve started covering almost all my bread/rolls with really thin, non textured flour sack towels and it works great. Otherwise, I lay the plastic wrap over the rolls, grease it, and then flip it over.
Hi! Can you tell me roughly how many rolls I should get if I use your measurements? Trying to decide whether or not to double. Thanks!!
Sorry for the late response, Julie – the yield is up above the recipe title, but this recipe yields about 2-3 dozen rolls.
I just made the dough for these rolls. It looks promising and I am anxious to taste. However, note that the brand of the mixer is irrelevant. The SIZE of the bowl is critical. This dough will NOT fit in the standard 4.5 quart mixers that most home makers have. Try it and you’ll spend a lot of time cleaning up your mixer. I pulled mine out early but was still too late but I finished on the counter with good old hand-kneading. I would recommend a 6 Qrt capacity mixing bowl if your mixer supports it.
Mel – My family has thoroughly enjoyed your roll recipes (as well as some others) in the past. Especially these rolls. However, we have a family member that needs to greatly reduce their sodium intake. I understand salt is used in a recipe for flavor, as well as to control the yeast reaction. Have you ever omitted salt completely or used a salt substitute such as Potassium Chloride for this or any roll recipes? Thank you. 🙂
I haven’t used a salt substitute, sorry. But I HAVE omitted salt completely (totally by accident), and the rolls were almost inedible. Salt in some form is definitely needed for that contrast of flavor. Hopefully a salt substitute might work!
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I have made this recipe several times, love them! I have one question though: if I want to make the rolls right away without putting the dough in the fridge overnight, do I need to let the dough rest and rise before shaping rolls?
Yes, that will help the flavor and texture.
I only recently stumbled across your blog and have loved everything I’ve tried so far!
With that being said, there’s only three of us I’m cooking for so I’ve been asked to try cutting recipes in half (the last thing I made were the giant cinnamon rolls lol)
This recipe calls for three eggs and I was hoping you could tell me how to best cut the recipe in half.
Thanks!
Hey Sheila, for a recipe like this, I’d probably do one large egg and one egg yolk.
I’m debating on making these or the Lion House Rolls for Easter dinner. Which one is your favorite?
I honestly love them both but I’d probably make the Lion House recipe just because they are so pretty.
My husband and I are snowbirds, and I forgot to bring my personal recipes this year. I enjoyed reading your “how to host Thanksgiving” post. I made these this morning. How easy. Let the dough sit while you are busy doing other prep work. They were delicious! Looking forward to turkey sandwiches on these rolls tomorrow. Thank you.
Thanks, Sharon!
I have made this recipe to time. I am making it again today putting my faith in it one more time. The first time it came out wonderful, the second time I made it I must’ve done something wrong. I had to throw all the rolls away. It was for my family and they were very hard. I am wondering if maybe I left them in the mixer too long. But I had just read somewhere that you can but it’s impossible to need them too much. I want to know if that’s true. These are very good Rose when they come out right I love them.
Quick question – – what is the consistency of the mixture supposed to be like after the first step? Thanks in advance!
It should be fairly wet…not like bread dough.
Thanks so much! The rolls turned out fantastically and every single of the 4 dozen we made for our church’s small Valentine’s dinner was gone!
Awesome!
These look wonderful, although the 1/2 cup sugar is killing me! That sure is a lot of sugar for a roll recipe!
I am wondering though, what type of oil you use when you make these. Thanks Mel! 🙂
Hey Tracey – this makes a ton of rolls (the most of any roll recipe I have) so the 1/2 cup sugar goes a long way but you could definitely cut it down. I usually use avocado, olive or canola oil.
Hey Mel, I’ve made so very many of your recipes, and I have a question about this one, my sons loved this, but can you freeze the dough and thaw it out later?
The one time I tried freezing the unbaked dough and thawing it later, it had an unpleasant yeasty taste so my preference is to make them, bake them, freeze them and then thaw and gently reheat when we want to eat them.
I made these for Christmas dinner and they are sooooo good! I had 4 extra that wouldn’t fit in my oven though, so I put them in the fridge, covered with a dish towel…than left on vacation and forgot about them for 4 days! When I got back I put them in the oven while it was preheating and proceeded to bake them. They still turned out!! This recipe is amazing. The best make-ahead ever.
Hi Mel,
I can’t wait to try these but I am a bit confused about how you handle the yeast. I always proof yeast but your directions seem to imply you don’t proof but just add the yeast to the room temperature buttermilk. However, in one of your replies you mention proofing. Did you just leave that step out because you assume people will automatically know how to do it?
Thanks for your awesome website. Just found it yesterday and already have about 10 recipes saved to try! 🙂
You only need to proof if using active dry yeast – I usually use instant yeast which doesn’t need proofing. Does that help? 🙂
Yes, thank you. I was already in the process of making when I realized I wasn’t quite sure about the process so I went ahead and proofed since I always use active dry yeast.
I did 2/3 of a batch (because my KA can’t handle the full amount) and baked 12 last night. They were fabulous and the texture was the best I’ve ever made! We tend to like sweeter rolls so I think I may add a bit more sugar next time. I already have the rest of the dough warming on the counter to make for Christmas Eve dinner tonight! AND, I’m getting ready to try your “Salted Chocolate Toffee Pretzel Bark” as well! 🙂
Thanks again for taking the time to share all of your wonderful recipes AND for responding to all the questions.
Have a wonderful Christmas!!!
Hi Mel,
I can’t wait to try these but I am a bit confused about how you handle the yeast. I always proof yeast but your directions seem to imply you don’t proof but just add the yeast to the room temperature buttermilk. However, in one of your replies you mention proofing. Did you just leave that step out because you assume people will automatically know how to do it?
Thanks for your awesome website. Just found it yesterday and already have about 10 recipes saved to try! 🙂
Have made these a couple times now, they are delicious! Even took them to Thanksgiving which is always daring to bring a new recipe to a big meal ! They were the first thing gone, my niece had four! Have you ever made this dough into cinnamon rolls? Just wondering how it would work .. Thanks!
I haven’t Janel – mostly since I have several other cinnamon roll recipes I love. But it’s certainly worth a try. 🙂
Can you tell me what kind of oil you used?
Also is the kitchen aide okay to use? Are this rolls super moist?
You might want to halve the recipe for a kitchen aid. I have a Bosch mixer which is larger and can fit more dough. I usually use canola or vegetable oil.
Mel- can you double this recipe in the Bosch or is it too big? Thanks!
It would be full to the brim but I think it should probably work – my regular wheat bread recipe calls for upwards of 18 cups flour and 6 cups liquid and it fits in my Bosch but it’s very full.
These are gooooood. I made a half recipe since I didn’t think my KitchenAid mixer could handle the full batch, and I made an 8×8 pan of rolls and also a pan of crescents! We loved them – I used the rolls the next night for little turkey burger sliders and they were the best!!!
How many rolls does this make? I’m gonna give em a whirl tomorrow and just wanna make sure I make enough 🙂
It kind of depends on what shape you make them – but I’d say right around 2 dozen or so.
I made these on Thanksgiving and they were devoured! Great recipe!
Can you clarify the flour amount? It says 3 cups flour (about 15 oz) but wouldn’t that be 24 oz if it was 3 cups? Also it says 1 TB instant yeast. Is that just one packet? I just dumped it in in the little packet without measuring. Oops! Thanks for any info!
One cup of flour weighs 5 ounces (the way I measure it, everyone varies slightly) even though the volume of the cup is 8 ounces. That’s why the total flour amount is about 15 ounces for 3 cups. Usually there’s 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast in one packet. I buy mine in bulk so I just measure it out by a tablespoonful.
Last Thanksgiving I made your Creamy Confetti corn and fell in love with it. This year, thanks to our local Walmart not carrying our typical brown and serve rolls, I decided to try making these rolls and, OMG, there is no going back. They are delicious!
I made these for Thanksgiving and they were the best rolls I have ever made! I used fresh ground soft white wheat kernals for the 3 cups of flour you mix with the buttermilk and yeast then I used all-purpose flour for the remaining 5 1/2 cups I used to get a soft dough. I made them into 36 crescents and they were perfect! Thank You Mel for all your great recipes! I have 6 sons and 1 daughter 🙂
I love your site, Mel, and have made dozens of your recipes successfully. But these rolls were troublesome for me.
I shaped them into 3 oz balls and put in a 9×13 pan. They were in there pretty tightly. They took much longer than 16 minutes to bake. Or maybe 375 was too high a temp. The tops browned but the insides were raw at 16 minutes. They were also very skinny and tall because there was no room in the pan to spread out. We had sat down to eat Thanksgiving dinner and I was tired of getting up from the table and checking on the rolls so I just turned the oven heat off through dinner and let them sit in the oven. We didn’t eat the rolls that night, of course, but they tasted good the day after. However, because they were skinny and tall, they didn’t make great day-after sandwiches.
Next time I’ll make crescent shapes.
I made these for our Thanksgiving dinner, my first time making rolls ever! They were delicious! I made one pan of cloverleaf and one of classic roll shape. 11 minutes was maybe a minute or two too long for my clover leaves, but the dinner rolls were perfect!
I think I’ll try these rolls for Thanksgiving instead of the ones I usually make; they sound great.
Sent here by Ellen and Marita, of the Oh My Goodness cookbook and TheFAMILYLife fame. 🙂
Hi Mel,
Would white whole wheat flour work in this recipe?
Thanks,
Maggie
The most I’ve subbed is 50% white whole wheat but you could definitely experiment subbing more than that! 🙂
Could I bake these the day before thanksgiving, freeze the baked rolls and just warm them up for dinner on Thanksgiving day? Or do you recommend (for these rolls) that they not be frozen after baking?
I’ve frozen them after baking and they are fine but I think if you are making them the day before, you could get by with just covering well and then warming lightly before dinner.
When you say we could cover the rolls well if baked the day before, do you mean at room temperature or on the fridge?
I always keep them at room temp; I think they get dried out if stored in the refrigerator after being baked.
Made these for an early thanksgiving dinner…very light in texture and beautiful. Great recipe. My dream roll.
Hi Mel,
I was craving a nice, warm, soft roll with butter, so I made these and they are just what I wanted! They are pillowy soft and delicious! I am taking some to work with me tomorrow for my lunch. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Hi Mel, was wondering if I can make a 1/2 batch if I will need to adjust the yeast? I made this in my kitchen aid mixer and the big batch kept climbing up the dough hook. We just sampled the first pan out of the oven and they are delicious, soft and fluffy! Taking to our thanksgiving get together. I just love your blog you really do have the best recipes!
If you make a half batch, I’d probably just decrease the yeast by a quarter (not a full half). Does that make sense?
Yes that makes sense. Thanks!
Mel,
Do you think I can use this recipe in a bread maker?
I’m not super familiar with bread makers but as long as the quantities fit and you can let it sponge in that first step, it should be fine.
Can you please tell me which of the roll recipes would be best – Make-Ahead Buttermilk Dinner Rolls or the French Rolls. I will be shaping them into balls. Also, are your measurements metric (as in Australia). Our tablespoon is 20mL and a cup 250mL.
My measurements are not metric. Either roll recipe would be delicious! I’m partial to the buttermilk one right now.
These rolls look amazing! Would they freeze well after they are baked? I’m also making for Thanksgiving but don’t want the hassle of frozen dough in the 1.5 hour car ride. Thanks- love your website!
Mel,
How many crescent rolls do you usually put on one pan? I’ve tried it with 12 and 24. With 24 it was much faster but it seemed like the tops got more golden than the rest of the roll. With 12, you double your baking time in the kitchen. Also, do you ever use parchment paper underneath? I have done both ways but feel like parchment made them a little on the softer side.
Hi Michelle – I always use parchment on my sheet pans when baking rolls. And I put 24 on a pan. Ovens are such funny things. Mine right now (it’s been different in every house we’ve lived in) will only brown the tops of my rolls if I bake them at 375 or 400 (at 350, no matter how long I keep them in there, they bake through but are pale on top).
I can’t wait to try these rolls. I LOVE your website. I read through the directions and I think you meant to say for making crescent rolls “roll out into a 10″ circle” not a triangle. But that could be fun! Thanks for sharing your awesome talents with us!
Yes! Thanks to you and Anna for pointing that out. It’s supposed to be a circle. 🙂 Just edited it. Thanks!
Just thought I’d mention a typo: In the body of the crescent roll instructions, you say to “divide the dough into thirds and roll each section into a 10- or 11-inch triangle” Shouldn’t that say CIRCLE, instead?
Thanks for this recipe, I’ve got buttermilk that ‘needs’ to be turned into rolls.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Anna! You are right…just edited the recipe (no wonder some were confused!).
Glad to help!
I made a half batch of dough today, and baked up half of that as crescent rolls this afternoon. So good. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Perfect timing for the holidays.
These look so yummy! Question??? I’ve made just about all your roll recipes and your Parker house rolls are my all time favorite! How do these compare in taste and texture? I love that the Parker house rolls are a little sturdier and slightly sweet. Thank you!
These are a bit lighter and fluffier than the Parker house ones (and less sweet).
These rolls look amazing! I’ve never actually made homemade rolls before, but I’ve been wanting to make them for Thanksgiving so I’ll definitely be trying out this recipe!
Paige
http:/thehappyflammily.com
advice 😉
Hi, I am wondering about shaping the rolls and then putting them in the fridge overnight. The next morning take the rolls out or the fridge and let them come to room temp. Then bake. We are eating Thanksgiving dinner at 11 am and will be traveling for a couple of hours. Have you ever done this? Do you think this would work. Thank you for any advise 🙂
I was wondering the same thing. Then I found this tutorial on King Arthur Flour for make-ahead freezer rolls, and it sounds like exactly what I want! Rolls that I can do ALL the work ahead of time, then just pull them out, let them thaw, rise, and bake! Mel’s recipe would probably work great! http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2015/10/05/freeze-bake-rolls/
I want to double this for our thanksgiving dinner, would you double the yeast? Is your general rule of thumb double recipe = double yeast, triple recipe = 2.5 times yeast?
It kind of depends on the recipe but usually for a double recipe I double the instant or use slightly less than double. Most of my roll recipes are too big to triple but if you were doing so, then yeah, I’d probably decrease the total yeast just a bit.
Thanks!
Can you use regular all purpose flour, or does bread flour work better?
I usually use unbleached all-purpose flour (or 50% all-purpose and 50% freshly ground white wheat) but bread flour would probably work too – even lighter and fluffier rolls is my bet.
I’ve just spent the last hour on your site pinning away! So many wonderful recipes I can’t wait to try. Time to start my meal planning for the next few weeks. Your pictures look fabulous BTW.
This is another one of those… how did I miss these moments?!? Time to change up my roll portion of my menu for next week and give these a whirl…. along with the other 3 roll variations I was already planning on, hmmm… Is it possible that I have a roll obsession?
This recipe sounds absolutely amazing and I want to try it for Thanksgiving next week. I do have a question. Do you think these could be shaped after the first rise and frozen for a three hour car trip, then let them thaw, rise, and bake? I would love to try them but would rather spend my limited time with family and not babysitting dough.
P.S. My sister turned me onto your site and I LOVE it! Thanks for sharing so many wonderful recipes!
That’s a great question, Megan – I’ve never done that exact same method but because the dough is so versatile and does so well in the refrigerator, I think that plan stands a really good chance of working!
do you have to leave the first step for two to three hours…I’m wanting to make them but don’t have quiet that much time?
Yes, if you want the rolls to bake up light and fluffy – that first “sponging” or rising step means you don’t need to go through an official 1st rise like many recipes call for so I wouldn’t recommend skipping it (plus I think it also has a lot to do with the buttermilk in the dough and how all the chemistry plays together?).
thanks Mel…I really did have time I was just whining! Hahaha! the rolls were amazing…making another batch this weekend for thanksgiving! you’re the best! Jill