Lion House Dinner Rolls
These dreamy lion house dinner rolls are tender, buttery, perfect, and almost indulgent enough for dessert!
There isn’t much more I can say about these rolls than they make an appearance at my dinner table several times a month and are probably only one of two or three roll recipes I make regularly.

I usually substitute half the white flour with white wheat flour, but when made with 100% white flour, they are almost indulgent enough to eat for dessert.
Tender, buttery, perfect.
I love them and it would have to take a mighty good roll recipe to replace these beauties.
Lion House Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- ⅓ cup (71 g) sugar
- ⅓ cup (75 g) butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- ⅔ cup nonfat dry milk
- 5-6 cups (710 to 852 g) flour (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes (no need to do this if using instant yeast – just add the yeast and water together with the other ingredients). Add sugar, butter, salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add remaining flour gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) until a soft but not sticky dough is formed. Knead the dough for at least five minutes if using an electric mixer and for at least 10 minutes if mixing the dough by hand. When the dough is smooth, supple and elastic, place it in a lightly greased large bowl covered with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled.
- Separate the dough into two portions. Roll each section out to an 11X14-inch rectangle. Brush the top with melted butter. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into two pieces, the long way (see photos below). Then slice the dough into five or six strips across so you end up with 10 to 12 small rectangles. Roll each small rectangle up like a snail and place on a silpat-lined or lightly greased baking sheet with the roll resting on it’s open edge. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
- Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes until they are nicely browned.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from The Lion House
Roll out the dough to about an 11X14-inch rectangle.
Brush with melted butter then slice the dough in half the long way.
Use your hand measure in an “L” shape to measure the approximate distance to slice each rectangle for the individual rolls.
Continue with that method until the rectangle is sliced into five or six sections across, giving you 10 to 12 rectangles total.
Roll each rectangle up like a snail.
Place on the sheet pan with the roll resting on the open edge.
I was thrilled when i made these yesterday and they came out perfectly! Finally, I can make dinner rolls that melt in your mouth. Thank you!!! My husband thanks you too 🙂
Yay, Helen! I’m thrilled to know these worked out for you (and that your husband loved them!).
Melanie, Thanks for the roll recipe- we loved them! We made your breadsticks to go with soup tonight, and plan on trying the buttermilk and french rolls, too. We'll see which ones we like best! And thanks for the comment, it's nice to know someone's looking!
Alycia – good for you for “healthifying” these with whole wheat flour! Great tip on freezing them before baking…
They were great! I used half wheat flour so they weren’t as heavenly as they could have been, but they were still delicious! Also after I shaped them I froze some of them. Then the day I wanted to bake them I took them out in the morning and they were ready to bake that evening. To me they taste more fresh this way rather than just freezing them after they bake. Thanks again for the great recipes!
Michelle – thanks for your comment! I am so excited (and impressed) that your rolls turned out great, even though you haven’t had much experience with yeast breads. When I make them, I knead them for about 4-5 minutes in my mixer. The best way to judge is the texture of the dough – when it is smooth and supple and still soft, it is usually ok.
Melanie – I just finally got around to trying making these last night and they turned out very well! I really haven’t done much working with yeast breads at all, and am really wanting to make myself venture into them now. I remembered how many roll recipes you’ve posted that you are crazy about, so of course I came here when I was ready to make rolls to bring to a dinner at a friend’s house last night. Everyone loved them, especially my hubby.
One question though, I used my Kitchenaid to do the kneading for me much like you used your mixer to do, but I really had no idea how long to have it do it for. Could you mention about how long you have your mixer knead the dough for you?
Thanks! I don’t comment often, but I read your blog all the time and love all your recipes!
Alycia – how did these rolls turn out? Sorry for the delay in responding – I’ve been out of town without access to email. I’ve never thought about using regular milk but I think it would work just fine.
I am just wondering if you can use warm milk, rather than warm water and dry milk powder. Also, I think my dry milk powder is more concentrated than most, but I didn’t realize till after I dumped it in. It takes 1/2 C. powder to make 4C. of reconstituted milk. Is this normal concentration? Hopefully the rolls still turn out…we shall see. Thanks for the all the great recipes–I really love your blog.
I recently got the Lion House Bakery book for my Bday from my parents. I looked up online about their famous rolls and they have a video how to on how to shape them!
I use another roll recipe but roll mine like they do now. I used to do them crescents also.
Fife Family – I’ve never used a bread maker so I don’t know the answer to that because I don’t know the capacity of a bread maker. If anyone else has input, let me know!
can I use a bread maker to help me out?
Hey Mel – glad you liked these rolls!
I made these today too- they turned out awesome! Thanks again for the AMAZING recipes 🙂
Sara – oh dear, I’ve never measured the circle, but I’m sure it is about 9-11 inches in diameter.
I love Lion House rolls! I’m so glad I found this recipe. I was just wondering how big of a circle do you roll them into? Thanks!
Anonymous – sometimes adding more sugar to a bread recipe causes the bread (or rolls) to brown and get too dark, so I’m not sure how more sugar would affect these. If you like a sweeter dinner roll, you should try this recipe (below), they are sweet and delicious:
http://mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/2009/08/parker-house-rolls.html
These rolls look scrumptious. Can’t wait to try making them. My family love sweeter rolls, and I’m wondering…would adding more sugar affect the end product?
Anonymous – glad you liked these rolls!
Thank you! These are awesome!
I made these same rolls for Thanksgiving, and they were a huge hit – and I’m not usually very good at making rolls!!
JoAnn – thanks for letting me know the results of your “test”! Now I’ll know not to keep any dough in the fridge.
Can I use instant dry milk? And do they really not have to raise again after you form them into rolls (that’s great!)?
Leigh Anne – that sounds like me – I always eat too many of these when I make them. The old Lion House cookbook(s) are classics!
I had every intention of making these rolls for Christmas, but time got away from me and it didn’t happen. I had several other pages tagged in the Lion House Christmas cookbook to make as well. Only one of them (Holly Berry Slush) was accomplished, and it was yummy!
Amanda, I do the exact same thing with these rolls! Thanks for the tip to others. I’m so glad you like them.
Hi, is it possible to substitute butter for the shortening in this recipe? Will it ruin the consistency? I just never have shortening on hand. Thanks!
rolls that are buttery and tender will always be welcome in my mouth. however, regardless of how buttery they may taste, there’s always room for more butter. 🙂
Mmmm… my favorite! I love making them into the orange rolls too. I hope you guys are doing well buried in all that snow!
These look awesome! I’m bookmarking this recipe!
JoAnn – I’ve never done this but I think it should be fine as well as the dough is well-covered in the fridge and you bring bring it to as close to room temperature as you can before rolling it out (cold dough is so hard to work with). I wouldn’t leave it in the fridge for longer than one or two days. Let me know if it works for you if you try it.
Oh how I love rolls! These look amazing. I’m pretty sure these are the ones that my mom made growing up–I realized that just as I read it. I’ll for sure be trying these.
I just wanted to comment that I make these all the time. We love them, but my small family can only eat so many of them. I freeze the left overs. They freeze and reheat beautifully.
I made these rolls tonight and my whole family was impressed! It was my first time making homemade roll by myself, and I was so impressed by how they turned out! I loved them!
Loralee – I’m glad the caramel cheesecake turned out for you! If you ever have questions on the directions in a recipe, feel free to email me or comment. I try to add as much as I can to help – so thanks for letting me know it really does help!
Anonymous – no, I don’t use bread flour, I normally just use all-purpose. If they weren’t light and tender, I would suggest using less flour altogether and not overbaking. I usually find if my dough is on the soft side (where you can easily push your finger into the dough and your finger may come out slightly tacky with dough) then my rolls come out lighter. I hope that helps!
Hi, I hope you had a wonderful christmas! I love the look of these rolls, I think give them a try!>>Priscilla x
I’m usually hesitant to make dinner rolls – mine usually turn out like rocks – but I love your style of recipe editing(?) so adding your own extra dirctions to the recipe helps me to keep on and not give up, like with the Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake…turned out Delicious, by the way.>😀
Tammy – thanks for noticing the error. Actually they DO need to rise again after you shape them into rolls. I have edited the recipe. Sorry for the mistake!>>Also, I’m pretty sure instant dry milk is the same as non-fat dry milk (mine also says instant on the label) but if anyone has other clarification, please let me know!
Amy F. – good question, in fact, I am going to edit the recipe because I always use butter instead of shortening. So the answer is yes, you can use butter (and I actually prefer it with butter!).
I love rolls like these! I have a hard time resisting them, which is why I don’t make them often at all!
I’m pretty sure that this is the roll recipe that I’ve been searching for!! I’m so glad you posted this!
Deborah – glad these turned out – although with your cooking expertise, I’m not sure I believe that you aren’t great at making rolls!
I have a go-to recipe for rolls that is lovely, but I must say you are making me want to try these. Wow, I love rolls. I need these.
Guess what? I got a KitchenAid for Christmas!!! I cannot WAIT to make these rolls! I have a new food blog @ http://jamyisadaringbaker.blogspot.com/ and I linked all your recipes back to your site. Hope that’s okay!!!
Jenica – way to go on your first time making homemade rolls. I’m relieved they turned out for you! Thanks for letting me know!
I tried this recipe but they weren’t light and tender. What might have gone wrong? Do you use bread flour?
Melanie,>>if I split up the dough and throw some in the fridge, will it still be OK to bake when I pull it out?
Well, I did throw one batch in the fridge and then baked it the next day…and it tasted very…yeasty. It was almost overpowering. So next time I make these(and I will!) I’ll bake them all off.
I made these for Sunday dinner today and they were so yummy! I ate way too many!! I dug out my old Lion House cookbook after I saw this post – thanks for reminding me about it! Good luck with that sweet new baby!!
I made these for Sunday dinner today and they were so yummy! I ate way too many!! I dug out my old Lion House cookbook after I saw this post – thanks for reminding me about it! Good luck with that sweet new baby!!