In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleThe Dough Didn’t RiseTough Dinner RollsDough Is Hard to ShapePale, Dry RollsBurnt RollsMake Them Ahead
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
The Dough Didn’t Rise
Tough Dinner Rolls
Dough Is Hard to Shape
Pale, Dry Rolls
Burnt Rolls
Make Them Ahead
Trying your hand at homemade dinner rolls for a holiday meal like Thanksgiving dinner? Good for you! You won’t be disappointed. We think they’re easy (and delicious), but if working with bread dough while juggling the rest of your meal sounds tricky, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. We’ve highlighted a few common pitfalls and ways to avoid them so you can look forward to sopping up the last bits of gravy and mashed potatoes from your plate with your own homemade dinner rolls!
1. How to Fix: Dough That Doesn’t Rise
Healthy Bread Recipes
Another reason for your dough not rising? Too much salt. While sugar activates yeast, salt has the opposite effect. Some salt is OK, but if you accidentally added too much, it may be slowing down the rise. There’s not much you can do short of starting over if you run into either of these issues, but if your yeast is OK, and the dough isn’t oversalted, it could be as simple as moving your dough to a warmer location. Yeast works best when it’s good and muggy. Near (but not in) a warm oven is a good spot—and be sure to keep the dough covered with a kitchen towel to lock in moisture.
Jennifer Causey
Pictured recipe:Spicy Seeded Rolls
2. How to Fix: Tough Dinner Rolls
Do your dinner rolls resemble shoe leather? Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get. You needsomestructure, but not so much that you can’t bite through your bread. Adding a lower-protein flour (like pastry flour or cake flour) can act as a safety net against overmixing. If your dough feels firm and unpliable, let it rest. Stopping the mechanical action of kneading and mixing will relax the dough, giving you a better shot at a more tender result.
3. How to Fix: Dough That’s Hard to Shape
Refrigerating Bread Isn’t Always Bad
4. How to Fix: Pale, Dry Rolls
Did everything right but your rolls look dull? You may have forgotten the egg wash. Egg wash gives baked goods a golden shine and can also help toppings to adhere. Dinner rolls get toppings?! They can! A sprinkle of wheat bran, cornmeal or chopped nuts is a nice addition to a dinner roll. If they’re already baked and they look pale and dry, a drizzle of melted butter or a bit of olive oil can help shine them up right before serving.
5. How to Fix: Rolls That Are Burnt
Victor Protasio
Pictured recipe:Slow-Cooker Honey Whole-Wheat Rolls
We get it, cooking on Thanksgiving can be chaotic, especially when it comes to remembering all of the different oven temperatures and times. Avoid burning the dinner rolls and instead use a slow cooker. Yes, you can make dinner rolls in your slow cooker with these Slow-Cooker Honey Whole-Wheat Rolls (pictured above). Using the slow cooker makes it virtually impossible to burn the rolls, plus it doesn’t take up valuable oven space. On top of that, the slow-cooker method means you can skip the step of proofing—just mix the dough, portion it and put it straight in.
6. How to Fix: Rolls Not Made Ahead
Pulling together a holiday dinner is enough work as it is. If the thought of tinkering with homemade dinner rolls on top of everything else is sending you over the edge, trust us, we get it. Luckily, dinner rolls can (and should!) be made ahead. You can cook them to completion and then gently reheat them in a warm oven. Or make the dough, refrigerate it to slow down the rising process, then bake them when you have free oven space. If you’rewayon top of your game, dinner rolls—both raw dough and fully cooked rolls—freeze beautifully (freezing doesn’t kill the yeast!). If you’re freezing raw dough, portion it out into balls, but freeze it before it begins to rise. If you’re freezing cooked rolls, make sure they’re cooled completely before they hit your freezer to preventfreezer burn.
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Devon O’Brien
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