Skillet Dinner Rolls
These easy to make dinner rolls bake up so light and fluffy! Mixed with buttermilk, they have the softest crumb and such a rich flavor! They’re brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sea salt flakes, but you can add other seasonings too. Get a nice even golden crust by baking them all together in a well seasoned cast iron skillet. Serve them hot out of the oven for the most heavenly, melt in your mouth experience!
Watch my video to learn how to form and shape beautiful rolls – it’s easier than you think!
I love using cast iron pans for baking whenever possible! Cast iron conducts heat more evenly and bakes breads to a perfectly golden color. If it is well seasoned, it also enhances the flavor of whatever you are cooking or baking in. Cast iron can be used on the stove top or directly in the oven.
If you don’t have a large 11 inch cast iron pan, you can use a glass baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray. A 9×13 size would work well. It’s best to have the rolls all touching each other when you arrange them in the pan, and I’ll tell you why…
Baking these dinner rolls all together in one pan is not only super convenient, but ideal. Since we’re squeezing 24 rolls in there, they have nowhere to go but up – yielding a tall, towering roll that would dwarf any other in comparison! Placing them so closely together will allow them to bake into each other and create moist and fluffy pull apart rolls!
If you are new to bread making and not completely confident in your ability to make beautiful, delicious rolls like these, well this is the perfect recipe for you my friend!
What makes this recipe nearly fool-proof:
- The mixer does all the work for you – no kneading or mixing by hand.
- The buttermilk is huge in creating a good rise and a moist, tender crumb.
- A simple bun, they’re easy to shape! (see video below).
- Baking them all together in one cast iron skillet makes it so convenient and less mess in your kitchen!
For the beginner, bread making can be intimidating. I know! I was once a beginner too! But you’ve got to just go for it! This is the perfect, simple recipe to start with!
Double rising the dough
A double rise means that we will be allowing the dough to rest and puff up twice during the recipe process. The first rise happens after kneading the dough in the mixer. Placing the dough in a greased bowl and covering it with a towel will keep it nice and warm and give it an environment to allow the dough to expand, or “rise”. The first rise will typically take about 1 & 1/2 hours, but could vary depending on how warm your kitchen is. The yeast will feed on the sugars in the dough and release carbon dioxide, which is what makes bread rise.
The second rise will occur after the rolls have been shaped and placed into the pan you’re going to bake it in. Again, we will cover it with a towel, giving it a warm environment to double in size. The second rise always takes less time than the first, about 1 hour.
Letting the dough double rise will create stronger gluten strands, resulting in a better texture and stronger crumb structure. This will make our rolls nice and fluffy without having big air holes in the crumb.
How do I know when my bread is ready to bake?
- To check if your second rise has proofed enough, give your dough the poke test. Press the dough gently with your finger to determine if it is properly proofed and ready for baking. If the dough springs back right away, it needs more proofing. But if it springs back slowly and leaves a small indent, it’s ready to bake.
Let’s talk a bit about the key ingredient in this recipe. What I think makes these rolls so tender and fluffy is the buttermilk. Kind of like yogurt or sour cream in baked items, it works to tenderize the gluten. Buttermilk creates a slight tangy flavor, softer texture and more body. To sum up, buttermilk is responsible for making these rolls amazing!!
Before baking, I brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle on just a bit of sea salt flakes. This really brings out the flavor of the bread! Sometimes I like to switch things up and add chopped rosemary or Everything Bagel Seasoning. I’ve even made these rolls with three different sections of toppings. Get creative here! This roll is super versatile and will taste so yummy with just about anything you top it with!
After the you take your pan out of the oven, let it cool on a wire rack for five minutes before taking the rolls out. To get all the rolls out of the pan in one piece, simply flip the pan over and they should come right out. You can flip the rolls back over to get them right side up by placing another cooling rack on top of them (the bottoms of the rolls) and flipping.
Eat these rolls while hot! Seriously, don’t wait! Pull them apart in all their warm, fluffy glory! They are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven! If by some crazy chance you end up with leftovers, allow them to cool completely before storing in a bread bag or zip top bag. I put a paper towel in there to absorb any moisture that might accumulate as they are stored. Another great option would be to freeze leftovers for enjoying another time. Just take them out of the freezer the night before you want to use them. I usually reheat my rolls in an open bag in the microwave for just one minute and then serve.
Whatever you serve these rolls with, they are just simply delicious! Make this recipe and post your creation! Share your ideas of what to serve them with! Tag me on Instagram (@thatbreadlady) and show me how you make it your own.
Enjoy!!
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Skillet Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- ¼ cup warm water 105°F
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature (8oz)
- 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 4 cups bread flour plus up to 1/2 cup more if needed (*see notes)
For brushing on top of rolls:
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1-2 teaspoons sea salt flakes season as desired
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, buttermilk, yeast, 4 T melted butter, sugar, 1 tsp fine sea salt and eggs with paddle attachment. Mix until all ingredients are combined.
- Add the 4 cups of flour and mix until just combined. Switch to dough hook attachment and knead dough for 8 minutes. If dough feels excessively sticky, add a bit more and mix until incorporated.
- Spray a medium sized bowl with nonstick spray. Place dough in the bowl and turn to coat all sides. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 & 1/2 hours.
- Brush olive oil on the surface of a large cast iron pan, 11 inch skillet works best (see notes)
- Turn dough out onto countertop. Scale into 24, 1.5oz pieces. Shape into round balls, pulling the dough around the top and pinching underneath. Then gently roll the dough ball on the counter to tighten the surface tension and seal the bottom seam.
- Place in prepared pan, spacing them close together so that they are touching.
- Cover with clean kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (See notes for proof test)
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and top with salt flakes or your favorite herbs and spices. Bake for 20-24 minutes or until golden.
- Leave rolls in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn pan over to release the rolls in one piece onto a wire cooling rack. Place another wire rack on the bottoms of the rolls and flip to cool right side up.
- Serve and enjoy warm!
Notes
- If you don’t have a large cast iron skillet, you can use a glass baking dish. A 9×13 inch pan would work great.
- You can substitute the bread flour with all-purpose flour. Use the same measurements.
- To check if your second rise has proofed enough, give your dough the poke test. Press the dough gently with your finger to determine if it is properly proofed and ready for baking. If the dough springs back right away, it needs more proofing. But if it springs back slowly and leaves a small indent, it’s ready to bake.
- Store leftover rolls in a bread bag or zip top bag with a paper towel to soak up any excess moisture. Rolls are best enjoyed freshly baked, but can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. Freeze rolls if needed to store longer.
Nutrition
Hi!
In your recipe, on what I think is the flour ingredient, it doesn’t tell what kind of flour to use. I have literally never made bread and am excited to try this!!!
Thanks so much for catching that! I’ve updated the recipe. I usually use bread flour, but all-purpose flour will work well too! This is a great recipe to start out with!
In the recipe, you never say where to add the yeast. Or am I missing it?
Hi Kristi, Thank you for catching that! I’ve updated the recipe. The yeast should be added with the water. I hope you enjoy!
The recipe is also missing the directions to brush with butter and sprinkle with salt before baking – it’s included in the write up, but not the recipe.
The rolls were yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
Ahh Kristi, thank you for catching that! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!!
Hi! I was wondering if I need to make a double batch, can I double the recipe and make at one time, or do I need to scale them and make one batch, immediately followed by a second batch?
I am new to baking and I find the chemistry difficult! Thanks!!
Hi Sally, yes you should be able to make a double batch of these as long as your mixer can hold the capacity. Hope you enjoy!
Can these rolls be made and placed in refrigerator to cook the next day?
If I wanted to convert these from instant yeast to sourdough, would that work? What would the conversion be like?
Yes, you could swap out the instant yeast with sourdough. I’d try using 1 cup (240g) starter. Usually I’d say to reduce the water and flour by however much you’re adding with your starter, but in this case I’d say leave the liquids as they are and use your judgement with the flour. You may need to add a bit more flour since you’re adding moisture with the starter. And your recipe may turn out a bit larger than what I have written here. As you probably know, your rise times will be a bit longer when using sourdough. Let me know how it turns out!
Thank you so much!!!
Hi. Could I substitute wheat flour for some of the bread flour? Thank you. Julie
Yes, absolutely! You may find that whole wheat flour absorbs a bit more liquid than regular bread flour, so keep an eye on that as you add the flour to the recipe – you may not need as much.