Classic Dinner Rolls

Classic dinner rolls are the perfect accompaniment to many a family feast. This recipe doesn’t require fancy baking equipment; simply bake the rolls in a 9 by 13 baking dish. The results are fluffy and tender.

We know that family feasts and celebrations are not complete without BREAD. Whether it is for the big Thanksgiving meal or for a simple weeknight family supper, bread really does bring everyone together around the table.

Bread hits the senses: touch it while you knead the dough, smell it while it bakes, see its golden brown crust on top, taste it warm and fresh from the oven and hear the happy sounds of your family enjoying it!

When I was young, many of our special occasion family dinners included my immediate family of six and both sets of grandparents. We were lucky to live close to each other.

While there were plenty of made-from-scratch dishes at our celebrations, bread was not one of them. We ate those lovely, little Pepperidge Farm trays of rolls and we fought over every last one of them!

I loved the uniformity, knowing that each roll would fit a pat of butter right in the middle and each would take two or three bites until I could reach for another.

These classic dinner rolls remind me of those Pepperidge Farm rolls. The recipe suggests making just 16 rolls but those turn out to be rather large in a 9 x 13 pan. I made smaller rolls and fit 24– 4 rows by 6– and you could even squeeze 5 by 7 if you’d like.

The recipe from Fine Cooking proved to be easy to follow and simple to make. I did bake my rolls a touch longer than the 20 minutes recommended, say 25-28 minutes, but I am sure the cooking time will depend on your oven.

Bake until a golden brown. I made two batches and learned that the rolls baked in a glass 9 x 13 casserole dish browned more quickly on the bottoms– the rolls were good but for an overall softer roll try baking them in a ceramic baking dish to protect the bottoms from browning too early.

Once you get the hang of these basic rolls, you can add herbs or other flavors such as a poppy seed topping or a dried onion and garlic mixture. These may replace the Pepperidge Farm rolls on my Thanksgiving table but nothing can replace those happy memories of big family meals around the table together.

I followed the recipe from Fine Cooking. Please click through on this link to see the original recipe. The ingredients are listed below.

Here are other bread recipes you’ll enjoy making at home:

If you love making yeast bread recipes or easy quick breads, try some of these homemade bread recipes:

• Boston Brown Bread
• Rosemary Breadsticks
• Pumpkin Scones
• Mashed Potato Rolls
• Onion Rolls
• Homemade Calzones
• Onion Bacon Fantans