These buttery brioche dinner rolls are an overnight version of my popular soft brioche bread recipe. This dinner rolls recipe uses a long cold rise in the fridge and makes 16 fluffy pull-apart brioche dinner rolls that you can bake fresh in time for dinner. So good for mopping up a hearty stew or simply slathered in soft homemade whipped honey butter!
Overnight Brioche Dinner Rolls
So many people have asked me about how to turn my popular soft brioche loaf recipe into dinner rolls that, even though the answer is more-or-less "divide the dough into smaller pieces and bake it," I figured it was about time I make an official ruling on how to do it.
The one big change I wanted to make was to make these rolls from an overnight brioche rather than a same-day bake.
Just like my overnight no-knead crusty bread and thick & fluffy overnight focaccia, these dinner rolls are designed to be ready when dinner is. It's so much more practical to have the rolls shaped and in the fridge so all you need to do is take them out of the fridge and bake them at dinner time.
Here's a fun thing I learned during recipe testing: Usually when you take a quick-rising recipe and make it into an overnight recipe, the yeast needs to be reduced a lot, even in the fridge. But because the butter in brioche dough firms up in the fridge and slows the dough's rise that way, these brioche rolls actually do need the full amount of yeast!
I used my beginner-friendly base brioche recipe here because it's so versatile, but you can follow these instructions with any of my brioche doughs. Try using my sweet chocolate chip brioche dough, or the super soft milk powder brioche from my hot dog buns recipe, and come back here to follow the shaping and baking instructions for some other dinner roll variations!
Ingredient Notes
Here's what you'll need to make these soft brioche dinner rolls! Please take a look at the recipe card (at the end of the post) for quantities.
🍽 Mise en place (aka "the setup")
Mise en place is a French culinary term that literally translates to "putting in place."
It basically means: Measure all your ingredients and make sure you have all the right tools and equipment ready to go when you need them before you start working.
This can make a huge difference in a) how enjoyable you find the baking and cooking process and b) the success of your recipe!
Here's the mise en place you'll need before you begin this recipe:
- Soften the butter - The best way to soften butter to room temperature is to leave it out for 1-3 hours (overnight if it’s very cold in your kitchen). But if you don't remember to do that, you can microwave the wrapped stick of butter for 4 seconds per side.
- Warm the Milk - Microwave the milk in 10-15 second bursts in the microwave until it is warm to the touch but not hot (around 95°F).
- Bring the egg to room temperature - Submerge the egg in very hot water for 5-10 minutes.
How to Make Brioche Dinner Rolls
I've gone into detail with step-by-step photos for the process of making brioche in my brioche bread loaf recipe, so head over there if you're new to making brioche! For these dinner rolls, you'll follow that exact same recipe process up through the end of the first rise.
The dough for these brioche dinner rolls follows the basic brioche dough process. First you mix the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients and knead until smooth. Then you gradually add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time and knead again until the dough passes the windowpane test — it will be soft, smooth, and elastic.
The First Rise (1 Hour)
For these brioche dinner rolls, the first rise is done at room temperature. You'll shape the dough into a tight ball by tucking all the ends under it, place it in a bowl, and cover it. Leave the bowl at room temperature or in a warm spot (~72°F) for one hour.
During this rise, the butter in the dough is super soft and pliable, so the brioche dough will double or might even almost triple in size.
To check if the dough is ready to shape, gently press a lightly floured fingertip into the top of the dough. If the indentation fills in quickly and completely, it needs more time.
If the indentation it fills in slowly and leaves a slightly visible dent, it's ready to be shaped.
It's more important that the dough feels right than that a certain amount of time has passed. If the dough is ready a little before an hour or a little after an hour, or if it's very cold in your kitchen and the dough needs another 30 minutes to rise, that's fine.
If the dough deflates when you press a fingertip in, that means it has overproofed. Don't panic. Brioche is very resilient. Gently press all the air out, shape it back into a ball, cover it, and let it rest 15 minutes more at room temperature. Then move on to shaping.
Shaping Brioche Dinner Rolls
This recipe makes 16 pull-apart dinner rolls. Weigh the entire batch of dough and divide the number you get by sixteen. Each roll should weigh about 42 grams. Use a bench scraper to divide it into sixteen equal portions using your kitchen scale.
To shape each roll, gently flatten one portion of dough against a clean, unfloured counter, stacking any smaller pieces on top of the larger pieces if needed so they get tucked inside.
Tuck all the edges up and in across the middle. You can also do this almost like you're kneading the dough into a ball.
Pinch the edges together so you have a smooth side on one side and pinched together seam on the other.
Place the pinched seam against the counter and cup your hand around it with your pinkie flush against the counter. Roll your hand around to create tension in the dough, tightening the seam at the bottom and smoothing out the top.
The "tightened" seam side of the dough ball should look like this. Pinch the seams together at the bottom again if needed. The top sides should be nice and smooth. Any wrinkles, edges, or folds on top side will be seen on the final rolls.
BTW! — Don't flour your counter during shaping! Flour prevents the dough from sticking to itself and we're using the friction between the dough and the counter to create tension to develop a smooth top and a tight seam on the bottom of the rolls.
If the dough is very sticky because it's warm in your kitchen, the butter is melting, and the dough feels greasy to the touch, pop it in the fridge for about 10 minutes before continuing rather than trying to flour the counter to prevent sticking. A little bit of clinging is good! A lot of sticking is not.
The Second (Long, Cold) Overnight Rise (12-48 hours)
Arrange the sixteen dough balls in four rows of four in a greased and lined 8"x8" square baking pan.
Cover the loaf pan loosely with plastic wrap and pop it directly in the fridge, where it will be fine for 12-48 hours (even as long as 72 hours, though that's pushing it) before baking.
The cold temperature of the fridge slows yeast activity AND causes the butter in the dough to firm up. Unlike the dramatic doubling of the first rise, during the second rise, the dinner rolls won't visibly rise much at all. That's okay! The yeast is still in there ready to get to work.
Just because it doesn't look like there's much going on from the outside, there's plenty going on inside the rolls. The flour is fully hydrating, the gluten network is relaxing and getting used to its new shape, and the dough is developing a wonderfully buttery flavor and texture.
Baking Brioche Dinner Rolls
Thirty to sixty minutes before you plan to bake the dinner rolls, take them out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.
Right before baking, brush them all over with an egg wash. If you want to add any toppings to your dinner rolls like sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, garlic salt, etc. now is the time to do so.
Once the rolls are baked, carefully lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper sling (or tip them out, if you don't have enough paper to grab), and place them on a rack to finish cooling completely.
USA Pan Square Baking Pan (8")
Dimensions: 8x8x2.25". Square aluminized steel baking pan with sharp right-angle corners and rippled surface for increased airflow.
How to Make Same-Day Brioche Dinner Rolls
For same-day brioche dinner rolls, do the second rise at room temperature for 45-60 minutes, and then 10-15 minutes in the fridge before baking. You may also want to shorten the baking time by 5 minutes, so check on them a bit early just in case.
During that room temperature rise, you'll see the rolls dramatically double in size and fill out the pan. Popping them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes prior to baking slows down the yeast activity so they don't get too overzealous in the oven.
You Should Really Use a Stand Mixer!
You need a stand mixer with a dough hook to make this brioche dough. You cannot make brioche bread with a hand mixer. And it's very hard and messy (though not impossible) to make by hand. I don't recommend it.
If you have a mixer with a tilt head and bowl that screws in at the base, the motor may struggle with this dough — keep a close eye on it. You may need to hold the bowl in place to make sure it doesn’t unscrew during the kneading process.
If you have a bowl-lift mixer, still keep an eye on it the whole time it's mixing and kneading. You don't want the mixer to walk itself off the counter!
If your mixer’s motor feels like it’s overheating, you can pause for 5 minutes and then resume mixing.
Practical Tips & Recipe Notes
- If you don't reach a perfect windowpane before adding the butter and it's been at least 10 minutes of kneading that's okay — you can go ahead and start adding butter. It won't be a technically perfect brioche, but it will still be delicious!
- If the butter chunks are struggling to incorporate, lightly dust in a teeny bit more flour as needed — it will help the butter cling to the dough. Resist adding more flour unless absolutely needed!
- While you don't need to use parchment paper in your pan, it will make the rolls easier to remove without having to run a knife around the edges. But if you don't have parchment paper, greasing the pan well will work fine too.
- I used my beginner-friendly base brioche recipe here because it's so versatile, but you can follow these instructions with any of my brioche doughs. Try using my sweet chocolate chip brioche dough, or the super soft milk powder brioche from my hot dog buns recipe, and come back here to follow the shaping and baking instructions for some other dinner roll variations!
TL;DR — Recipe Summary
- Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use dough hook to mix until combined in a shaggy dough. Then knead 5-7 minutes, to windowpane stage.
- Add room temperature butter 1 tablespoon at a time until incorporated. Knead 7-10 minutes, or until windowpane stage is reached again.
- Cover and rest at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Divide and shape the dough into sixteen dough balls. Arrange them in the loaf pan in four rows of four. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- 30-60 minutes before baking, remove from the fridge and let sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.
- Brush with an egg wash, then bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F.
📖 Recipe
Soft-Baked Brioche Dinner Rolls (Overnight Recipe)
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook (you CANNOT use a hand mixer here)
- Square cake pan (8x8")
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 350 grams all-purpose flour
- 6 grams instant yeast (see notes for active dry yeast)
- 5 grams diamond crystal kosher salt
- 158 grams whole milk (90°F)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 30 grams honey
- 85 grams soft room temperature unsalted butter (6 tablespoons)
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon whole milk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix the dough. Combine flour, salt, and yeast the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a separate bowl, whisk together warm milk, honey, and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed (KitchenAid speed 2-3) until the dough comes together in a shaggy messy ball on the dough hook, about 3-5 minutes. The dough will look dry at first, but will hydrate as it mixes. Be patient!
- Knead the dough. Increase speed to medium (KitchenAid speed 4) and knead until the dough passes the windowpane test, about 7-10 minutes. If the dough hasn't reached windowpane after about 7 minutes, drizzle in an additional ½ teaspoon milk while kneading, then cover and rest for 5-10 minutes. Knead 2-3 minutes more. It should get there!
- Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. With the mixer running on medium (KitchenAid speed 4), add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Let each piece fully incorporate before adding more. The dough will look like it is falling apart each time you add more butter, but it will come back together. Pause the mixer to gather the dough around the hook or scrape the butter down into the bowl occasionally as needed. This can take 10-15 minutes. Be patient!
- Knead the dough again. Increase speed to medium-high (KitchenAid speed 5-6) and knead until the dough is smooth, shiny, and passes the windowpane test again, about 5 minutes.
- Cover and rise. Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl or container. Cover and let rise 1 hour at room temperature (72-75°F) until just about doubled in size. If not doubled after an hour, let it rise an additional 30-60 minutes until doubled. When you push a finger into it, the indentation should spring back slightly but remain visible.
Shaping Dinner Rolls
- Deflate the dough. Turn dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Use your hands to gently deflate the dough. Divide the dough into sixteen equal pieces using a kitchen scale (each piece should weigh about 42 grams).
- Shape the dinner rolls. Gently flatten each piece of dough against the counter, stacking any smaller pieces on top of larger pieces if you're combining them. Fold or tuck the edges up across the middle of the dough to create a ball, then pinch the edges together to create tension and a smooth round top on the other side of the dough. Place the dough down with the smooth side up and the pinched-together seam on the counter. Cup your hand around it with your pinkie against the counter and scoot it in circles to tighten the seam and further tighten up the top. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, then arrange in a greased and parchment-lined square or round baking pan.
- Overnight Rise. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place in the fridge immediately. The dinner rolls will be fine in there for 24-48 hours before baking. They won't double in size but they should fill out the pan a bit more.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the pan from the fridge and let rest at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before baking for the dough to warm up slightly. Whisk together egg, milk, and salt to make the egg wash.
- Egg wash and bake. Brush the top of the dinner rolls lightly with egg wash. Sprinkle with any optional toppings (flaky salt, everything bagel seasoning, etc.). Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top and an internal temperature of at least 195°F.
- Cool. Let the dinner rolls cool slightly in the pan, then carefully use the parchment paper to lift the rolls out of the pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
RECIPE NOTES
- For a same-day dinner rolls situation, let the shaped rolls rise at room temperature for 45-60 minutes, then 10-15 minutes in the fridge before baking.
- If you don't reach a perfect windowpane before adding the butter and it's been at least 10 minutes of kneading that's okay — you can go ahead and start adding butter. It won't be a technically perfect brioche, but it will still be delicious!
- If using active dry yeast use 7.5 grams (round down to 7 grams if you don't have a jeweler's scale). Mix with the warm milk before adding to the dough instead of adding it to the dry ingredients.
Yvette says
Can I use buttermilk in place of whole milk? Thanks.
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Yep!
PZ says
How long should I knead this if I’m doing it by hand?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Kneading brioche by hand is a looooong workout — it's less about the time spent and more about making sure the dough is behaving the way it says in the recipe (e.g. reaching windowpane, butter is absorbed, etc.) but if I had to guess, I would say 15-20 minutes? It takes a long time even in a mixer, so by hand it's usually about double the time. Good luck!
Dawn Tok says
Can i just use normal bread flour?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Yes but bread flour is more absorbent than all-purpose flour so you may find you need to add a little additional milk or water during the mixing or kneading stage to get the dough to the right texture.
Andrea says
I’ve made this recipe a few times now. I thought you weren’t supposed to go over speed two with the dough hook. Can I do speed two and it will just take longer? My KitchenAid gets hot kneading it on the higher speeds.
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Keep it at speed 2 and just knead for longer!
Bread expert Andrew Janjigian has a great post about KitchenAid's "Speed 2 rule" here: All Mixed Up (Part 1).
Andrea says
Interesting read! Thanks for sharing!
Kaila says
Could I use napoleon pizza flour since it has more protein than all-purpose flour?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I haven't tested this, but you can definitely give it a try — you may need to add slightly more milk to the dough to get it to windowpane properly since higher protein flours tend to be more absorbent!
Sinclair says
Made this for Christmas. Everyone loved them. Will have to make a double batch next time. Tip: For anyone reading this, the USA baking pans are a must no matter what you make [No I don't get a thing from them, thanks]. We had a friend who was a professional baker for a private club in the PNW who would make brioche rolls with a slight orange flavor and very light orange glaze. I'll have to try this. I'll let you know (unless you've already tried it -- in which case, spill the beans).
Next try is the hotdog buns!
Happy New Year and Happy Baking!
Jon says
Thanks for this great recipe and I appreciate the way you lay it all out. I made 4 double batches this weekend for 2 different bakes. 1. I’d call them “Mini Brioche Dinner Rolls” as they are definitely smaller than average dinner rolls, but super cute and I like the size. 2. I did an overnight cold proof of 18 hours and the other at 48 hours and they all turned out great. 3. The first batch sat out cooling and then uncovered for 2 hours before eating and they were a little dried out. The others I let cool for 2 minutes after baking and then took out of the pan and wrapped in clean towels and I think it kept them way fresher.
Andrea says
Can these be made in advance and frozen? How many days will they keep?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Yes, you can freeze the baked brioche rolls! Wrap them well in plastic wrap, then place in an airtight bag. Defrost on the counter, then reheat in the oven! They'll be fine in the freezer for up to 3 months. After that it's not like they go bad, it's just that you might start to notice the flavor or texture isn't as nice once you defrost and reheat!