These buttery brioche dinner rolls are an overnight version of my popular soft brioche bread recipe. This recipe uses a long cold rise in the fridge and makes 16 fluffy pull-apart dinner rolls that you can bake fresh in time for dinner. So good for mopping up a hearty stew or simply slathered in melted butter!
85gramssoft room temperature unsalted butter(6 tablespoons)
Egg Wash
1large egg
1teaspoonwhole milk
⅛teaspoonsalt
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.