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Home » Recipes » Breads

3 Hour Quick Dinner Rolls Light Delicious Yeast Buns

Published: May 14, 2022 · Modified: Oct 15, 2024 by Marisa Franca

Jump to Recipe
Golden brown dinner rolls on wooden cutting board

These Quick Dinner Rolls are light as a feather, soft as a cloud and fragrant. The yeast buns don't require pre-ferment which is quite a time saver. In three hours you can drive your entire family crazy with the heady bread aroma coming from the oven. Watch them run to the kitchen to sample the soft delicious bread waiting for them. 

Easy 3-Hour Italian Dinner Rolls @allourway.com
Jump to:
  • Background Story
  • Find a quick yeast bread recipe
  • Easy instructions for yeast dinner rolls
  • 3-Hour Italian dinner rolls start to finish
  • Easy yeast buns fragrant and soft
  • A Versatile bread recipe
  • You May Need...
  • Easy Three Hour Quick Dinner Rolls Recipe 
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

Background Story

"I forgot the dinner rolls!" says my friend Laura before I even have a chance to say hello on my end of the phone.

"How could I overlook bread? I thought of everything else and it's ready to go: the pork loin, the Brussel sprouts, the tossed salad, the tart for dessert. I wanted this dinner to be special for Tony's new partner and wife."

"Weren't you supposed to go out to eat with them?" I ask the minute Laura takes a breath.

"We were," says Laura. "But Tony felt sorry for them, they've been here two weeks, stuck in a hotel, and they've been eating out every meal. Tony thought they might enjoy a home meal."

"It's not a problem," I say. "I'll just bring over some of the Italian dinner rolls we have in the freezer. You can thaw them out and pop them in the oven right before dinner. Problem solved."

Easy 3-Hour Italian Dinner Rolls on Baking Sheet @allourway.com

Find a quick yeast bread recipe

"I appreciate the offer, truly I do," says Laura. "But I can't take your dinner rolls. Tony bragged to his new partner that I'm a good cook. You know Tony, he eats everything. It doesn't take anything fancy to make him happy. He promised his partner that he and his wife would get a delicious homemade meal made entirely by me. It's noon. I don't have time to make your Italian hard rolls."

"Yes, you do," I say. "Not the hard buns but a quick Italian dinner rolls recipe that takes only a few hours to make. When are they due over?"

"Around 6:30."

"Then you have plenty of time to make these dinner rolls."

Easy 3-Hour Italian Dinner Rolls Instructions @allourway.com

Easy instructions for yeast dinner rolls

"E-mail me the recipe, I hope there aren't a lot of steps.," says Laura, sounding just a bit unsure. "I'm confident with cakes and cookies; it's the live yeast that intimidates me."

"Don't worry. It's mostly a waiting game," I say. "You mix the yeast dough together and watch for it to double. You form the dough into little balls, wait for them to rise, and then you bake."

"That's it for the dinner rolls?" asks Laura.

Easy 3-Hour Italian Dinner Rolls Feathery Light and Tasty @allourway.com

3-Hour Italian dinner rolls start to finish

"Yes! Well, you do have to make an egg white wash and brush it on top of the dinner rolls before baking."

"Okay," says Laura. "I think I can handle that. This dinner is putting me under a lot of pressure. I don't mind cooking for people I know, but these strangers are expecting a lot. I'm a  nervous wreck."

"You'll do great! If you have a question I'm just a phone call away," I say. "Do you want me to come over and help?"

"No. That's okay. You've got lots to do before this weekend. Just send me the dinner rolls recipe, and I'll get started. I'll call you tomorrow and fill you in on how the dinner went."

Easy 3-Hour Italian Dinner Rolls feathery light and delicious @allourway.com

Easy yeast buns fragrant and soft

The phone rings. I pick it up it but before I can say hello, Laura is talking a mile a minute. "The dinner rolls were a huge success! I couldn't believe how easy they were to put together and how fast they rose. Everything turned out perfectly!"

"I'm glad," I say. "See, I told you; you had absolutely nothing to worry about."

"That recipe is a keeper! Tony wants me to make some more dinner rolls tonight. We're having his favorite for dinner, pasta with Bolognese Sauce Antica. It looks like I better stock up on yeast; he's going to want those rolls on a regular basis."

Easy 3-Hour Italian Dinner Rolls Dough into Sandwich Buns @allourway.com

A Versatile bread recipe

This recipe makes 12 rolls or 8 sandwich buns. The rolls make delicious slider buns for pulled pork or Italian beef. The sandwich size rolls make a perfect bun for hamburgers or spicy tuna salad.

This recipe would also be ideal for sliders. Think of Game days or picnics. Use the yeast buns recipe year round. 

It's fun making challenging bread such as Pugliese Bread or Ciabatta, but sometimes a quick and easy yeast rolls recipe is exactly what you need.

Tutti a tavola è pronto!

Un caro saluto e alla prossima. 

You May Need...

Everyone who bakes needs a heavy duty baking tray like this one. This one also includes a rack. We have several and they bake evenly and don't warp. 

What's new? check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy. 

Thank you for being part of All Our Way!

Easy Three Hour Quick Dinner Rolls Recipe 

These quick dinner rolls are soft and fluffy and definitely not sweet. We enjoy them with our holiday meals but also make them as sandwich buns or use them as slider rolls. Brush the top with butter or egg wash and add your favorite toppings such as sesame or poppy seeds. Your family will love them - guaranteed.

If you like this recipe please give it a 5-star rating.

📖 Recipe

Quick and easy yeast rolls made in 3 hours time.

Easy 3 Hour Quick Dinner Rolls

Yeast dinner rolls that are easy and quick to make. The finished rolls are feathery light with a delicious taste and fluffy texture.
5 from 23 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: dinner rolls, easy and quick rolls, easy yeast bread, slider rolls, yeast bread, yeast rolls
Cuisine: American, Italian
Prep Time: 2 hours hours 8 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes minutes
Resting Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 dinner rolls; 8 sandwich buns
Calories: 175kcal
Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
As An Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups distilled water divided at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour will need more for dough board
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • Put the kneader attachment onto the stand mixer.
  • In the stainless steel bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast with 1 teaspoon sugar and ¾ cup distilled water, at room temperature.
  • In another bowl whisk together the 3 ½ cups flour, salt, 1 Tablespoon sugar.
  • Add the dry ingredients on top of the yeast mixture.
  • Start the mixer on low speed and start to pour about ½ up of the remaining distilled water into the bowl as it is kneading. Save the remaining ¼ cup water in case the dough is too dry.
  • Add the butter and the olive oil to the dough as the mixer is kneading.
  • If dough seems too dry, add water 1 Tablespoon at a time.
  • Total kneading time should take about 8 minutes. when finished kneading the dough, it should feel soft but semi-sticky and smooth. It should only slightly stick to you hands when removing from the bowl.
  • Do not add too much flour or the buns will be heavy.
  • Remove the dough to a very lightly floured surface; cover with a clean tea towel (not terrycloth) and let rest 5 minutes.
  • Shape into a ball (the dough will come together nicely after resting).
  • Place into a large greased deep container.
  • Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 60-90 minutes.
  • To check if the dough is ready to be punched down, very gently stick two fingers about ½-inch into the dough, the dough is ready when the finger marks remain.
  • Punch down dough and slice in half.
  • Slice each half into 6 even pieces. (12 total)
  • Shape each piece into a round ball.
  • Place balls spacing well apart onto a large oiled parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Cover and let rise 30-40 minutes.
  • Right before placing in oven, lightly brush with beaten egg white.
  • Bake at 375 F. for about 22 minutes or until light golden brown.

Notes

The time will vary sightly depending on the warmth of your kitchen. Make sure to let the dough rise in a warm place.
We like to use distilled water or spring water in our yeast breads. You can use regular water if you like.
Inspired by a recipe on Food.com - Italian-Style Rolls

Nutrition

Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 250mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1.8mg

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    Last Updated: 20 Dec 2019

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    I’m Marisa Franca, a home chef, food writer, and photographer who believes that you can make gourmet quality food at home with simple seasonal ingredients. I’m passionate about family, food, friends, everything Italian, and happy endings.

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