French Bread Rolls {Step-by-Step}

These French bread rolls make the best dinner rolls, hamburger buns, or sub buns. They are light, fluffy, and perfect for beginner (or expert) bakers. With over 1,000 5-star reviews, they are one of the most popular roll recipes on the internet.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you so much for the recipe. The rolls were wonderful.  Made a double batch for Easter and froze some. They freeze excellently.  Will be my go to rolls. -Jackie

Why So Many People Love This Recipe

The dough for these French bread rolls is straightforward and very forgiving. Here are many reasons why this is a foolproof, trusted recipe:

• A stand mixer fitted with the dough hook makes easy work of this recipe, however, the dough is so easy to make that it can also be mixed and kneaded by hand.
• The recipe doesn’t require scalding milk or any fussy steps. The ingredients are basic and dairy-free (other than brushing the tops of the baked rolls with butter).
• The rolls are ultra-soft and fluffy.
• You can shape the dough into dinner rolls, sub buns, hamburger buns – and some reviewers even report using the dough for pizza crust.
• These French bread rolls are easy enough for simple dinners and delicious enough to serve at any holiday dinner.

Ingredients Notes

• Warm water: The temperature of the water should be between 105 and 110 degrees F.
• Yeast: Both instant yeast and active dry yeast work in this recipe.
• Sugar: The small amount of sugar in these rolls helps activate the yeast and assists in the rolls rising quickly. It isn’t enough sugar to make the rolls taste overly sweet. You can dial the sugar up or down depending on your taste preferences.
• Oil: A few tablespoons of oil gives the dough a supple, smooth texture and helps the rolls taste fresh even the day after baking.
• Salt: I use table salt for this recipe.
• Flour: All-purpose or bread flour can be used – or a combination of both. Bread flour will create a chewier, fluffier roll texture. You can sub in 50% whole wheat flour for part of the white flour; if doing so, I recommend using a white whole wheat variety, which helps the dough stay light and fluffy.

Tips for Making Yeast Dough at Home

Here is the biggest tip I can give for successfully making yeast dough at home:

Stop stressing about adding the exact amount of flour called for in a recipe. Many, many factors determine how much flour is needed (elevation, humidity, how we each measure flour, etc.) Add the flour gradually and judge the dough by how it looks and feels. If you need to add a bit more flour, that’s ok!

How to test this French bread roll dough:

• After the flour has been added and has kneaded for a few minutes, grab a golf ball-size piece of dough.
• Initially, it might leave a little sticky residue on your fingers.
• Try rolling it into a ball without any oil or cooking spray on your hands.
• If it can form a ball shape without sticking to your hands in a shaggy, horror-movie mess, you are good to go. If not, add a bit more flour (a couple tablespoons), mix and try again.

You can see from the pictures below that initially, the dough seems pretty sticky, however, it rolls just fine into a ball without a lot of sticky dough on the palm of my hand. Adding too much flour can lead to rolls that are dense and heavy, so take time to learn what a properly floured dough looks and feels like.

How to Shape French Bread Dinner Rolls

1. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces.
2. I like to weigh each piece to make sure they are uniform. Each dough piece usually weighs right around 2.6 to 2.7 ounces.
3. Cup your hand around the dough and roll the dough into a smooth ball, keeping the pinky side of your hand against the counter while you roll.
4. Pinch the bottom to seal, if needed.

A single batch of roll dough (12 rolls) fits in a 9X13-inch pan. I almost always double this recipe and bake the rolls on a half sheet pan, which fits 24 rolls perfectly.

The Perfect Roll for Sandwiches or Subs

Over the years, these French bread rolls have become more than a dinner roll.

A quick scroll through the comments shows that many of you are using this roll dough for everything from sloppy joes to sub sandwiches.

Make-Ahead and Freezer Notes

Make-Ahead: The dough for these French bread rolls can be made and refrigerated overnight (either in bulk, or the rolls can be shaped, place on a pan, covered and refrigerated). Take the shaped rolls out of the fridge to rise fully before baking.

Freezing: The baked and cooled rolls freeze great. Place the rolls in a ziploc freezer bag, seal the bag, and place in the freezer for up to a month or so. 

There is truly not an easier, more perfect roll recipe out there!

I often make these rolls for my holiday dinners – from Thanksgiving to Easter – because they are so easy, they work out every time, and they are always devoured. Plus, they make excellent leftovers!

French Bread Rolls

Yield: 12 rolls

Prep Time: 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

4.79 stars (1364 ratings)

Print Pin Rate Save Saved!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)
• 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast (see note)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or honey
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 3 ½ to 4 cups (497 to 569 g) all-purpose or bread flour, more or less (see note)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, instant yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour.
• Begin mixing, and continue to add remaining flour gradually until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.
• Knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes in a stand mixer (7 to 9 minutes by hand). Add additionally flour a tablespoon or two at a time only if the dough starts to cling to the sides of the bowl and is really sticky to the touch (see note below for clarification).
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover. Let the dough rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased countertop.
• Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (about 2.75 ounces each, more or less), and form the dough into round balls by cupping your hand around the dough and spinning into a round shape, pinching the bottom to seal any rough edges, if needed (video tutorial here right at minute marker 2:20).
• Place the rolls in a lightly greased 9X13-inch pan or on a lightly greased half sheet pan. Space the rolls about 1/2 to 1-inch apart.
• Cover the rolls loosely with a lightweight towel or greased plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until very puffy and nearly doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (if your oven bakes hot, preheat to 375 degrees F.) Bake for 17 to 20 minutes until golden and baked through.
• Immediately out of the oven, brush with butter, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Yeast: When I originally posted this recipe over ten years ago, it was necessary to dissolve active dry yeast in water before using. That isn’t the case anymore (as active dry yeast has been reformulated into smaller particle sizes). I’ve edited the recipe to reflect this. I use 1 tablespoon of yeast since I buy it in larger bulk packages, but if you are using packets of yeast (the packets include 2 1/4 teaspoons), you can use one packet for this recipe. The dough might take a bit longer to rise if using the packet vs one full tablespoon.

Flour: The exact amount of flour will depend on your elevation, the way you measure flour, and other factors. Judge the amount of flour to add by how the dough looks and feels. It should be soft, smooth and slightly tacky to the touch while clearing the sides of the bowl. To test, after the dough has kneaded for a few minutes, turn the mixer off and grab a golf ball-size piece of dough. It might leave a little bit of sticky residue on your fingers, but if you can roll it into a small ball without it sticking all over to your hands, the dough does not need more flour. If it sticks quite a bit to your fingers, gradually add a bit more flour as needed.

Freezable Option: The baked rolls freeze great. Place the baked and cooled rolls in a ziploc freezer bag, seal the bag, and place in the freezer for up to a month or so. 

Author: Mel

Course: Bread

Cuisine: French

Method: Bake

Serving: 1 roll, Calories: 140kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 197mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g

Recommended Products

Bosch Universal Stand Mixer

Glass 9X13-inch Pan

Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally published 12/2007; updated with new pictures, step-by-step tutorial, and recipe notes.

Other Recipes Like This:

Asiago Herb Dinner Rolls

Fluffy Honey Oat Dinner Rolls

Buttermilk Potato Rolls {Fluffiest Most Delicious Rolls I’ve Ever Met}

Buttery Fluffy Cornmeal Dinner Rolls