My family loves my homemade soft, fluffy dinner rolls. I always make them for holiday meals. Recently I've been eliminating the last-minute stress of same-day mixing, kneading, forming, rising, and baking rolls by making them a week or two ahead and freezing them. Oh, what a relief it is to simply remove the desired number of dough balls from the freezer, let them rise, and bake them a few hours later. No sweat! This is such a convenience and frees me up to focus on preparing the rest of meal.

SECRET INGREDIENTS. As in my original roll recipe, I have added two ingredients to the dough to create a rich flavor and tender texture. I learned from King Arthur Baking Company to add these unexpected ingredients to the dough:

• instant potato flakes
• powdered nonfat milk

FREEZER FRIENDLY. In order to make my roll recipe freezer-friendly, I made a few modifications.

• Increased the amount of yeast, because the freezer can slowly kill yeast.
• Use cool water when making the dough, rather than lukewarm water. This is to prevent the dough from rising before it is frozen.
• Eliminate the 2nd rise. That's right, that dough is formed into balls and frozen immediately after it is made. The dough balls rise once when they are thawed and are ready to bake.

Step-by-step photos for making
Soft White Dinner Rolls

Step 1. Assemble the ingredients:

• unbleached, all-purpose flour -- If you have a kitchen scale, weighing the flour is the easiest and most accurate measurement method.
• dry active or instant yeast. TIP: check the expiration date on your yeast to make sure it is still active. Better yet, test a small sample of yeast in advance.
• sugar
• salt
• unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• powdered nonfat milk--look for it in the baking section of your grocery store
• instant potato flakes (unseasoned)--widely available in grocery stores

view on Amazon:  dry yeast,  powdered milk,  instant potato flakes

Step 2: Pour cool water in bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle on the yeast, and add all of the remaining ingredients. 

view on Amazon:  KitchenAid stand mixer

Step 3. Use the dough hook and #2 mixer speed to mix until ingredients are uniformly combined and there are no visible dry bits in the bowl. This will take about 1 minute; the dry ingredients on the edges will gradually mix in--this is so easy!

Step 4. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue mixing/kneading on #4 speed for 5-6 additional minutes. When the dough is ready, it should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl but sticking to the bottom of the bowl. If your dough looks too thin, add flour a tablespoon at a time; if it looks too dry, add water a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved. (In dry fall/winter weather, I usually need 2 tablespoons of extra water.) The dough should be fairly smooth, although it will have some visible flecks of potato flakes that will soften and cook in when the rolls bake. It should spring back some if you poke it with your finger.

• Don't have a stand mixer? No problem. You can mix the ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon until evenly combined. Then transfer mixture to a floured surface and knead by hand for 7-10 minutes.

Step 5. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface (I use a flour shaker), form into a ball and cut ball into quarters using a large knife or scraper/chopper tool. Roll each quarter into a log and cut into 6 equal sections. (You can weigh each piece if you want them to be perfectly uniform. I don't normally bother with that and just eyeball it. Close is good enough for me.)  Continue rolling and cutting remaining quarters until you have 24 pieces.

view on Amazon:  scraper/chopper tool, flour shaker, kitchen scale (for weighing dough pieces, if desired)

Step 6. To form the dough balls, first pull the sides around and pinch them together. Then roll the dough in your hands to form a round shape. 

Step 7. As soon as the dough balls are formed place them on a baking sheet so they aren't touching. Cover and freeze for 4 hours until firm.  (After dough rolls are formed don't give them time to start rising! You don't want the yeast to activate before they are frozen.) Then transfer the frozen balls to a labeled freezer bag; press out as much air as possible and return to the freezer.

Frozen dough balls may be frozen 2-4 weeks in advance. The longer they are frozen, the more they are at risk of the yeast "dying". It happens gradually, so dough that is frozen for more than 2 weeks may gradually yield rolls with less rise.

Step 8. Time to bake! For a full batch of 24 rolls, spray/grease one 9x13 pan or two 8x8 pans. Arrange dough balls in even rows. You can bake all, half, or any amount of rolls you like--as long as you have a baking dish that will accommodate the quantity. For the best results, choose a pan with just enough room between the rolls so they rise into eachother and form "pull-apart" rolls; they have a softer interior this way.

view on Amazon: white porcelain 9x13 dish (looks lovely on the table; fits in many toaster ovens), Pyrex 9x13 dish with lid, Pyrex 8x8 dish with lid

The image below shows half a batch (12 rolls) placed in a 9.4 x 7" pan, This pan comes with a plastic lid. I spray it, arrange the 12 frozen dough balls in 4 rows of 3, put the cover on, and let it rise for 5-6 hours at room temperature. (My kitchen is usually 70 degrees F; rise time may vary in rooms that are different temperatures.) The thawed dough balls will look puffy when they are ready to bake.

view on Amazon:  two 9x4" x 7" baking pans with lids; use both for baking a full batch of rolls.

If you're baking in a 9x13 baking dish (below) that doesn't have a lid, simply cover it with sprayed plastic wrap while the rolls rise for 5-6 hours. 

Step 9. Bake for approx. 25 minutes until browned and center rolls are cooked through. If your rolls begin to brown too quickly, you can set a loose piece of foil over the top so they can continue cooking without getting too brown on top. If you're unsure if the center rolls are done, you can check their internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer--they should be 190 to 200° in the center. 

view instant-read thermometers on ThermoWorks: 

• my Thermapen Mk4  (pictured below--it's the best!)
• economical ThermoPOP 

Step 11. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small bowl in the microwave and gently brush it over the tops of the hot rolls.

view on Amazon:  silicone basting brush

PAN ALTERNATIVES -- Below are examples of how to arrange rolls in 3 different pans.

• 9" round pans hold 12 rolls. They are a nice shape for serving on a round dinner plate or platter.
• Muffin tins are an option when you want to bake fewer rolls; however, the rolls cook faster and brown more on the sides and bottom. So, keep an eye on them so they don't overcook. Muffin rolls won't be quite as soft as the ones cooked together to form "pull-apart" rolls.

view on Amazon: Pyrex 8x8 dish with lid,  9" round pan, 6 muffin tin

The best part is eating these soft, buttery rolls! This freezer version is every bit as good as the original recipe for rolls made entirely on the same day. I'm all for the convenience of this stress-free method.

Make it a Yummy day!

Monica

Here are my additional make-ahead holiday recipes:

• How to Make Ahead and Reheat Turkey
• Quick & Easy Turkey Neck & Giblet Broth
• Cornbread Stuffing in a Bundt Pan
• Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy
• Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
• Green Bean Casserole with Bacon and Gruyere
• Make-Ahead Cornbread Stuffing
• Cranberry Ginger Pear Relish
• Easy 10-Minute Cranberry Sauce

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Soft White Dinner Rolls | Freeze Ahead

By Monica              Servings: 24 rolls

Ingredients

• 1-1\4 cups cool water (plus 2 tablespoons in dry fall/winter weather)
• 1 tablespoon dry active or instant yeast
• 3-1/2 cups (15 oz) unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (plus 1-2 tablespoons to melt and brush on top of finished rolls)
• 1/3 cup powdered nonfat milk
• 1/2 cup unseasoned instant mashed potato flakes (or 1/4 cup potato flour, or 1/3 cup cooked and mashed potato)

Directions

Directions are for using a stand mixer with the dough hook for every step. Dough may also be mixed in a bowl with a wooden spoon and kneaded by hand.

MIX and KNEAD DOUGH:
To bowl of stand mixer, add water, sprinkle on yeast, add all remaining ingredients in order given. On speed 2, mix until evenly combined with no remaining dry bits (approx. 1 min.). Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl, then continue to mix/knead on speed 4 for 5-6 minutes.

When dough is ready, it should begin separating from the sides of the bowl, while sticking to the bottom of the bowl. If dough looks too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time; if it looks too dry, add water a tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency. Dough may be slightly sticky, but should be springy if you poke it with your finger.

FORM DOUGH BALLS and FREEZE:
Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface, knead a few times to form into smooth ball. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Form each into a ball. Place on baking sheet and freeze for 3-4 hours. Transfer frozen dough balls to freezer bag, press out as much air as possible before sealing bag. Place in freezer for up to 2 weeks.

THAW and RISE:
Spray one 9x13 baking dish or two 8x8 or two 9" round baking pans/dishes. Place frozen dough balls, evenly spaced, inside baking dish. Cover with greased/sprayed plastic wrap and let rise 5-6 hours until puffy (rolls will expand/rise more while baking).

BAKE:
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 20-25 minutes (internal temperature of middle rolls should be 190°) and golden brown on top. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Allow rolls to rest for 5 minutes before gently removing--their soft texture makes them delicate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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