These Soft Brioche Dinner Rolls are the perfect complement to any meal. Buttery and golden brown, they have a rich flavor and delicate texture that is super addictive.
If you love brioche, then you should try our brioche bread loaf and brioche hamburger buns.
Soft brioche dinner rolls
I love brioche bread. It’s incredibly soft and has so much rich buttery flavor. It’s also versatile and can be used for lots of different applications. These soft brioche dinner rolls are a great way to enjoy the flavor and texture of this amazing bread. They go really well with different proteins and sides, so you can be sure they’ll be a welcome addition to any dinner table. You can also tweak brioche to be used for different meals, like breakfast or a coffee break, with these recipes for brioche hot cross buns, brioche donuts, braided Nutella brioche, and brioche french toast. And your dinner rolls can be used in mini-sandwiches for lunch! With a few ingredient and some patience, you can have homemade brioche all day long.
What makes these buttery dinner rolls so soft?
Making these soft brioche dinner rolls buttery and delicious requires a few important ingredients. With the help of all-purpose flour, active dry yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, and unsalted butter, you can put together a pan of delicious dinner rolls that are rich in flavor and texture.
How to make the BEST brioche dinner rolls
- Make the yeast mixture. Add the warm milk, yeast, and 1 Tbsp. of sugar to a large measuring cup. Whisk vigorously and then let it sit for about 10 minutes, until frothy.
- Mix the dough. Using a stand mixer (i love using this bosch mixer) with a hook attachment, add the flour, eggs, salt, and yeast mixture to the bowl. Start mixing at low speed, then as it incorporates, turn it up to high. Mix for about 4-5 minutes, until the dough begins to take shape.
- Add the butter. Cut up the butter into chunks and add them to the dough. Continue mixing on high for 5-10 more minutes until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. It should be smooth and elastic by the time you’re done mixing.
- Let the dough rise. Take the formed dough and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave it for an hour, until it rises to about double in size. (You can also do this in the oven on the “proof” setting to speed things up.)
- Divide the dough. Punch the brioche dough down and divide it into 12 equal parts. Shape them into round balls.
- Proof the dough balls. Place the dough balls in a deep 9×13 baking dish and cover. Let them proof for another hour (they don’t need to double in size this time).
- Make the egg wash. Mix 1 egg with 1 tsp. of water and brush it over each dinner roll using a pastry brush.
- Bake. Bake the brioche dinner rolls for 25 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pull apart and serve.
Why does brioche dough take so long to mix?
Making brioche dinner rolls requires a bit of patience. To get that perfect, buttery roll that is super soft, you need to slowly incorporate the butter into the dough. The longer you mix it, the better it is. Using a stand mixer is really helpful here because you are able to let the machine to the hard work.
What is the best way to eat brioche?
With more butter, of course! These brioche rolls taste wonderful when spread with jam or Nutella like my brioche donuts as well. You can also use them as the bun in a small sandwich, like barbecue pulled pork or chicken.
Should brioche be served warm?
Brioche can be served warm or cool, it’s up to you. If you are serving it with butter, slightly warmed is nice for easy spreading. But if you’ve allowed them to cool before serving, they are still delicious.
Can I make them in advance?
Yes! Once the rolls are formed, cover and refrigerate them for as many hours as you need, or overnight. They will rise overnight and will be ready to bake in the morning. Make sure to let them sit out for 20 minutes to come to room temperature before baking.
Storage and shelf life
These soft brioche dinner rolls can be stored at room temperature in a ziplock bag or airtight container. They will last for 1-2 days. If you want to keep them fresh longer, you can also place them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Brioche Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tbsp
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs + 1 extra for egg wash
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
Instructions
Make the yeast mixture
- Start off by making the yeast mixture. You’ll want to add 3/4 cup of warm milk (about 105 degrees Fahrenheit) to a large measuring cup along with 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.
- Give it a quick whisk and let it sit for about 10 minutes or until it becomes frothy.
Add everything but the butter to the mixer
- Now place the hook attachment onto a stand mixer and add 4 cups of all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled off with a knife), 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 large eggs, and the frothy yeast mixture. 
- Start off by mixing on low speed. Once the flour begins to incorporate into the dough, pick up the speed to high. You will want to continue mixing the dough on high speed until it begins to take shape. So about 4-5 minutes.
Add softened butter
- Now cut up 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter into chunks and add them to the dough.
- Continue mixing the dough on high speed for 5-10 more minutes or until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the mixer bowl. It should have a smooth elastic texture by this point. Have patience with the dough, this step can take a while.
Place the dough into a greased bowl to proof
- Now place the formed dough into a lightly greased bowl (I use olive oil). Cover the dough with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for about 1 hour or until it doubles in size. To speed this up, place in the oven on the “proof” setting.
Shape into 12 rolls and proof again
- Now punch down the dough and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into round balls. 
- Place the brioche dough balls into a 9x13 inch deep baking dish and let them proof covered for another hour. They don’t necessarily need to double in size in this step.
Brush with egg wash and bake
- Now make the egg wash by combining 1 egg with a teaspoon of water and brushing it over each dinner roll using a pastry brush.
- Bake the brioche dinner rolls in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Frances says
Can this recipe be used in a bread machine to make bread instead of rolls?
Dina says
Hi Frances, yes you can make this in a bread machine 🙂
Laurie Millman says
Amazing recipe….My husband loves them even more than his moms! Haha! Yes be very patient with the dough and make sure it is not sticking to the sides for the final step after you add the butter. Sometimes I beat it for 15 minutes. Thank you so much for your recipe. All of my family and friends are hooked on my rolls. Such a great compliment!
Now I just need a good pizza dough recipe. Lots of attempts but haven’t found one yet! Happy 2023 everyone and lets all try to be kind to one another.
Dina says
That’s incredible Laurie! Your kind words totally made my day! 🙂
Foodie Gal says
These were simple and quick to make & oh so good! I made a double batch, sprinkled pumpkin seeds on some and sunflower seeds on others after the egg wash. My guests raved about how good these buns were.
Dina says
Wow that’s amazing! Thank you so much for taking the time to write your kind feedback 🙂
Alfa Alamia says
Made these last nite and they were so good and soft.They rose very well. Will make again and again.Thank you so much for recipe.
Dina says
You are very welcome! Very happy to hear you loved these dinner rolls! Glad that this recipe will be on repeat in your home! Thank you for your feedback and support! 🙂
Morgan says
Do the butter cubes need to be softened or cold?
Dina says
Hi Morgan, the butter needs to be softened.
Jena says
I love this recipe, but I want to make deliveries to multiple family members on different days. How long can these sit in the fridge? Is it possible to freeze instead at this stage or will that kill the yeast?
Dina says
Hi Jena, That is so sweet of you! I would recommend making them up until the shaped rolls, then freezing them. Once you’re ready to bake, just thaw and proof in the same baking dish you plan to bake them in. Just make sure they are covered well in the freezer to keep them as fresh tasting as possible.
Susan says
I’d like to make these ahead of time for Christmas. Would I be able to freeze the rolls after the first rise and forming them into the roll? Could I thaw them out Christmas morning and let them rise before baking? It would sure save time!
Dina says
Hi Susan, yes that would work perfectly! Just make sure to give them plenty of time to thaw and rise the second time. Enjoy!
Laura says
Can I use a food processor instead of a mixer?
Dina says
Hi Laura, I am not too sure if a food processor will be the best replacement for a mixer. The dough hook is very different than the blades in a food processor. I would recommend kneading the dough by hand instead. I hope that helps.
Pam M says
Mine came out very dry with very little flavor, I don’t know what I did wrong. When I opened them up to add butter they were so crumbly. They did rise very nice and looked so pretty when cooked. I’m new to making bread but I have made french bread that was good. I want to try again but I wish I knew what I did wrong.
Dina says
Hi Pam, I think the issue may have been the amount of flour. How did you measure your flour? Did you spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife or did you scoop it straight into the measuring cup? Often times the way you measure your flour can alter the amounts. It sounds like you had too much flour, resulting in a dryer bread roll. I hope that made sense.
Wendy says
Owners of KitchenAid mixers beware! I followed these instructions and ruined my machine… They are not designed to knead at high speeds… although it may not happen to you yet, It happened to me yesterday (on a new Artisan purchased in October). I called KitchenAid this morning and they referred me to the owners manual where it states that you cannot knead above speed two without the “potential harm to the machine”. This replaced the model that I had for almost 25 years (and lower wattage) and never had an issue…..The author of this recipe uses an entirely different mixer so please consider that when making this recipe.
Dina says
Hi Wendy 🙂 Thank you for that information. I use a Bosch Universal Plus mixer. I have never heard of a KitchenAid mixer getting ruined like that. Sorry to hear that. Thank you again for taking the time to leave your feedback! 🙂
Susie says
With this added information about a Kitchenaid mixer (which many bakers/cooks own) it would be helpful for you to make a note in your recipe for users so they don’t make the same mistake. I questioned it when I saw that it said “high” and decided not to. After reading the reviews, I am glad I didn’t use the high setting. That would have been a costly mistake.
Thanks
Dina says
Thank you for the helpful information Susie. I think it depends on the type of kitchen aid mixer you own. Some of them are stronger than others.
Lorien says
I made these for Thanksgiving and everyone loved them! They’re super soft and not hard to make. This one’s a keeper.
Dina says
I am so happy to hear that Lorien! Thank you for taking the time to write your kind feedback!
Simone says
Can I use this recipe to make hot dog buns?
Dina says
Hi Simone, yes you can 🙂
Sophie Paetz says
Can you make this bread in a bread machine? Also does it have to be a purpose flour or can you use bread flour?
Dina says
Hi Sophie, yes you can make this in a bread machine. And yes, you can sue bread flour. Enjoy!