Dinner roll dough calculator
Soft milk-and-butter rolls, baked in one pan and pulled apart at the table.
Total hydration counts the water inside the eggs, milk and butter.
Soft white dinner rolls on milk and butter, the pull-apart pan classic in its most popular home form, per Sally’s Baking Addiction: an easy enriched dough, packed close and baked until golden, brushed with butter on the way out.
How it works
The formula
Milk at 62% of flour is the only liquid, with 14% butter, 6.5% sugar, 13% egg, 1.5% salt and 1.8% instant yeast. It mixes into a soft, supple dough that a beginner can knead by hand; this is the recipe home bakers learn enriched dough on.
Sally’s batch in grams
390 g of flour, 240 ml of milk, 56 g of butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar (about 25 g), one egg, a teaspoon of salt and 2¼ teaspoons of instant yeast, 7 g; 14–16 rolls. The default 15 × 52 g is that batch: 392 g of flour, 243 g of milk, 55 g of butter, 26 g of sugar, 51 g of egg, 6 g of salt and 7 g of yeast.
Schedule
Bulk one to two hours until doubled, divide at ~52 g, shape tight little rounds and pack them in a buttered pan with just a finger of space. They meet as they proof for about an hour, which is what makes the soft, tear-apart sides.
Baking
About 175 °C until the tops are golden and the centers read done. Brush with melted butter immediately; it soaks the thin crust and keeps it tender. They are best warm, within hours of baking.
Sources & methodology
Every percentage in this calculator traces to the published sources below — nothing is invented. Where respected sources disagree, the default sits inside the documented range.
- Sally’s Baking Addiction — Soft Dinner Rolls — The chosen fresh-milk home style: 62% milk, 14% butter, one egg, 15 rolls.
- King Arthur — Soft Dinner Rolls — The other school: potato flour instead of extra milk, 12% butter, 11% sugar — softer and sweeter than the chosen formula.
FAQ
How does King Arthur’s version differ?
KA’s Soft Dinner Rolls take the bakery route: 170 g of milk plus 71 g of water, 46 g of potato flour for moisture, no egg, 12% butter and a sweeter 11% sugar. Longer keeping; this milk-and-egg version is the fresher-tasting home style.
Can I prep them the night before?
Sally’s rhythm is same-day: 1–2 hours of bulk and about an hour of proof. If you want the shaped rolls to wait overnight in the fridge, lower the yeast; 1.8% is a same-day dose.
Can I use water instead of milk?
King Arthur’s version does, partly: 170 g of milk and 71 g of water, with potato flour to hold moisture. All-water is outside both recipes.
Why are my rolls dense?
Usually cool milk shocking the yeast or an impatient proof. Use lukewarm milk, and wait for genuinely puffy rolls before baking; enriched dough always takes longer than you expect.
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