Name: Brioche Dinner Rolls (Soft, Buttery, Make-Ahead)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 1 package yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons); ¼ cup sugar (divided); ¼ cup warm water; ½ cup milk; ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted); 1 tablespoon salt; 2 eggs; 2 ½-3 cups bread flour; 1 tablespoon Melted salted butter for topping

This brioche dinner rolls recipe uses bread flour for extra chew and a muffin tin to shape them into soft, pull-apart cloverleaf rolls. Made with whole milk, eggs, and butter, the dough turns out rich and pillowy with a golden, buttery top. You can shape and refrigerate the rolls the night before, then bake them fresh the next day. Active prep is about 20 minutes, plus rise time.

A wicker basket lined with a gray cloth holds several freshly baked cloverleaf rolls. The rolls are golden brown and fluffy. In the background, there is a small black bowl containing creamy butter and a knife resting on a dark plate. — *These get a brush of melted butter the moment they come out of the oven, while the tops are still hot enough to soak it right in.*

A Muffin Tin Is the Trick to Easy Cloverleaf Rolls

Most dinner roll recipes call for a baking sheet or a baking dish, and shaping cloverleaf rolls by hand can feel fussy enough that people skip it. This recipe uses a standard 12-cup muffin tin instead, so each roll holds its shape as it rises and bakes without any extra shaping work beyond rolling small balls of dough.

If you’ve had dinner rolls turn out dense or heavy before, the two rises here are what keep that from happening, as long as the dough doubles fully both times. It’s the recipe I turn to anytime a holiday dinner or Sunday roast needs something to soak up the gravy.

You can also shape the rolls the night before and let them do their second rise in the fridge, so they’re ready to bake fresh the next day. It’s the recipe I turn to anytime a holiday dinner or Sunday roast needs something to soak up the gravy.

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Eggs Are What Made Me Notice These Rolls

I first had a roll like this when a neighbor brought some over to my mom, and I still remember how different they were from any dinner roll I’d had before. It was the eggs that got me. They give the dough this rich, almost velvety texture that regular dinner rolls just don’t have. That extra richness from the eggs is the whole reason this recipe is worth the little bit of extra effort, and it’s still what makes me reach for this one over a plain yeast roll.

Bread Flour Is What Gets These Sturdy, Not Heavy

I serve some kind of yeast roll at just about every nice dinner or holiday meal, so I’ve made more batches of dinner rolls over the years than I can count. This is the one I reach for when I want something a little sturdier than a basic white roll, but still soft and light enough to pull apart easily. Bread flour is what gets me there. It has more protein than all-purpose, which builds a little more structure into the dough without making the rolls heavy. Between the bread flour and the eggs and whole milk in the dough, these hold up well next to a roast or a bowl of soup without losing that pillowy bite.

A split dinner roll with butter on a round plate next to a butter knife. A bowl of butter and a basket of dinner rolls covered with a gray cloth are in the background. The setting is on a blue, textured surface.

Before You Start This Brioche Dough

Spray the muffin tin cups well before adding the dough. This egg-rich dough is stickier than a basic dinner roll dough.
Warm the milk mixture until it’s just warm to the touch, not hot. Milk that’s too hot will kill the yeast. If you’re short on time, cool it in the fridge for a few minutes instead of waiting on the counter.
Brush the baked rolls with salted butter. If you only have unsalted on hand, add a light sprinkle of flaky salt after brushing.
Don’t want the cloverleaf look? Skip dividing the dough into thirds and just drop one larger ball of dough into each muffin cup instead. Want a totally different roll instead? My fluffy dinner rolls made with a quick flour paste and shaped into spirals are a good one to try.
To make these ahead, shape the dough into the muffin tin, cover, and refrigerate overnight for the second rise. Let the pan sit out at room temperature while your oven preheats the next day, then bake as directed.
No bread flour on hand? All-purpose works fine here too. You’ll just get a slightly softer, less chewy roll.
These are great alongside zesty chicken soup with coriander or slow cooker pot roast with carrots and potatoes to soak up the extra flavor. They’re just as good with peach vanilla jam made without pectin or a drizzle of honey.

Featured reader review

“Made these to serve along with a prime rib roast yesterday. Followed the recipe exactly and they were quite good. I will definitely make them again. Now off to make your zesty chicken soup to serve with the leftover rolls!”
Debbie

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Everything That Goes Into This Brioche Dough

The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

A selection of baking ingredients is arranged on a blue surface, perfect for making brioche rolls: a bag of organic bread flour, a bag of granulated sugar, a bottle of whole milk, a jar of active dry yeast, two eggs, and a stick of unsalted butter.

Let’s Make Brioche Dinner Rolls

Step One: Prepare the Yeast

Clear glass mixing bowl with light brown yeast and water mixture at the bottom, set on a gray countertop. The yeast mixture appears foamy, indicating that it is active and ready for use in baking. A clear plastic spatula rests on the side of the bowl. — Add yeast, sugar, and water to a bowl.

A clear glass mixing bowl on a gray countertop, containing a small amount of foamy, beige yeast mixture at the bottom. — Let it rest for 5 minutes. It should be foamy, if not, start again.

Step Two: Heat the Milk Mixture

A glass mixing bowl containing a light yellow liquid is placed on a grey surface. A metal whisk is partially submerged in the liquid, indicating that mixing is in progress. The scene suggests preparation of a recipe, likely involving liquid ingredients. — Warm milk, sugar, salt, and melted butter.

A glass mixing bowl sits on a gray countertop, containing a mixture of two cracked eggs with their yolks intact, partially blended into a light yellow liquid. — Add yeast and egg yolks.

Step Three: Make the Dough

A clear glass bowl sits on a blue, textured surface, containing a ball of dough. The dough appears smooth and slightly moist, suggesting it has been kneaded and is ready for further preparation or rising. The background has a worn, rustic look. — Knead in a stand mixer until the dough becomes smooth.

Step Four: Let It Rise

A ball of yeast dough rests in a clear glass bowl on a blue textured surface. The dough has a smooth surface with a small hole in the center, indicating it has been left to rise. Plastic wrap is partially visible at the top of the image. — Cover it, and let it rise in a warm spot until it doubles in size. You can press your finger into the dough and the hole should stay intact.

Step Five: Shape and Bake

Divide the dough into four portions with a bench scraper and then form the dough into equal pieces that you’ll roll into balls. Place three balls into each muffin tin for a second rise. They should fill out the muffin tin. Bake until golden brown, then brush with melted butter.

Several pieces of raw dough on a dark surface, with some formed into balls of varying sizes. The dough appears soft and slightly sticky, set against a blue background. — Shape dough.

A muffin tin with twelve slots is filled with clusters of small dough balls, ready for baking. The tin shows signs of wear, and the background is a blue-gray surface. — Place dough in a muffin tin.

A dark metal muffin tray with twelve compartments is filled with pre-baked cloverleaf dinner roll dough divided into three segments per compartment. The tray rests on a light blue textured surface, ready to be baked. — Let dough rise.

Freshly baked golden-brown cloverleaf dinner rolls are nestled in a muffin tin. One roll is slightly elevated, creating a whimsical, uneven appearance among the otherwise uniform set of rolls. The rolls are glossy and golden, indicating they have been brushed with butter.

These brioche dinner rolls take a little patience for the rises, but what comes out of the oven is a basket of soft, buttery rolls that taste like they came from a bakery, made completely from scratch in your own kitchen.

If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.

A basket filled with freshly baked golden brown rolls, lined with a light gray cloth. In the background, there is a small dish of butter with a knife on a dark plate. The setting is on a textured blue surface.

Brioche Dinner Rolls (Soft, Buttery, Make-Ahead)

Author: Barbara Curry

5 from 3 votes

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PREP: 20

COOK: 10

Rise Time: 2

TOTAL: 2 30

Servings: rolls

Equipment

Muffin Pan

Ingredients

Instructions

Add the yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar, and warm water to the bowl of an electric mixer and let rest for 5 minutes to dissolve.
In a large measuring cup or bowl, heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute until bubbly and hot. Add the rest of the sugar, salt and melted butter and whisk until it has dissolved. Let the milk mixture cool so that it is just warm to the touch. (you can place it in the refrigerator if you are in a hurry)
Add the milk mixture to the yeast mixture and whisk in the eggs. Stir in 2 ½ cups of flour and knead for 4 minutes until it is smooth and pulls away from the bowl. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour until it can be easily handled.
Place the dough in a large buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled. When you poke your finger in the center, the hole should stay in place if it is ready.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 4 sections. Form each section into 9, one inch balls. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray and place 3 balls in each muffin cup. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until they have doubled and fill out the muffin cup, 30 minutes to an hour.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400º for 10 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter.

Barbara’s Tips + Notes

The dough is ready to shape when it’s doubled and a finger poked into the center leaves a hole that doesn’t spring back.
Bake until the tops are deep golden brown, not just pale gold. That extra color is what tells you the inside is fully cooked through.
No muffin tin on hand? Shape into rolls on a rimmed baking sheet instead, spaced so they touch slightly as they rise.
Store at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze baked and cooled rolls in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

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