Make an incredible buttery yeast roll recipe as an amazing side dish for the holidays or any special dinner. Friends and family will be pleased to bite into a light and and fluffy dinner roll flavored with dill and gruyere.
With the holidays approaching, you won’t want to forget everyone’s favorite side, yeast rolls. A yeast roll recipe with dill and gruyere is a great choice if you want something a little different from a traditional roll. The subtle flavor from herbs and cheese are the perfect compliment to whatever you may be cooking.
None of the flavors are overwhelming but combined, you have melt-in-your-mouth yeast rolls that are simple to make.
Why you’ll love a yeast roll recipe as a side
- These are the best melt-in-your-mouth rolls that go with everything!
- Dill & gruyere change up the usual flavor of yeast rolls.
- You don’t have to be scared to make yeast rolls – easy instructions and tips below to ensure success!
- You can make these the day before and refrigerate the dough overnight.
What I love about yeast rolls is that as long as you don’t kill the yeast, the dough is very forgiving. You can let it rise too long, or not add enough flour and they’ll still turn out wonderful. Don’t have time to make them the day you want to serve them? Just refrigerate after they’ve been formed into rolls and let them do the final rise while the oven is warming up the next day.
If you’re in a hurry and still want that dinner roll taste, you can make angel biscuits with yeast that only have to rise for an hour, or you could go with buttermilk biscuits that don’t require any rise time, just prep and bake.
I think most people are worried that they’ll kill the yeast and the rolls won’t rise so they shy away from making them for a special meal. There are a couple of things you can do to make sure this doesn’t happen.
How do you make sure your yeast rolls will rise
- Add lukewarm milk to the yeast. My mom always said to let it be the temperature of a baby bottle or you can measure with a thermometer, you want it to be around 100º.
- When the yeast has dissolved in the milk it should be foamy and bubbly, if you’re not sure, add a pinch of sugar to the mixture, if it’s alive, it will get foamy. If it’s not foamy, throw it out and start again.
What you’ll need
- Milk – whole milk will give them a richer taste
- Yeast – Active or instant, instant will speed up the rise time but some say active provides more depth of flavor.
- Butter – part is melted into the dough and small cubes are put inside the roll itself before the second rise.
- Fresh Dill – if you can’t find fresh dill, just leave it out for delicious gruyere rolls.
- Gruyere cheese – it won’t overpower the rolls.
- Sugar, Flour, eggs, flaky sea salt and extra butter to brush on the rolls.
How to make a homemade yeast roll recipe
Step 1
Warm the milk and add part of it to the yeast to let it dissolve. Then add a little flour to this mixture.
Step 2
Add eggs, melted butter, the rest of the warmed milk, the yeast mixture, cheese and dill. Add the rest of the flour and beat in a mixer with a dough hook.
Step 3
Let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ hours.
Step 4
Divide the dough into 25 pieces. Cut 4 tablespoons of butter into 25 little cubes and form a ball of dough around each cube. ( You can cover and refrigerate at this point if needed) Place the rolls right next to each other on a rimmed baking sheet, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.
Step 5
Brush with a little butter and bake for about 30 minutes.
Pro tip: The secret to these buttery yeast rolls is to add a small cube of butter to the center of each roll before baking.
Remove from oven and brush with a bit more butter and sprinkle with salt.
Be prepared for soft, fluffy and delightful homemade yeast rolls.
A little background about dill
- Dill comes from the celery family
- It’s aromatic with light, feathery green leaves
- Dill has culinary and medicinal benefits
- This herb is used to flavor soups, salads, sauces, fish and is best known for its use in flavoring pickles.
- Any extra dill can be spritzed with water, wrapped in a large paper towel and then placed in a ziploc bag. It should be stored in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator for up to a week.
Helpful equipment
- A mixer with a dough hook is helpful for any type of yeast dough. I’ve had my KitchenAid for over 25 years and it still works perfectly. If you don’t have one, you can knead this by hand, it will just take a little elbow grease which can be relaxing.
- A rimmed baking sheet. If you don’t have a baking sheet with rimmed sides, you can use a 9 x 13 inch pan, all 25 rolls won’t fit so you’ll need a smaller pan also.
FAQ’s and tips
The water should be around 100º, warm but not hot.
The yeast should be foamy and bubbly, if you’re not sure add a pinch of sugar to the mixture if nothing happens, it’s dead.
You want a warm and humid place for the dough to rise. You can turn on the oven to 200º and then turn it off and let it rise in the oven or my favorite way is to heat water in the microwave and then add the dough to a warm and moist microwave shutting the door to keep it warm.
Active yeast needs to be dissolved in warm liquid while instant can be added right to the dry ingredients.
Yes, you can make these the day before. Form into rolls and then cover and refrigerate. Let them warm up to room temperature while the oven preheats before baking.
Yeast rolls are almost as good frozen as fresh out of the oven. Let them cool to room temperature then store in a freezer bag. When ready to eat, let them come to room temperature, wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 350º for about 10 minutes.
To avoid cold rolls, try placing them warm in a slow cooker on warm. This also works if you are re-heating rolls.
More bread recipes you’ll love
Recipes to pair my yeast roll recipe with
Adapted from The Bread Collection
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Yeast Roll Recipe with Dill
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole milk warm divided
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 ½ cups flour divided
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 eggs
- 6 ounces gruyere cheese finely grated
- ½ cup fresh dill
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons butter slightly softened
- flaky salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add ½ cup warm milk, sugar and yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add ½ cup flour to the yeast mixture.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with a a dough hook, beat 6 tablespoons of melted butter, eggs and 1 cup of warm milk until combined. Add yeast mixture and mix. Add 1 cup flour, cheese, dill and salt. Beat until combined then add remaining flour beating until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 3 minutes. The dough should be sticky, if too sticky, then add a bit more flour.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place dough in bowl, turning to get cooking spray on the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- Turn out dough on to a lightly floured surface and divide in half and shape into two balls. Let them sit covered for 10 minutes.
- Place parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Divide dough into 25 pieces. Cut butter into 25 cubes. Place a cube of butter into the center of each piece of dough and form into a ball. Place them right next to each other on the prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375º. Brush rolls with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and bake for 20-35 minutes until golden brown. Remove and brush with more butter and sprinkle with flaky salt.
Video
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- Warm the milk in the microwave for about 20 seconds. If if gets too hot, let it cool down before using.
- To make sure that your yeast is alive, add a pinch of sugar to the milk and yeast mixture. It should get foamy, if not throw it out and start again.
- You can make these ahead, cover and refrigerate after you have formed into rolls. Let come to room temperature before baking.
- To make the yeast rolls in advance: form into rolls and then cover and refrigerate. Let them warm up to room temperature while the oven preheats before baking.
- Dill can be finely chopped with a chef’s knife. Extra dill weed can be wrapped in a large paper towel, dampened and stored in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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Scrumptious and addictive rolls!!!! Hide a few so they are not all gone when you go back to have a 2nd!
Or you could make a double batch!