Homemade Garlic Bread Rolls

These light and fluffy garlic infused dinner rolls are a homemade yeast raised bread that are perfect for holidays, parties, or just to enjoy at home. Enjoy a light garlic flavor in every bite of these soft garlic bread rolls and you’ll be sold on homemade dinner rolls forever!

The smell of warm, fresh yeast bread rising and baking in my oven is incomparable. Add a little garlic and the smell is that much better. These garlic bread rolls are easy enough to make that when I’m craving that soft, fluffy texture of fresh bread and want that delicious smell infused in my house, I can make these and know they’re going to be fantastic.

They’re delicious with roasted garlic compound butter, hot honey, or served with tomato carrot soup, giant cheese stuffed shells, zucchini noodle lasagna, pork tenderloin in mushrooms sauce….and pretty much anything else you can imagine.

Recipe Highlights

• Garlic in every bite – The technique I share to make these ensures that every bite has the perfect balance of garlic. No large cloves to make your kids grimace, just lovely garlic infused into it!
• Double or triple it – I often whip these up for holidays, so I can confidently say you can make a triple batch and it works great.
• Freezer friendly – Make a huge batch and then let them cool and freeze extras, then you’ll have amazing homemade bread at hand for months!
• Holiday PERFECTION – These have been requested at every Thanksgiving and Christmas meal since I developed the recipe. Yes, they are that good.

Ingredients & Subsitutions

One of the best things about making bread is the ingredient list. With pantry basics you can whip up a so many different varieties of bread. The difference lies in the ratios of ingredients, how they’re combined, and your baking methods.

• Bread Flour – This high protein flour creates a chewier exterior and fluffy rise when kneaded well during the dough stage. All purpose works as well, but you may need a little extra.
• Yeast – Either active dry or instant yeast will both work.
• Water – Warm water helps activate the yeast. Keep it at 105°F or below to prevent overheating the yeast and killing it.
• Butter – Fat is essential for softness in bread. I go for unsalted butter, but you can also use bacon fat like I do in my hamburger buns and hot dog bun recipe.
• Eggs – One for the dough, one for the beautiful brown glazed finish.
• Salt – Do not skip it. Without salt, your bread will not taste good.
• Sugar – Just enough to feed the yeast and flavor the bread. Honey can be used instead.
• Garlic – Don’t be shy! You want 2 full tablespoons of garlic once prepped, which is about 12-15 whole cloves, depending on the size.

Step by Step Instructions

The process is really simple. I think bread gets a bad reputation of being too complex, so we let the stores charge us ridiculous amounts for what could cost pennies. It’s not complex, I promise, just a bit of a waiting game.

While it takes some time to wait for the rise, it’s free time. You don’t have to do that much! Just mix, wait, form, wait, and bake. That’s it. Probably 20 minutes of actually doing anything. Simple, right?

Step 1 – Prep yeast and garlic

It is NOT necessary to proof, bloom, or start your yeast, whatever you like to call it. As long as you’re sure your yeast is alive and healthy, you can add it straight to the flour in the next steps. However, it does speed up the rise time.

Mix your yeast, and sugar into the warm water and let it sit while you get your garlic prepped. It’ll get foamy and bubbly, which is a sign the yeast is awake and ready to work.

Meanwhile, chop your garlic. Give it a rough chop, then sprinkle over the salt and continue to chop it. Every few moments, scrape it back into a pile and use the edge of your knife to really smash it. Then chop, pile, smash, repeat. This will create a garlic salt paste that is KEY to the flavor in these garlic dinner rolls.

Step 2 – Make the dough

Combine the proofed yeast and water mixture and one egg in a large bowl, or in a stand mixer. Add in one third of the flour and begin to mix. Repeat with another third once the flour is wet, and then again until all the flour is mixed in.

Add in the softened butter and garlic paste and continue to knead until a soft, elastic dough is formed. If it’s VERY sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Often, I just coat my hands with residue from the butter paper and keep kneading.

Hand kneading takes about 10 minutes. Feel free to do this on a clean countertop once the dough is somewhat together. In a stand mixer, use the dough hook and knead for 5 minutes on medium speed. Once done, form into a ball, lightly grease with oil or that handy butter paper, and cover the bowl to let it rise.

Then, form the dough into a ball and place in a well oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Step 3 – Punch down and shape the rolls

Get a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Punch the dough down to knock out the air and turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface.

Divide the dough into 15 pieces. I use a kitchen scale for this, and measure each at 1.8 to 1.9 ounces, but you can certainly freehand.

Begin to shape the dough by forming a little purse. Pull the dough down from the top of each ball and gather it at the bottom. Pinch it there then place the pinched side down on the flat surface and roll your hand over it in a circle to form a tight ball. My hamburger bun recipe has a great video if you’re struggling to shape them. Arrange them on a baking sheet with 1 inch between them.

Step 4 – Rise, Glaze, and Bake

Once all your rolls are formed, cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and allow to rise until again doubled in size, about 1 hour. Check to see if they’re ready by gently touching them. If the indent from your finger (be gentle) slowly fills in, they’re done.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your egg wash glaze. Mix 2 teaspoons of water with the remaining egg and beat it together until you have a smooth, loose yellow liquid.

When your oven is ready, gently brush the tops of each roll with the egg wash. DO NOT PRESS DOWN. Too much pressure will cause the rolls to deflate, so go slow, and be gentle.

Place in oven and bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. Be careful not to burn your fingers! Remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack to cool.

FAQs

That’s it! Over the years I’ve made these for potlucks, BBQs, holiday dinners, and just the weekend when my husbands wants them. They’re delicious on their own, but nothing beats them warm with a nice pat of salted butter.

I really hope you enjoy both making and eating these garlic bread rolls. It’s a relaxing process, and the smell…oh the smell of warm yeasty bread and toasty garlic, I think I’m going to go bake a batch right now!

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