PLEASE SEE MY METRIC CHART ABOUT THE FLOUR. I recommend an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is hot enough (For the original overnight method, simply switch to COOL water and let the dough rest overnight on the counter top for 8 to 24 hours). ALWAYS AERATE (not sift) YOUR FLOUR BEFORE MEASURING.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours
Makes: 8 rolls
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups (300-325 g /10 3/4 ounces) bread flour or all-purpose flour (AERATE FLOUR BEFORE MEASURING - See How)
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 g) instant or dry active yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups hot tap water (up to 130° F)
Instructions:
- In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Stir in water. Mixture will be thick and sticky.
- Cover with plastic wrap & let stand on counter top for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours (mixture will be puffy and bubbly on top) place dough on a well-floured surface. Using a scraper fold over about 12 times, adding enough flour so it doesn’t stick (about 2 Tbsp).
- Using a scraper cut dough into 8 pieces. With floured hands, shape each into a ball by folding and tucking, like making a drawstring bag.
- Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet (not wax paper) & cover with a dish towel. Let stand at room temperature for 35 minutes. They will puff up but will not double in size.
- As soon as rolls are covered, start preheating oven to 450° F. Oven must be 450° so use an oven thermometer if possible.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. To re-crisp the next day, preheat the oven to 325° F and place the rolls directly on the oven rack for 10-12 minutes.
METRIC: The standard for weighing flour is 1 cup = 120 grams. But when I weigh one cup I get 125-130 grams. Please decide what works for you.
Want These Rolls Faster? Click here for my NEW 2-Hour Crusty No Knead Rolls.
To Freeze: Once baked & cooled, they freeze beautifully. To re-crisp, place frozen rolls directly on the oven rack in a preheated 325° F oven for 10-12 minutes. They'll be even more crispy than first-baked!
Variation: To make sesame seed rolls, gently brush rolls just before baking with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Made a double batch of these buns today, they are delicious. Than I send a picture to my daughter, send her the recipe and she made some too!
Can I bake them in a non-stick, muffin baking pan?
Hi I was wondering how long I should cook the rolls for if make 4 instead of 8. Im trying to make sandwiches and would need a slightly larger roll. Thanks!
Can I use my kitchen aid to mix the dough?
It’s amazing how fast this mixes up – just a minute or so. I use a silicone spatula and that works great! It might be too sticky for a mixer actually.
I would like to know where you got your board, what type, etc. I’ve used my glass cutting board and I don’t like it. When you flour your board, the flour seems to stay put. I end up using more flour with my board to try to keep the dough from sticking to it. Man, what a mess!!! Please help.
I use a non-slip silicone pastry mat (readily available on amazon) and it works out perfectly! I recently bought it after having the same issues and love it.
These rolls are excellent!!! I made them for this first time today. I couldn’t believe how simple they were to make. I added 1/4 cups of raw sunflower seeds…Yum. I love the simplicity of the recipes I’ve tried so far. Thank You for sharing this recipe with us.
This is a quick and delicious roll recipe ~ make one batch to eat and another to freeze.
We *love* these rolls and make sure to always have some in the freezer. I’ve slightly tweaked the process:
1. Add 1/2 tsp diastatic malt powder
2. Let rise for 1 hr on counter, then overnight in fridge, then 1-2 hours on counter in the morning.
3. Divide into 6 rolls rather than 8
4. Bake on a pre-heated cast iron pizza pan
I find the part of the recipe that refers to shaping the rolls “like a drawstring bag” baffling, and would welcome clarification (from anyone) about how to do this. Thanks in advance!
From the bottom outside edges, use your finger tips to pull the dough up, pinching it together at the top. You are “cloaking” the ball, creating a tight, smooth skin. Because this is a fairly wet dough, it is a sticky process. She shows how to do this in the accompanying YouTube. Hope this helps!
I found the part of the recipe that refers to shaping the rolls “like a drawstring bag” baffling and would eelcomr
These are DELISH! I never knew it could be this easy! I made one batch yesterday with pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and they were so good that I immediately made another batch (doubled the recipe) and let it rise overnight. Made those this morning. Everyone loves them! Thanks Jenny! I will be checking out your other videos and recipes too.
Made my third batch of these. This time I used regular flour, not bread flour, and still used bread machine yeast. They are so delicious with my freezer jam!!!!! I like to split them the next day and put in my regular toaster like an English muffin. These are so easy!!!!
Can I use whole wheat flour and get the same results?
I made these with 1-1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour and 1 cup unbleached all purpose white flour and they were heavenly! I can’t compare them to the original recipe because this is the only way I’ve made them. I find that whole grain flour absorbs more liquid than white flour and suggest that once you’ve gotten all your ingredients into the bowl and start mixing, keep adding water a couple tablespoons at a time until you reach the consistency of the dough in the video. My other suggestion is to watch the video carefully — it’s excellent! Good luck!
I cut into 4 long
rolls and made hoagies for our Philly-cheese steak sandwiches. Delicious! It’s a keeper! TY
Carol,
Did you make them logs or pouches for the steak rolls out of the no knead crusty recipe? How long did you cook them? This sounds like a perfect idea!
In my oven, the bottoms of the rolls burned. I backed up the time to 20 minutes the 3rd time I made them, and that worked beautifully. I do use an oven thermometer, and it was right. The loaf of bread always came out great, and that made me try the rolls.
But now I can’t get yeast, so I made fruit yeast, and then made a starter from that. Now I have to make the dough the night before, but it’s so worth it!
I have gotten into bread baking for the first time since sheltering in place because of the coronavirus. I made these rolls last night and used a couple of them to make my husband breakfast sandwiches this morning. He asked if I would continue to make these after this time passes! (that is great praise from my husband.) I assured him, yes!
I have a smaller than normal oven, motorhome, so can’t fit a dutch oven or extra pans for water in. I tried your crusty rolls, overnight rest, and they came out awesome! A little pale on top but that was because my oven thermometer exploded so I wasn’t too sure of the temp, lol. Love your videos, Thank-you!
I made these rolls for the first time yesterday. They were scrumptious! I called my 85 year old neighbor and had a social distance picnic in my backyard with the warm rolls, butter, cheese, wine and grapes. We had hours of laughing, stories, and fun. Thank you Jenny.
What a wonderful thing to do for your elderly neighbor! ❤️
Sooo good. Have made them twice with no fails!!! Thank you so much.
Can 1-1 gluten free flour be used instead?
I made a batch of those today with gluten free flour. Turned out well, taste is good. My problem was they didn’t brown. Not sure what I did wrong.
OMG ! Thanks so.much for this easy ( not your life time bread recipe) I love it and will give it a try today!
I can’t thank you enough for these no-knead recipes. I will never buy bread again!!
I need to make larger buns so instead of 8 I’ll make 4. Any suggestions for changes in the directions? Thanks again!!
Hi, what if I don’t have yeast, can that be substitute with something else, like baking powder, baking soda?
Please advise. Thanks.
Only yeast will work in this recipe.
Hi Jenny,
I would like to bake the rolls in a toaster oven. Do I still bake it at 450, or should the temperature be lowered?
These are so delicious the day they are made. So crusty and soft inside. Still good the next day but they lose their crustiness. Any tips on how to keep them crusty the day after?
Please see the “How To” section of my blog.
I just made your bread and rolls during our “ at home time.” They are incredible!’ I make the bread at least three times a week! I have been trying to find a simple crusty bread for years and just by chance saw your video!! I love it!! Thank you!!!
Hi jenny, my first time making any bread or rolls, i made your bread recipe 2 weeks ago, and just finished making the rolls, Oustanding!, thanks for the video
Hi Jenny you write 2 1/2 cups flour. And you write that it equals 300grams.
That’s way less than the average measures of 128-136 grams per cup of flour( depending on where you look). Is that accurate? Because even when I make sure to aerate the flour very well I get way more than 300 grams for 2 1/2 cups. Please advise. Thanks
I found this website yesterday and immediately made these rolls. They are so easy, and really delicious! I may try to proof them overnight to see if there is any difference, but not sure I can wait that long!
Hi, I just tried minutes ago and I don’t have a “watery” consistency on my dough as shown on YouTube…I still covered with a saran wrap…
So reread the ingredients and had measured them right..but nonethe less, I did another batch and still didn’t get the dough consistency as shown on ur YouTube, Jenny…these ingredients are correctly written, right?
2 1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c hot water
Thnx, Maria🤔
Yours is mostly correct except for the salt. It’s only 1 teaspoon of salt.
1 tsp of flour, not 2
Ops, i meant 1 tsp of salt, not flour lol, sorry
I meant salt, not flour
Hi,
I have the exact same problem. Could it be that you used measuring cups? I did that and am now wondering if using measuring cups as opposed to the measuring pitcher makes the difference. Will test tonight…
Please look at the FAQs.
I have been making these rolls for two months now and I no longer buy bread! I cannot believe how easy they are to make. I add raisins at times and I cannot imagine myself making any other kind. WHO KNEW I COULD BAKE BREAD!!!
Jenny, You’ve created another new bread-baking fanatic and taste-tester, too (look out Pillsbury Doughboy!) Thank you for your great no-knead bread! My curious mind would like to know why you use 1/2 cup less flour for your rolls than for the large dutch oven loaf? What difference does this make? Thank you.
A thicker dough makes the rolls easier to shape.
Thicker dough DOES make it easier to roll. Thanks for that easy answer! I just read the comments (in Dutch Oven no-knead bread) about ‘grams’ of flour – 360 vs. 390 vs. weight vs. volume. Too much math! But, as you say, Jenny, in your videos, “the dough is forgiving”. You’re right, it is and it forgives if you add a little more or less flour. (I always end up using more… to minimize stickiness).
Thank you, Jenny. I love your site and baking your bread recipes! I’m even starting a new gadget collection!
I made these last year overnight and they were awesome. I tried again this weekend for the 3 hour method and they didn’t rise. I ended up leaving them for 24 hours and they still didn’t change much. I think my VERY hot tap water might’ve killed the yeast…..something to think about….making another batch now.
Try using a glass thermometer, used for candy making, (fine temp incrementsto test the water temp, & make sure it’s between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s a moderately warm temp, but not hot. The thermometer, may cost around $10, but if you’re careful with it, It can last a decade or more.
AnnaJean, my mother was raised during the depression, so she always mixed the yeast with some of the water (1/4 cup works) and watched for some activity before adding it to the dry ingredients. She figured if anything went wrong she wouldn’t waste all the ingredients. I follow her example and it has saved me a couple times!
I made these wonderful and easy roles. Problem, though in trying to get the golden , crusty top in the picture. They still tasted great–but I ‘d love a crusty top and the color of yours. Mine were a pale, creamy color.
for golden brown crust, I use an egg and milk wash ( one beaten egg with 2 tablespoons of milk mixed in), just brush over tops and bake.
Wonder if using the heated pan with water in hot oven steam method would crisp these up like they do the bread?
If the oven temperature is accurate (450) they will be very crispy.
OMG THE EASIEST AND BEST ROLLS EVER, First I heated my cast iron frying pan then lined with parchment paper they came out great. Thank you for sharing .
Lucille
OMG THE EASIEST AND BEST ROLLS EVER. Thank you for sharing .
Lucille
Have you ever made these rolls with gluten free flour?
Made these rolls every day since the quarantine started on March 16. At first, my family would not believe that I made them. Now if I try any other recipes they complain and say “you are straying away from your origins”.
My new routine: prepare the dough (double dose) around noon with regular tap water, let it rest overnight, make rolls (and sometimes other shapes) around noon so they are ready for lunch and dinner. Repeat. Thank you Jenny!
Forgot to say that I weigh my flour and the recipe for me works very well with 320g
Thank you. I have been using 300g AP flour and I cannot get the rolls unsticky enough to shape. My picky daughter loves these, but I find I am adding a ton of flour on shaping to get it so I am not stuck in the dough, literally.
I am not great with metric but I suggest trying 325 g. (see my metric chart)
HI..I use 2 1/2 cups and found the dough to be very crumbly..not soft at all like the video. Should I weigh it?
So have I…bread making is therapy? I make and give it to friends so we don’t turn into Pillsbury Doughboys. Tomorrow is Naan also called flat bread!
Fantastic recipe. So simple. I am a baker and this is one of the easiest recipes I have seen for bread. Thank you so much.
This recipe is FANTASTIC! Made it several times…since January 3019…works every time. I do turn the oven on for about ten minutes, then set the bowl on top of it to let my dough get a little bit of warmth while it rises. (During cold seasons) not IN the oven, just on top. Enough heat radiates up which my dough seems to appreciate.
I have also added minced onion, garlic, rosemary, …at various times. All good! Thanks so much.
Addicting!
Just FYI…. I believe it is all your fault I cannot find any yeast. Your recipes are so delicious and easy….. EVERYONE is making your homemade bread. I live in Richardson, TX, and visited 8 stores in Garland, Sachse, Plano, Dallas and Richardson, and no one had yeast. Check out Amazon…. where for $25 you can buy a 4 oz jar. It is also partly my fault, I shared your recipe with friends and family. Your recipes are soooo good. Just had to let you know.
I’m so sorry. 😉 I will flog myself with a kitchen towel! ❤️😀❤️
can i use salt substitute in the bread recipe? thank you
We cannot find yeast in our area either…I went to King Arthur Flour. Tried to order from them. Check their website…but they say their best selling yeast is SAF Red Instant Yeast. Sold out. But I found several sellers on Ebay. I ordered a 1 lb bag for delivery next week. It was $18.95. Expensive, yes. But a pound? That will make a lot of rolls and breads. All the reviews on KAF were great and it can be frozen for very long storage. Plus I can probably sell it to my neighbors by the baggy:-)
Don’t know why but your rolls look bigger than mine. Any reason? Also I see you use 1/4 tsp yeast – is that enough?
yes 1/4 tsp is enough
Nope, not enough. Ruined a batch.
It’s 1/4 oz, which is the standard size of a yeast pouch, or about 7g.
The recipe is correct, using 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. Please look at the FAQs for a solution to why yours didn’t turn out.
Jenny…I made your 2-Hour Crusty No Kneed Rolls yesterday. They are DELICIOUS, so easy to make and turned out perfect. They go nicely with a cup of soup. Thanks again for a wonderful recipe that is so simple to make and best of all…turns out the way it should. Keep up the good work and I am looking forward to more recipes in the future. Next up…Cinnamon Rolls!
Hello Jenny!
I was able to purchase Rapid Rise Yeast.
Is it possible to use the Rapid Rise for these buns? If so, could you please let me how much.
My family absolutely loves your no knead breads.
Thank you so much for your help.
I did not activate fresh yeast. Just added it in like dry yeast to my dough
Should I activate my yeast first? I usually activate it first in a separate bowl with a bit of sugar and water. Should I do this first, and then toss it in the mixture. I don’t have the instant yeast.
Made these last night. Turned out fine. I could only find fresh yeast from a bakery as dry yeast could not be found in any grocery stores (this pandemic is turning everyone into Martha Stewart these days). Did some research on conversion…1/4 tsp dry yeast equals 1/2 tsp fresh yeast. I did a HEAPING 1/2 tsp fresh as it’s crumbly and not as compact as dry. Was concerned about the dough not rising enough but they puffed up nicely while baking.
I did the same thing and it worked perfectly. I just made more a few minutes ago. I did activate my fresh yeast and mixed a little with the water before mixing it in the flour. Then added the rest of the water. I also added some sun dried tomato seasoning to one and crushed fresh rosemary to another batch. I plan to freeze them and use as needed. Happy baking everyone.
Can this dough be frozen after proofing the 3 hours and forming the individual rolls? Maybe then thaw and let proof again before baking? Or should I bake them off and then freeze? Thank you in advance.
I’ve watched all your videos and love all your recipes. I’ve never been disappointed.
Please see the recipe for a note on freezing.
Oh duh. :/ I just read your entire recipe above and saw your notes at the bottom. I usually just cook from your videos. So sorry.
I tried to follow the recipe. Tested the water and it was 127. Yeast was rapid, had not been opened and was supposed to be good til Dec. 2021. My results were horrible. Heavy lumps of floury don’t know what. It seemed to me the mixture was too thick for the yeast to really do its thing. It was not bubbly after 3 hours. This was my first try at making bread without a machine (no longer have it) and it was disaster. I aerated my flour and carefully measured 2 and a half cups with 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp yeast and 1 1/4 cup hot tap water. If anyone can tell me what i did wrong i woukd appreciate it.
You may find a solution in the FAQs.
I also made this recipe today and its 10 min till my 3 hours is up – no bubbles, no doubling…. The video looked way more watery/jiggly than mine but I followed the recipe. Are we sure the recipe is correct?
I’m super sad!
Even if it doesn’t look right keep going – they may still turn out. Meantime, check the FAQs.
I agree with Jenny! I’ve made this four times in the last two weeks, once with cold water approach and three with warm water. Three of the times I thought, “Oh, oh, this is not working,” but I was wrong…. I continued making the rolls as directed, and they were perfect every time! When the dough was too sticky, I made sure my hands were well floured, but didn’t put much on the counter. I think this is a very forgiving receipe, and the rolls really are yummy.
I had the same reaction. I was sure this was gonna be a flop; however I let it rest for 5 hrs, and it did rise eventually, in the end the results were better than I initially assumed.
Thank you so much😊👍🌈
Correction on the time baked.
It should be 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
NOT 30-35. That’s for her bread.
Thank you Jenny!
First time I made them exactly as your video and they came out good. I did put a pan of hot water on the lower baking rack for moisture.
Second time I made them, I let them rise 4 hrs and they were softer.
They were flatter too so I might’ve used a little less flour.
Again I baked using a pan of water. This came out incredible.
The bread was chewy and crusty on the top. Just wonderful.
Easy recipe-Thank you!
Would it be ok if i left the raw dough balls overnight if I used hot tap water ?
I had never made bread or rolls before, but made these last week and they came out crusty and golden brown and yummy. Thanks!
I’ve always been intimidated by yeasted bread baking but now I’m going to do a lot more experimenting. I got a sourdough starter from a friend, so I think I might try sourdough rolls next.
Hi- made the crusty rolls and they were delicious.
My question is- it states 1/4 tsp of yeast-I used the whole packet but that is 21/2 tsps- which is correct.?
Thanks- look forward to trying additional breads- that is if I can find flour!
The recipe is correct – 1/4 teaspoon of yeast.
Thanks are trying it now- the rolls were great!
Hey Jenny, I’ve tired this recipe now 3xs in two days! Two times I did whole wheat flour with very hot water and let it sit 4 hrs! The buns were not big in 8 pieces and 450 burned them at 25 mins and second times 15 mins. At 15 mins, it wasn’t at burnt but I assumed it would be way softer! Now I’m letting it sit overnight in cold water! I’m so determined to make this work with whole wheat flour! Can you advise me if I need to make some kind of baking adjustments? Thank you!
If the water is too hot, it’ll kill the yeast.
You shd be able to put your finger in the water comfortably if that helps.
Try putting a pan of hot water on the bottom baking rack. That’ll make your bread softer but still give a nice crusty top. Good luck.
Mine didn’t come out perfect :(. they were smaller than yours and a little overcooked it think. the bottom was a little dark. they were still ok a little hard not as soft as i would have liked. thank you. I will try again soon and make a couple of adjustments. Thanks again,
All my best to ya,
Natasha
Tried your no-knead buns today and they turned out tasting delicious but the crust was a bit too crusty (hard). I think I may have cooked them too long in our gas oven because I was trying to brown them like your no knead crusty bread (which was the best I ever made). Love your recipes, your videos and your wonderful personality. Thank you from Niagara on the lake, ON.
Hey,
Today was my first time making these rolls and I was so so excited bcz they just seemed so easy! I make Moroccan bread daily and so many diff kinds of bread but this one came out really bad. I did whole wheat flour and I left it 4 hrs bcz I ran to do an errand then I did egg white on it and sesame seeds and they came out burnt on the bottom and too hard! I was going for crispy but not this way lol I really really love ur videos! I didn’t want to use white flour, so what do u think went wrong? Thanks 🙂
These came out great! So easy.
The only thing- the rolls didn’t want to come off the parchment paper so easy. Had to scrape some paper off the bottoms. The rest was great texture and taste great.
Is it the length of time in the oven?
Thanks
It’s likely from using inferior parchment paper. Use Reynolds if possible – it never sticks. It could also be that your oven was not preheated long enough.