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Light and Fluffy Buns Recipe

A standard buns recipe or rolls recipe for air light and fluffy white bread roll. This is a step by step roll recipe and tutorial for making fresh rolls for the new baker.  At the same time I don’t want to put anyone off from trying to make them.  Baking your own fresh dinner rolls is not time consuming, actual hands on time is about an hour.  But, allowing the yeast dough to rise, takes some time  so you need to bake your rolls on a day your going to be home.

Difference between Rolls and Buns

Rolls and buns are pretty much synonymous, both are made from a yeast bread dough, the difference is in the shape. In the USA, they call them rolls, in Canada (like Britian) we call them buns because they are round.. A roll refers to a minature loaf of bread, thats often oval (think hoagie, hero, poorboy).

On a personal note, I made a double batch of bread and buns every week for about 20 years.  This is my buns recipe I used for many years. It was the best food budget stretcher I know of.  I know these days people often avoid carbs, but that isn’t true for teenage boys, or athletes.  Buns are a loved treat that cost pennies to make and dollars to purchase.  If you haven’t made a buns recipe before I hope you give it a try.  My hope is that this buns recipe becomes a love addition to your recipe box, as it has been in mine.

Homemade Buns Recipe Ingredients

Instruction for Beautiful Buns or Rolls

The first step is to clean off a counter really well.  Your going to be working your bun dough does directly on the counter, so you want to make sure the surface is very clean.

Softening the Yeast

Make sure your bowl is warm. If it isn’t warm swirl it with hot water. Add 1/2 cup lukewarm water, mix in tsp sugar.  Sprinkle with the yeast.  Let soak for 10 minutes until the yeast is soft and foamy.

Mixing the Yeast Dough

In a large warm bowl, add lukewarm water,  lard, sugar and the salt. Stir together until the lard melts.

Add to the softened yeast, then add the vinegar. Stir.

Add the flour two cups at a time, stirring after each addition.  Make sure your flour measurement is accurate, I smooth off the top of my measuring cup with a knife.

Once you have added 8 cups of flour, add one more cup of flour to the dough. By now your dough is getting pretty thick.  Its likely too heavy to continue with a spoon.  Its time to start working it with your hands.

Wash your hands, sprinkle the flour on top of the dough, put your clean hand under the dough and fold it over into the middle.  Turn your bowl 1/4 turn, and fold the dough over again.

Repeat the process until most of the flour has worked its way into the dough.

Kneading the Bun Dough

Once the flour is incorporated, place 1/2 cup of flour onto a clean counter. Keep another half cup of flour nearby for dusting the dough, or adding to the counter if the counter gets sticky. Place your dough onto the flour, and begin kneading the dough.Pull your dough over from the underside. (my pics have one hand as the other one had the camera but the process is the same)

Then push the dough over on itself. Once its folded over, push down and forwards with the palm of your hands.

Turning the dough 1/4 turn, repeat this process for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Occasionally take some of the set aside flour, sprinkle it on top of the bun dough.  Pick up your dough in one hand and re-spread the flour on the counter before continuing.

Signs to Look for When Kneading Yeast Doughs

Its kind of hard to explain but the dough will tell you when its been kneaded enough.   I am certain the pictures will illustrate, but here are some old lady tips. As you knead your dough, it will become less sticky. The gluten will develop making your dough less like a heavy lump and more smooth and elastic. Most of the flour will incorporate itself into your dough from the counter.

Eventually when you fold the dough over, it will no longer stick to the ball of dough. This is when I quit kneading.    Most the flour on the counter will be incorporated into the dough and the dough with  smooth.

Rising the Bun Dough

Clean the large dough bowl and your dough covered hands.  Grease the inside of the bowl with butter. Place the dough in the bowl with the smooth surface at the top. Don’t have a break for coffee or anything, but your dough will wait nicely while you wash your bowl with hot water, dry it and grease it very well with butter.

Once your bowl is prepared.  Place your mixed dough smooth top down into the bowl.  Then flip it over to slightly grease the top.  Check out the picture Figure 4. Notice how much smoother the dough is now then when I first began to knead it?

Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place free from draft.  You want your room to be warm.  When my home is chilly I turn on the fireplace and put my bun dough on a chair a couple of feet in front of it.

Let it rise for 2 hours.   It will look really light and airy, I test mine with by poking it softly to see if the top comes back. If it doesn’t its time to punch the dough.

Then punch it in the middle.  Fold the sides up and over like when you were kneading it.  If you notice the dough is even smoother and larger.   Isn’t yeast wonderful?

Form it into a ball like before, flip it smooth size up.

Cover with a towel and let rise for about one hour until it doubles in size.

How to Pan Dinner Rolls

Once you dough has risen the second time, its time to form and pan the rolls.  There are all sorts of ways to form bun dough, but I will talk about the two most basic methods.   Crusty rolls are when you form the buns, and place them onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, a couple of inches apart so they won’t touch when they rise and are baked.  That is how I baked ours.

To make old fashioned dinner rolls, you will need two 9″ by 13″ pans, or 3 cake pans greased well.  This time instead of placing your buns a couple of inches apart, place them only 1 inch apart in the pan.  That way when they rise the sides touch and you get the soft sides.

Both buns are formed the same way, so lets carry on.

My family wants their buns big.  These ones end up about 3 to four inches across.  If you want you buns smaller, just squeeze them off in bits about the size of an large egg.

Again making sure to wash your hands. Scoop out a small bit of dough making sure the smooth side is on the top.

Then pinch it with your hand as you see in the picture.  Tuck the pinched off dough inside the bun and place on the pan.

Once you buns are shaped and laid out on the pan, let them rise for two hours, or until double in bulk.

Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes.  They will be golden brown.

If you want the tops to be soft, as soon as they come out of the own brush them with melted butter.  If you like a crusty roll, skip the butter.

Other Yeast Roll Recipes You May Enjoy

Overnight Butterhorn Rolls

Butterhorn rolls are a special treat for mornings, and unbelievably good warm right out of the oven. I created a butterhorn rolls recipe you can make the night before and then finish and serve in the morning. This is a special recipe and very much appreciated everytime I make them.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

My hot cross buns recipe is classic with a twist. My family doesn’t like peel so this hot cross bun recipe does not include any. Instead it uses dried fruits and orange.

Classic Rolls Recipe with Yeast

Fresh homemade dinner rolls (buns) that are golden out the outside with a light and airy inside.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:1 hr

Cook Time:15 mins

2 hrs 10 mins

Total Time:3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 pkg yeast
• ½ cup lukewarm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ cup lard soft at room temperature
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 ½ cups lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 9-10 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

• Make sure you bowl is warm.  If it isn’t warm swirl it with hot water. 
• Add 1/2 cup lukewarm water, mix in tsp sugar.  Sprinkle with the yeast.  Let soak for 10 minutes until the yeast is soft and foamy.
  
• In a large warm bowl, add lukewarm water,  lard, sugar and the salt. Stir together until the lard melts.
• Add the softened year to the lard mixture, then add the vinegar.
• Add the flour two cups at a time, stirring after each addition. 
  
• When you get to 8 cups, add one more cup of flour to the dough, but by now your dough is getting thick. Wash your hands, sprinkle the flour on top of the dough, put your clean hand under the dough and fold it over into the middle. 
• Continue folding the dough over around the outside of the bowl.  
  
• Once all the flour is incorporated, place the last cup of flour onto a clean counter.  Place your dough onto the flour, and knead the dough, kneading and spinning the dough around.  As you knead your dough, it will become less sticky.  Eventually when you fold the dough over it will no longer stick to the dough.  This is when I quit kneading.  Your dough should be a nice round ball.
  
• Clean the large dough bowl and your dough covered hands.  Grease the inside of the bowl with butter. Place the dough in the bowl with the smooth surface at the top.  Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place.
• Let rise until double in size about 2 hours.
  
• Punch the bread down and let rise again until double in size about an hour.
  
• Grease and pan the rolls.
  
• Bake at 400F 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Canadian

Keyword: Buns, Rolls

Homemade Butterhorns

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