Mamaw’s Rolls – Dinner Roll Recipe
Mamaw’s Rolls are a classic yeast dinner roll recipe just like my great-grandma used to make. They’re so easy to make and you can even be made ahead of time and frozen for later.
I’ve talked before about my great grandmother’s big breakfasts. They were big in every way possible – just like Mamaw’s Cinnamon Rolls. She’d feed huge crowds of family and extended family. There would be a lot of food and her rolls could almost be categorized as loaves! I’ve never seen a dinner roll that big since. Mamaw’s Rolls were yeast rolls and we’d pile them high with a fried egg, bacon or sausage and kibbe Naya. Mamaw (my great grandmother) passed away about 20 years ago and we talk about this dinner roll recipe every time we reminisce about our favorite Mamaw memories over breakfast or dinner.
MAMAW’S ROLLS
Like this recipe? Pin it to your SIDE DISH pin board!
Follow Real Housemoms on Pinterest
My cousin recently came to visit and we spent about 2 days working on this recipe. Mamaw was her grandmother and her dad was taught the recipe at some point. I had asked her for the recipe awhile back but it’s one of those awesome family recipes that has a palm full of this and a little bigger palm full of that so having her here to help me learn how to make dinner rolls was amazing! I think we’ve got this figured out for you. I gave my 8-year-old a roll yesterday after they came out of the oven and he loved them so much he kept going on and on but my favorite quote of his was “they’re beyond amazing!” He may have earned an extra dessert for that 😉 I loved sharing that with him though because he never met Mamaw, so it was a way to connect him in a real and tangible way to our family history. THAT is so important to me and what I will be so thankful for this Thanksgiving, as I make all our traditional family dishes, like these homemade dinner rolls and Syrian Rice.
You could make these yeast dinner rolls the traditional size or Mamaw’s size. A Mamaw size roll is about double the size of a regular roll. So a pound of flour will get ya 16 rolls. I made a 2-pound batch because you can make them ahead of time and partially bake them, freeze them, then pull them out to finish anytime I want. That makes them perfect for Thanksgiving. There is nothing like a fresh baked roll to go with your Thanksgiving dinner and making them ahead makes it possible without all the fuss.
How to form Mamaw’s Rolls:
- Form a circle with your fingers
- Push the dough from underneath through the circle you formed with your fingers.
- Pinch the bottom edges together on the bottom of the ball and place, pinch side down, on the greased baking tin.
I hope that helps and that you try my Mamaw’s rolls this year. Enjoy your time with your family and all the delicious food. What are you thankful for this year?
Want more Thanksgiving dinner recipes?
- Holiday Sangria
- Onion, Cranberry & Pecan Cheese Ball
- Baked Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Apple & Cranberry Cornbread Dressing
- Super Juicy Brined Roast Turkey
- Cranberry Fluff
- More side dish recipes…
Tools used to make this Mamaw’s Rolls recipe
Glass Measuring Cup: I have a set of these measuring cups as long as I can remember. They come in 3 different sizes for all your cooking needs!
Mixing Bowl: These mixing bowls get used just about every day at my house. The grip handle makes them easy to hold and the pour spout makes them perfect for batters!
Large Bowl: This mixing bowl is perfect for mixing and serving. I love how big it is! I can use it for anything and everything.
Disposable Pie Plates: These pie plates are so multi-functional! They’re great for pies (of course), but I also use them to freeze rolls, send home dinner guests with leftovers, and craft projects with my boys!
Baking Dish: This baking dish is a must-have for any home cook. I actually have 3 of them in my cupboard, and each dish comes with a lid for storing leftovers or taking your dishes on the go.
Gallon Zip-Top Bag: My kitchen drawer is always stocked with zipper top plastic bags. They’re great for storage, but I find myself using them for everything from deviled eggs to frosting too!
Mamaw's Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 c warm water
- 2 pkg. Fleischmann's very active dry yeast
- 2 ½ t granulated sugar
- 6 c. bread flour 2 pounds
- 1 T of salt
- ⅔ c vegetable oil
- 6 T butter melted
Instructions
- mix the water, sugar, and yeast together in a small bowl or measuring glass
- in a large bowl mix together flour and salt
- add in vegetable oil and start to mix
- pour in dissolved yeast mixture and stir with your hands (They're gonna get messy)
- once it forms a ball dump onto a floured counter and knead
- knead dough until it becomes smooth
- you may need to add a tablespoon or two more of water if the dough is too dry
- once well-combined place dough in a large oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth
- place in a warm area of the house to rise for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size (I use my laundry room with the dryer running)
- once doubled if you poke it with your finger it shouldn't push back out
- punch down dough
- to form even balls for your rolls split the dough in half then half each of those in half and so on and so on until you have 32 balls*
- form rolls and place in a grease circular pie plate 7 around and one in a center. (I use disposable pan so I can freeze a lot)
- Place covered in a warm place and allow to rise again for about an hour
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- brush melted butter on the tops of the risen rolls
Eating right away
- place in the oven and bake for 20 min or until golden brown
Freeze directions
- only bake for 10 to 15 minutes until set but not golden brown yet.
- allow to cool completely
- cover with foil and place into a gallon sized freezer bag
- to bake later allow to defrost completely
- preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- place in the oven and bake for 10-20 minutes until golden brown
Do use allpupose flour or self rising? I see no baking powder,but I know yeast rises?
It calls for bread flour.
I never heard of rolls with no eggs
These are considered yeast rolls, so no eggs necessary. I hope you try the recipe and fall in love with them they way I did.
Hello,
I’m going to try these out for Easter since my fiance’s grandmother was “mamaw” Looking at the ingredients, you use 2 tablespoons of salt? I just want to make sure the T=tablespoons. I don’t want my bread to be so salty no one eats them.
Correction: 1 tablespoon of salt.
Thanks!!
Since this recipe makes 32+ rolls it will not be too salty. Just follow the ingredients and instructions and I promise they will be a hit!
How close together do you place them? – I would really like to bake in a cross shape for Easter – my grand babies love bread?
You will want to stack them right up against each other, it’s best not to leave room between them.
Oh, you shouldn’t leave room in between them? When I made them, I left room in between the rows because I didn’t have any round pans. When they came out, they were really dense. They were good, just dense and not light and airy like I was expecting. Is the space I left in between the reason why they were dense?
You do not want room between them. They should be touching in whichever pan you choose to use.
Hey…I made your Mamaw”s rolls tonight for Sunday lunch…Amazing and very easy. Thank you for sharing?
I’m so glad to hear that! Here’s to hoping they become a tradition for you like they are for me!
I’m always confused on when to freeze the tools – before or after the second rise? I’d like to make them the night before and then bake them in the morning for my husbands lunch party. Thanks!
Please refer the section that refers to freezing in the instructions list.
Thank you for this and all the recipes on your site! My question regarding these rolls is: how long time you need to knead the dough on the counter before resting? I never know when I should stop.
After all the ingredients are mixed and the dough is ready to knead you will start out with something that is a bit crumbly and sticky, you will want to knead until dough becomes smooth. That can vary as sometimes you may need to add a bit of water, you’ll know when it’s ready as the dough will be easily formed and still has a bit of bounce.
What is “very” active dry yeast?
Active dry yeast and instant (or rapid-rise) yeast are the two most common yeasts available to us as home bakers. The two yeasts can be used interchangeably in recipes, but active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water before using while instant yeast can be mixed right into the dough.
Good but kind of disappointed they deflated a bit when brushing the butter on. I’ll drizzle it next time.
Yes a gentle touch is good when placing the butter on top.
I use British measures and so i am confused
Hi Mama G. You’ll want to use a conversion tool like this one if you’re measuring this recipe in metric.
I am the same. C I guess is cups
T not sure tablespoons?
A pack of dried yeast in England is normally 7grams
Hi Lorranie. C = cups T = tablespoons and t = teaspoons. Sorry for any confusion!
Hello good day, thanks for the clarification for the TS ? measurements.
Thanks for clarifying that!!! I had to ask a million people and got split answers!!!☺️
Will these still work if I use gluten free floud instead of bread flour?
How many gram is it in one package of the dry yeast? I can’t find the brand in my country. Thanks
I don’t know if you are still waiting on a reply for this question, but I am in America and Fleischmann’s yeast is sold here. I may or may not use this brand, but I think no
matter what brand you use the measurement for this recipe is 4 1/2 teaspoons of active yeast. I hope this helps. I love this recipe and have used it several times. Happy baking.
Hi Aubrey,
I’d like to ask how many oz in one package of the dry yeast? Because we have different brand in our country. Thanks.
I’m making rolls for my friendsgiving this year, and I want to make them tonight so I can pop them in the oven tomorrow morning. Can I do all the steps up to #13 and then place them in the fridge until the morning?
thanks!
Back when your Mamaw made these there would not have been any thing like vegie oil so would she have used beef fat or similar ??
No, she used vegetable oil. She didn’t pass away until the mid 90’s. She made them for me in the 80’s and 90’s. 🙂
Vegetable oil has been around since the early 1900’s but became popular in the 50’s. Though Crisco shortening was used in baking more often. As was (of course) lard, margarine, and butter. I’m pretty sure margarine tasted more like shortening than butter in the early years.
My Grandma was “mamaw” too! How would you convert this recipe for high altitude? I’m in Denver…would love to try these rolls! Thanks
These are simply wonderful! What a great memory!
Thanks Dorothy! It’s one of my favorites. 🙂