These butterflake rolls are the lightest, flakiest and fluffiest rolls you’ll ever eat! These easy dinner rolls have become a family tradition, they’re on our holiday table every year.
You’d think the star of Thanksgiving dinner would always be the turkey – not in my house, it’s all about these amazing butterflake rolls! My family looks forward to these rolls every year, and there are never any leftovers.
Every year for Thanksgiving I make these butterflake rolls. I always have to make multiple batches because my brother will eat a half dozen rolls by himself – I’m not even exaggerating! They really are the very best rolls – not only are they beautiful but they taste delicious, in fact, you definitely don’t need to wait for a holiday occasion to whip up a batch.
How to make butterflake rolls
The dough starts off like any other dough with flour, yeast salt and milk. The magic is all in the folding process. The dough gets rolled out, covered in butter, folded, then the process is repeated twice more to get this pretty design and all of those flaky layers of delectable bread. It’s really not difficult to do, I promise. Baking is an exact science in so many ways – when it comes to this recipe, you definitely want to measure all the ingredients and make the dough as instructed, but for the rolling and folding process, you don’t have to be quite as precise. If your dough isn’t exactly the right sized rectangle it’s no big deal, they’ll still look beautiful and taste delicious.
You can certainly serve these butterflake rolls plain, or dress them up a bit with some butter and jam. Either way they’re the ultimate dinner roll for your holiday celebration. I always make these butterflake rolls early in the day, and instead of doing the final rise at room temperature I let them sit in the fridge. An hour before dinner I take them out of the fridge to let them finish rising and then pop them in the oven right before we’re ready to eat.
My four year old calls these “bread cupcakes” and that’s really actually a great name for them! It would not be Thanksgiving at my house without these rolls and I hope you’ll give them a try this year too.
More Thanksgiving recipes
- Green Bean Bundles
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
- Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots
- Pecan Pie Bars
Ingredients1x2x3x
- ▢ 3 tablespoons sugar
- ▢ 1 packet of active dry yeast equivalent to 2 and 1/4 teaspoons
- ▢ 1 cup warm milk should be no warmer than 110 degrees
- ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour + additional for dusting work surface
- ▢ 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- ▢ 4 tablespoons butter softened
- ▢ Cooking spray
- ▢ butter and jam for serving
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl; let stand 3 minutes.
- Lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cups and add the flour and salt to the bowl. Stir until a dough forms.
- You can use a stand mixture fitted with a dough hook or your hands to knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 11 x 9 inch rectangle. Gently spread butter over dough. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 11 x 3-inch rectangle. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat and cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for 10 minutes.
- Remove dough from freezer and uncover.
- Roll dough, still on baking sheet (sprinkle on a little more flour, if needed), into a 11 x 9 inch rectangle. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 11 x 3-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove dough from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Roll dough, still on baking sheet, into a 11 x 8-inch rectangle.
- Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style; pinch bottom seam to seal. Cut roll into 12 equal slices. Place slices, cut sides up, in muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat tops of dough with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size. Alternatively at this stage, you can put the dough in the fridge for up to 4 hours. Take the dough out of the fridge to rise on the counter at least one hour before you plan to bake it - after the dough has doubled in size proceed to baking directions.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Bake dough at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan, and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve rolls warm with butter and jam if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on November 8, 2015 and was updated on November 13, 2017 with new photos.
Butterflake Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 packet of active dry yeast equivalent to 2 and 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 cup warm milk should be no warmer than 110 degrees
- 3 cups all-purpose flour + additional for dusting work surface
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- Cooking spray
- butter and jam for serving
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl; let stand 3 minutes.
- Lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cups and add the flour and salt to the bowl. Stir until a dough forms.
- You can use a stand mixture fitted with a dough hook or your hands to knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 11 x 9 inch rectangle. Gently spread butter over dough. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 11 x 3-inch rectangle. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat and cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for 10 minutes.
- Remove dough from freezer and uncover.
- Roll dough, still on baking sheet (sprinkle on a little more flour, if needed), into a 11 x 9 inch rectangle. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 11 x 3-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove dough from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Roll dough, still on baking sheet, into a 11 x 8-inch rectangle.
- Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style; pinch bottom seam to seal. Cut roll into 12 equal slices. Place slices, cut sides up, in muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat tops of dough with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size. Alternatively at this stage, you can put the dough in the fridge for up to 4 hours. Take the dough out of the fridge to rise on the counter at least one hour before you plan to bake it - after the dough has doubled in size proceed to baking directions.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Bake dough at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan, and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve rolls warm with butter and jam if desired.
