Despite of its somewhat intimidate name, these soft sweetened condensed milk dinner rolls are super easy to make. With just 7 ingredients, this homemade rolls recipe is a treasure to keep.
Paper thin crust, semi-sweet buttery flavor, and impossibly fluffy are all these condensed milk dinner rolls are about.
If you're mad about dinner rolls, why not check out other amazing homemade recipe? Like this viral fluffy condensed milk bread (it got shared over 10 thousand times on Pinterest).
Original honey dinner rolls or buttery parker house rolls are hit recipes that you can't miss too.
Left over dinner rolls of any kind can be easily made in to bread pudding.
Still not enough? These 12 creative homemade dinner rolls variations surely can keep your creativity to the fullest.
Baking schedule
- 9 am - gathering all ingredients
- 9:15 am - start mixing process
- 9:25 am - start kneading by hand
- 9:30 am - first proof (1.5 to 2 hours)
- 11:30 am - start shaping process
- 11:45 am - second proof (1 to 1.5 hours)
- 1:15 pm - brush with egg wash
- 1:20 pm - baking
- 1:50 pm - cooling and brush with milk glaze
- 2:00 pm - ready to serve
Essential ingredients
As mentioned above, you only need 7 ingredients for this rolls recipe. Chances are you already have these ingredients in your pantry, so why wait?
- Unbleached flour: this has more protein than regular all-purpose flour does so it provides more structures for these sweetened condensed milk dinner rolls.
- Instant yeast: I use SAF Gold Instant yeast. Choosing and storing yeast are very critical. So make sure you do it the right way.
- Salt: Kosher salt is what I'm always using.
- Unsalted butter: unless otherwise stated, I always use unsalted butter in baking recipes.
- Sweetened condensed milk: you use this in the main recipe and in the glaze which helps to make these sweet rolls more shiny.
- Eggs and whole milk: use in main recipe and to make egg wash.
Essential equipment
You can actually make these easy dinner rolls with just your bare hands. But if you want bakery-quality rolls, I recommend you should invest in these equipment:
- Stand mixer: make your job way much easier especially with this rich dough.
- Pastry cutter: to cut your dough into small pieces easier and faster.
- Baking pan: an 8x8 inches baking pan is used in this recipe.
- Mixing bowl: for your convenience, go for large stainless steel mixing bowl.
- Silicone spatula.
- Pastry brush: I prefer regular pastry brush over silicone brush for baking.
Steps-by-steps instruction
Time needed: 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Here are all the steps to make such perfect, fluffy and soft sweetened condensed milk dinner rolls at home
- Combine ingredients
Combine all dry ingredients in a stand mixer’s mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl whisk milk and egg together until the egg is well beaten.
- Incorporate wet ingredients and butter to the dough.
Using a dough hook, on low speed, add wet ingredients to dry mixture. Mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute.
Use rubber spatula to scrape down sides of the bowl if necessary.
Increase speed to medium-low, add soften butter, one piece at a time. Make sure each piece is fully incorporated before adding the next. - Continue to mix
Then continue to mix the dough until it is smooth, elastic and pulls completely from the sides of the bowl. Approximately 5 to 8 minutes.
- Dough is ready to knead by hands
Do not add more flour to the dough because it is intentionally for the dough to be lightly wet.
- Knead dough in mixing bowl
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured or coated with oil large mixing bowl. It is best to use mixing bowl to knead instead of using counter top/surface due to the wetness of this enriched dough.
- Turn the bowl while kneading
Knead by hand to form smooth, round ball by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward the middle. Then turn the bowl 90 degree and fold again. Repeat turning bowl and folding dough process until 2 full circles are completed.
- Rest the dough
Place condensed milk dinner rolls dough seam side down.
- First proof
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it is double in size, approximately 1.5 to 2 hours (first proof). Do not rush this proofing process for this milk buns recipe or you’ll end up with heavy, not fluffy rolls.
- Deflate dough
When the dough is ready, press down to deflate it. Then carefully transfer it to a lightly-floured counter.
- Grease pan
Grease your baking pan with softened butter.
- Shaping dough
Stretch the dough into an even log. then divide it into 9 equals pieces (about 2.6 to 3 oz for each piece). Work with 1 piece of dough at a time. Cover the rest with plastic wrap to prevent the from drying out (if you need more time to work on each piece).
Stretch the dough around your fingers and pinch the edges together at the bottom of the dough to make the top become smooth. - Roll dough into round pieces
Place the ball seam side down on a clean counter (ideally no flour on the surface to create more friction). Use your hand to drag the dough in small circles until it is completely round and smooth.
- Arrange dough in baking pan
Arrange round doughs, seams side down, into 3 rows of 3 in baking pan.
- Second proof
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled in size about 1 to 1.5 hours (second proof).
- Baking
Gently brush easy homemade dinner rolls with egg wash mixture.
- Baking & glazing
Bake until the rolls are golden brown, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Remember to rotate the baking pan halfway through the process.
These soft and fluffy condensed milk dinner rolls should have a deep or bright golden-brown crust, depends on your references.
When the fluffy milk dinner rolls are done baking, let them cool down for 5 minutes at room temperature.
Then brush with condensed milk glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips for making the most fluffy & soft dinner rolls
- Use butter at room temperature - leave the butter out for 30 to 45 minutes before mixing time. Soften butter is easier to mix and faster to incorporate into the dough.
- Eggs and milk also at room temperature - having them at room temperature help to speed up not only the mixing process but also the proofing process.
- Sift your flour - you should always sift your flour. Sifted flour is lighter and easier to mix to batter or dough.
- Make sure to level your cups of flour - this is very important in order to achieve this recipe (and any other recipe) perfectly. Always level off the top of the cups to get the exact amount of flour called for in the recipe. Read: The proper way to measure flour.
- Also level tbsp and tsp - not only cups need to be leveled, but any amount called for by using teaspoon or tablespoon also needs to have leveled surface to be precise.
FAQs
These enriched rolls can be wrapped in plastic wrap and store in a cool, dry place at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Yes, you can. After shaping the dough into equal pieces and place in baking pan, refrigerate them for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour prior baking time. So use the schedule above to plan accordingly.
Yes. After you finished kneading the dough in a mixing bowl, you can wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it. The dough can be kept for up to 2 weeks.
Remember to let the dough thaw in the chiller a night before your baking day.
When you're ready to shape the dough, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Then proceed with shaping process.
You can substitute equal amount of bleached flour or bread flour if you don't have unbleached flour.
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Fluffy Milk Dinner Rolls
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Pastry cutter
- 8x8 inches baking pan
- Large stainless steel mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- pastry brush
Ingredients
Dinner roll dough
- 3 ¼ c AP unbleached flour sifted
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 c whole milk room temperature
- ½ c condensed milk room temperature
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 oz unsalted butter cut into small cubes, softened at room temperature
Egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp whole milk
Condensed milk glaze
- 3 tbsp condensed milk
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter softened at room temperature
Other
- extra butter for greasing pan and mixing bowl
- extra flour for dusting counter top
Instructions
Mixing process
- 3 ¼ c AP unbleached flour, 1 tbsp instant yeast, ½ tsp salt
- Whisk milk and egg in a separate bowl until the egg is well beaten.1 c whole milk, ½ c condensed milk, 1 large egg
- Add wet ingredients to the dry mixture using a dough hook on low speed. Mix until cohesive dough forms, and no dry flour remains for about 1 minute.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Increase speed to medium-low, and add softened butter, one piece at a time. Make sure each piece is fully incorporated before adding the next. Then, mix the dough until it is smooth, elastic, and pulls entirely from the sides of the bowl—approximately 5 to 8 minutes.2 oz unsalted butter
- Do not add more flour to the dough because it is intentionally for it to be lightly wet.
Kneading & first proof
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured or coated with an oil large mixing bowl. It is best to use a mixing bowl for kneading instead of a countertop/surface due to the wetness of this enriched dough.
- Knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball by gently lifting and folding the edge of dough toward the middle. Then turn the bowl 90 degree and fold again. Repeat turning the bowl and folding the dough until a full circle is completed.
- Place condensed milk dinner rolls dough seam side down.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it is double in size, approximately 1.5 to 2 hours (first proof). Do not rush this proofing process for this milk buns recipe, or you’ll end up with heavy, not fluffy rolls.
Shaping & second proof
- When the dough is ready, press down to deflate it. Then carefully transfer it to a lightly-floured counter.extra flour
- Grease your baking pan with softened butter.extra butter
- Stretch the dough into an even log. Divide the dough into nine equal pieces (about 2.6 to 3 oz for each piece). Work with one piece of dough at a time. Cover the rest with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out (if you need more time to work on each piece).
- Stretch the dough around your fingers and pinch the edges together at the bottom of the dough to make the top smooth.
- Place the ball seam side on a clean counter (ideally, no flour on the surface to create more friction). Use your hand to drag the dough in small circles until it is completely round and smooth.
- Arrange all the balls seam side down into three rows of 3 in a baking pan (You can cover and refrigerate the dough for later use after this step, see notes for more info).
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1.5 hours (second proof).
Baking
- Pre heat oven to 340F.
- Gently brush easy homemade dinner rolls with egg wash mixture.1 large egg, 1 tbsp whole milk
- Bake until the rolls are golden brown, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Remember to rotate the baking pan halfway through the process.
- Depending on your references, these fluffy milk dinner rolls should have a deep or bright golden-brown crust.
- When the fluffy milk dinner rolls are done baking, let them cool down for 5 minutes at room temperature.
- Then brush with condensed milk glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.3 tbsp condensed milk, 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Notes
Storing
These milk dinner rolls or any other enriched bread/dinner rolls (see: fluffy condensed milk bread) can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a cool, dry place at room temperature for up to 3 days.Leftover idea
Leftover easy homemade dinner rolls can be used to make bread pudding. Check out this fantastic soft cinnamon raisin bread pudding recipe.Plan ahead
You can make this milk buns recipe ahead of time. After shaping the dough into equal pieces and place in a baking pan, refrigerate them for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. So use the schedule above to plan accordingly.Related recipes
- Old-fashioned honey dinner rolls – these rolls aren’t just fluffy, moist, and delicious. They are also less sweet than store-bought ones.
- Butter Parker house rolls – a cousin version of dinner rolls. They are fluffy and soft with a light, thin crust.
- No-knead classic brioche buns – The easiest version of dinner rolls. No stand mixer, no problem.
- Still not enough? These 12 creative homemade dinner roll variations surely can keep your creativity to the fullest.
Nutrition
I wasn’t sure how long to bake them but the tops were getting dark. They were too doughy for me and needed some more salt. My little kids loved them though, so Ill take anything they will eat.
Very nice rolls, yummy too.
Hi Elizabeth,
I'm so happy that you like the recipe 🙂
you don't actually say how long you should bake the rolls... is there a certain amount of time to do so?
Hi Tiago,
Sorry about that. I must've accidentally deleted the baking time. The rolls are baked from 30 to 40 minutes. It'll depend on your reference whether you like bright or deep golden crust. Hope this helps and thank you so much for pointing the mistake out. I really appreciate it.
Can I freeze the dough after the first rise?
Hi Cari,
Yes, you can. After you knead the dough in a mixing bowl, you can wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them. The dough can be kept for up to 2 weeks.
Remember to let the dough thaw in the chiller a night before your baking day (this is technically when the first proof is happening).
When ready to shape the dough, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Then proceed with the shaping process.
You said whole milk. If I don't have that, can I use 2% milk?
Definitely! Just keep in mind that the buns might be less fluffy compared to those using whole milk. The fat in whole milk helps weaken the gluten structure of the dough during the process thou.
Had a nightmare with this.... nothing looked like it should at any stage.. no dough stage just gooey mess. First attempt and last, takes forever and I'm sure I've only ever seen commercial versions of this....
My kids were so disappointed... they love the shop bought ones.
Mine were yellow, not white.. back to my griddle bread..
Hi Liam,
I am so sorry that the rolls did not work out for you. Perhaps if you elaborate more about the making process, I can help to troubleshoot what has been going wrong? These dinner rolls do require a little bit of time and patience to make them. Perhaps the temperature in your kitchen is little bit higher so it caused the dough to sweat quickly than normal. Furthermore, my rolls were not insanely white either because I used unbleached flour, they did have a yellow undertone afterwards.
You listed condensed milk as an ingredient, is that sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk?
Hi Brenda,
It's sweetened condensed milk :). Please let me know how the rolls turn out.