Overnight Yeast Rolls

Only the lightest, softest, most feathery rolls you’ve ever had! Make these Overnight Yeast Rolls and you’ll be in bread heaven!

Hello Friends! I’m so excited you’re here today! This is a recipe I’ve been waiting to share with you for a long time! What has been the hold up? Well, I wasn’t satisfied with the pictures I took and was waiting until I got better ones! I recently enrolled in an online course called Composition Essentials (this is an affiliate link) and it has helped improve my photography a TON! Want to see a before and after picture of these rolls? Here you go!

Pretty huge difference, right?Anyhow, these Overnight Yeast Rolls are perfect for when you’ve got a big event (like Mother’s Day or Christmas) coming up and you want to get as much baking done as you can the day before so you don’t have to work so hard on the actual day of the event.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients for Overnight Yeast Rolls

• yeast
• sugar
• water
• butter
• milk
• eggs
• salt
• flour

How to Make Overnight Yeast Rolls

First you’re going to heat your milk and butter together until the butter is all melted. You can either do this in the microwave or in a small pan on the stove. (I like to do it on the stove). When the butter has melted, set the milk and butter aside to cool slightly.

Now proof your yeast with a little sugar in some warm water. It should take ten minutes or less for your yeast to get bubbly and frothy.

While you are waiting for your yeast to proof, you can add some sugar to your milk and melted butter. This will also help the mixture to cool off more quickly. Once you do that, stir in three large, beaten eggs. Then add your proofed yeast, along with a little salt.

At this point, transfer all the liquid (milk, melted butter, eggs, proofed yeast, etc). to a large mixing bowl (or a stand mixer).

Add 2 cups of flour and mix well. Then you’re going to add another three cups of flour and blend well. The dough is going to be very sticky, but that’s o.k.

You’re going to chill it overnight, and once it is chilled, it will be much easier to work with.

Once it has been in the refrigerator overnight, it will look like this:

Just dump this out onto a heavily floured surface, and then knead it for 5-10 minutes. When you’re done, you should have a ball of dough that looks like this:

Now you’re going to roll it out into a circle, like this (I always sprinkle more flour on top before I start rolling so my rolling pin doesn’t stick):

Now get a pizza cutter and slice this dough like a pizza into sixteen small wedges.

Now grease one or two cookie sheets (depending on the size of your cookie sheets). Roll up each wedge starting with the wide end and place the rolls on your cookie sheets. Make sure that the “point” of the roll is on the bottom, touching the cookie sheet, or your roll will unroll!

Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until almost doubled in size, about two hours. (This rising period takes longer than usual because your dough is cold!)

(If you are impatient like me, you can hurry along the rising process by heating your oven to 200 degrees F, and then turning it off.  Put in the pan of rolls, still covered with the tea towel, and let them rise for 1/2 hour to an hour).

Now bake them at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes. They will come out so light and fluffy! They’re so feathery that they’re almost like real croissants, but without all the extra butter and work that real croissants take!

Speaking of butter, melt some and brush it on top of the rolls so they’ll be all shiny and pretty and even more delicious!

And then, you know, a bit of honey never hurts 🙂

Today’s Freebie!

5 from 4 votes

Print

Overnight Yeast Rolls

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Overnight rising time

8 hrs

Total Time

40 mins

 

Only the lightest, softest, most feathery rolls you've ever had! Make these Overnight Yeast Rolls and you'll be in bread heaven! (Be sure to scroll up and read the post for step-by-step instructions with pictures).

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16

Author: Melissa Howell

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup butter (one cube)
• 1 cup milk (whole milk is best)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. In the microwave or in a pan on the stove, heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted. (Use medium heat if using the stove). Remove from the stove (or microwave) and set aside to cool slightly.

2. In a separate small bowl, add the 1/2 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon of yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let proof for about ten minutes, until yeast is frothy.

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the milk and melted butter and stir. Add the three beaten eggs and the 3/4 teaspoon of salt and stir. Add the proofed yeast. 

4. Get out a large mixing bowl or your stand mixer. Pour in all the liquid (the milk, melted butter, eggs, yeast, etc.) Add 2 cups of flour and stir well.

5. Add the remaining three cups of flour and mix well. Dough will be very sticky. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator overnight.

6. A few hours before you are wanting to serve the rolls, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Pour the dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes, adding a little extra flour if needed. (The dough will be much easier to handle now that it is cold).

7. Roll the dough out into a circle, and using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 16 wedges.

8. Grease one or two cookie sheets (depending on their size). Roll up each wedge of dough, starting at the wide end. Place the rolls on the greased cookie sheets, several inches apart, with the "point" end of the wedge on the bottom of the roll.

9. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 1-2 hours, until almost doubled in size.

10. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 18-20 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

Pin me!