In today’s post: Try this easy recipe to make ah-mazing Texas Roadhouse Rolls at home – they are soft, chewy, and a little bit sweet, just like the ones at the restaurant.
Easy Copycat Recipe
I love bread in almost all it’s many forms, but the fluffy rolls at Texas Roadhouse are especially delicious. Every time we go to the restaurant I have to remind myself not to eat so many that I’m full before the rest of my food comes. My sister has been telling me to work on a recipe for making Roadhouse rolls at home and I’m so glad I finally did! These rolls make any meal special – they are absolutely delicious – and leftovers made great sandwiches. Grab some honey butter at the store or make homemade cinnamon butter and you’ll be making amazing Roadhouse dinner rolls on the regular.
Recipe Highlights
When testing this recipe, I started with this recipe at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and made a few tweaks to make these copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls rolls taste even more like the real thing, IMO:
- A bit more sugar to get that slightly sweet flavor
- No scalding of the milk: makes the recipe faster and simpler and results in the same soft, chewy texture as the original
- A smidge more salt to bring out all the flavors
The final recipe was so good I’ve made it multiple times in the past week!
How to Make Texas Roadhouse Rolls
Proof the Yeast
Because this is an enriched dough with lots of goodness (milk, butter, egg, sugar), giving the yeast a few minutes to get bubbling is a good idea. I start by putting the yeast in the bowl of my mixer. I use active dry yeast but instant yeast should work as well here. Then I put the milk, honey, and butter into a glass measuring cup and microwave it for about 60-90 seconds, until the butter is mostly melted and the mixture is between 100-110 degrees fahrenheit. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer you can just stick your finger in the milk – it should feel warm but not so hot it hurts your finger (if it’s too hot just give it a few minutes to cool). Then pour the warm ingredients over the yeast and let it sit for about five minutes. You’ll start to see bubbles form and the yeast looking foamy.
Knead the Dough
Once the yeast is foamy, you can add the rest of the ingredients: an egg, the sugar, salt, and 3 cups of flour. Using the dough hook, turn the mixer on to medium high and let the ingredients incorporate. Then you’ll gradually add up to one more cup of flour until the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl, like you see in the first photo below. The dough should still stick to the center post (if using a Bosch) or the bottom of the bowl (if using a Kitchenaid) and be slightly sticky – so don’t add too much flour! Once it pulls away from the sides, let it continue to knead for about 7 minutes until it is smooth and stretchy and can pass the “windowpane test”.
The Windowpane Test
Proper kneading is essential for yeast breads to turn out soft and light. The windowpane test is an easy way to tell if your dough has kneaded for long enough. Pull off a small piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Then gently pull the ball apart. You should be able to stretch the dough thin enough that you can easily see light through it without the dough breaking. If the dough breaks quickly, it requires longer kneading.
First Rise
At this point you will let the dough rise until it’s doubled in size, which usually takes about an hour at room temperature. You can turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to rise or just leave it in the bowl of your mixer (that’s what I do). Either way, you need to cover the dough loosely while it rises so it doesn’t dry out. I cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel, but you can also use plastic wrap. If your house is cool, try to find a warm place to let the dough rise (about 75 degrees farhenheit) – even placing it on a counter that’s getting direct sunlight will help warm it up.
Shape Into Rolls
Once the dough has roughly doubled in size, it’s time to shape into rolls. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter and gently roll it into a 10×12 inch rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 20 squares. Transfer the dough squares onto a greased or lined half sheet pan or baking sheet, placing them about half an inch apart.
Second Rise
You’ll let the rolls rise again until noticeably puffed – you can see the before and after of the second rise in the photo below. Again, be sure to cover your rolls during the second rise so they don’t dry out – I use the same damp kitchen cloth from the first rise laid gently over the dough. Forty five minutes is usually about right for the second rise. Remember to preheat your oven to 350 degrees farhenheit near the end of this time.
Bake
Now it’s time to bake! Place the pan of rolls into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops are a nice golden brown. Ovens vary in how they cook, so be sure to keep an eye on them. If they are still very pale after 20 minutes it’s fine to let them go a bit longer; you don’t want raw dough. Or if they are browning quickly, you can pull them out a few minutes earlier. If it’s your first time making rolls and you’re not sure if they’re done, just pull one roll out of the oven and rip it in half to see if it’s done in the middle before pulling out the whole tray. I like to brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter straight out of the oven.
I think these rolls are best served warm and they are delicious with butter or honey butter! If you have leftovers, let them cool completely then place in a zip top bag or airtight container and eat within a day or two. If you’d like to keep leftovers for longer, place the bag in the freezer, then thaw on the counter whenever you want soft, fresh rolls.
Texas Roadhouse Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cup Milk 2% or whole
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 3 tablespoons Butter salted
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons Active Dry or Instant Yeast
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 4 cups Flour approximately, don't add it all at once
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Instructions
- Place the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the milk, honey, and butter in a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. Microwave 60-90 seconds, until the butter is mostly melted and the mixture is between 100 and 110 degrees farhenheit. Pour the warmed liquid over the yeast and let it stand for 5 minutes. You'll see the yeast start to bubble and foam.
- Add the egg, sugar, salt, and 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture in the bowl. Turn the mixer on to medium high and let everything incorporate. Gradually add the remaining cup of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You may not use the entire fourth cup of flour. The dough should still cling to the center post (if using a Bosch) or the bottom of the bowl (if using a KitchenAid) and it should be slightly sticky.
- Once the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl allow the mixer to knead the dough about seven minutes until it passes the windowpane text.
- Cover the dough and let it rise until doubled in size, approximately one hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll into a 10×12 inch rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 20 squares. Place the squares onto a greased or lined half sheet pan (cookie sheet) and cover again.
- Allow the rolls to rise until noticeably puffed, about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees near the end of this rise time.
- Bake 18-20 minutes until rolls are nicely golden brown. Oven temps vary so yours may need a few minutes shorter or longer. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter and serve while warm with butter or honey butter.
Aubrie says
These were fantastic! So soft and fluffy and flavorful. Thanks for the recipe!