Brown Butter Rosemary Rolls (Bread Machine + Oven-Baked)
Sneak Preview: These soft rosemary dinner rolls are made with nutty brown butter and mixed and kneaded on the bread machine’s DOUGH cycle. Shape them as traditional rolls or a festive pull-apart wreath; allow approximately 3 hours from start to finish.
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These rosemary rolls began with my classic dinner-roll dough—already wonderfully soft—but browned butter and fresh rosemary give them a richer, more savory personality.
Shape the dough into ordinary dinner rolls for any meal, or arrange the balls in a wreath for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Either way, the bread machine handles the mixing, kneading, and first rise before you shape the rolls and bake them in your conventional oven.
Two Ways to Shape the Rolls as a Wreath
- Single circle: Arrange the rolls in a circle on a 13-inch pizza pan, leaving a small, even space between them.
2. Double circle: Place a small oven-safe bowl or ramekin in the center of a round pan. Arrange the rolls in two circles around it, as pictured below. After baking, replace the bowl with herb butter for serving.
Don’t miss the video below if you need help forming little round dough balls.
Ingredients & Substitutions
• BUTTER: Browning the butter gives these rolls their distinctive nutty flavor. Use unsalted or salted butter; if using salted, reduce the added salt slightly. Margarine will not brown in the same way.
• FRESH ROSEMARY: Fresh rosemary provides the best flavor here. Chop it finely so you don’t get large, woody pieces in the soft rolls. Dried rosemary will taste different and can be rather prickly unless it is crushed first.
• BREAD FLOUR: Bread flour gives the rolls slightly more chew and helps them hold their shape. Unbleached all-purpose flour is a reasonable substitute and will produce an even softer roll.
• YEAST: Use instant or bread-machine yeast. If substituting active dry yeast, add an extra ¼ teaspoon.
Brown Butter Rosemary Rolls (Bread Machine + Oven-Baked)
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (57 g) butter
- ¾ cup (173 g) milk
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 (50 g) large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper optional
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2-1/2 cups (300 g) bread flour
- 2 teaspoons bread machine or instant yeast
Optional Topping
- melted butter
- finely chopped fresh rosemary
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Melt 1/4 cup (57 g) butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Continue cooking until it smells nutty and golden-brown specks appear on the bottom of the pan. Remove it from the heat immediately so it doesn’t burn. Let it cool slightly before adding it to the bread-machine pan.
- Add the Ingredients: Add 3/4 cup (173 g) milk to the bread machine pan along with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 (50 g) large egg, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, 2-1/2 cups (300 g) bread flour, and 2 teaspoons bread machine or instant yeast in the order given.
- Select the DOUGH cycle: Start the machine. Check after one minute to be sure the paddles are engaged and dough is starting to clump. Open the lid again after 15 minutes to make sure the dough is smooth and elastic–sticking to the sides, then pulling away cleanly. Refer to this post for instructions on how to adjust the dough if the hydration level is incorrect.
- Check the Rise: When the DOUGH cycle finishes, the dough should have doubled in size. If not, allow it to sit in the machine until it does.
- Shape the Rolls: Remove the dough from the bread-machine pan and divide it into 15 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball. For a wreath, arrange the balls in a single or double circle, leaving a small, even space between them. For traditional pull-apart rolls or slider buns, arrange them in two greased 8- or 9-inch round pans. Cover and allow the rolls to rise until almost doubled.
- Optional Topping: Just before baking, brush the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle them with finely chopped fresh rosemary and flaky sea salt.
- Bake: Bake in a preheated 375˚F (190˚C) oven for 12–15 minutes or until golden brown. The internal temperature should reach 195˚F when measured with an instant-read thermometer.
Notes
1️⃣ Brown the butter as directed in Step 1. Add the cooled butter and remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl in the listed order.
2️⃣ Mix on LOW until moistened, then knead on speed 2 or 3 with a dough hook for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
3️⃣ Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
4️⃣ Gently deflate and shape as directed in the recipe. By Hand:
1️⃣ Brown the butter as directed in Step 1. Combine the cooled butter and remaining ingredients in a large bowl to form a shaggy dough. Mix all ingredients into a shaggy dough ball in a large bowl.
2️⃣ Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 10-20 minutes until smooth and elastic.
3️⃣ Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.
4️⃣ Gently deflate and shape as directed. Yeast Tip: Using active dry yeast? Increase by ¼ teaspoon. It no longer requires dissolving, but you can if preferred.
Equipment
Nutrition
All images and text ©️ Paula Rhodes for Salad in a Jar.com
Final Thoughts
One of the pleasures of having a dependable dinner-roll recipe is finding new ways to dress it up. Browned butter and rosemary give these super-soft rolls a special flavor, while the wreath shape makes them memorable for a holiday celebration.
Whether you arrange them in a wreath or bake them as traditional rolls, these are meant to be pulled apart, passed around, and shared while they’re still warm.
— Paula, Home Economist
Homemade Food Worth Sharing
Need help troubleshooting?
Email me: Paula at saladinajar.com — photos help!
More Rosemary Bread Recipes
• Rosemary Bread Machine Recipe with Dried Cranberries and Pecans
• Bread Machine Rosemary Parmesan Focaccia
• 18 Popular Holiday Dinner Rolls
Credits
The idea of the wreath comes from Martha Stewart Living. Recipe adapted from my favorite bread cookbook, One hundred years of bread: Classic Breads from your bread machine(paid link) by Sidney Brockman Carlisle.
What are the ingredients for the brown butter? I can’t find them anywhere.
Hi Maggie,
You only need unsalted butter. Go to the first step in the instructions for all the details.
What a lovely shaping technique. Will definitely try it for Christmas dinner. …Susan
I made these last night for dinner. Oh, my! Wonderful, flavorful, pretty, easy and, best of all, delicious! Thank you for the inspiration to get back into bread-making.
Sooo pretty! I’m going to give them a go. BTW, I see you all over Pinterest! ; )
What a lovely shaping technique. Will definitely try it for Christmas dinner. …Susan
Paula,
That wreath is so pretty! And since you can use store-bought dough, I’m in!
My whole family enjoyed these. I substituted one cup of flour with whole wheat just to make them a little more healthful, and they were delicious. Thanks for the recipe. Really good as sandwiches with baked ham.
Glad to hear you like them Pam. I can imagine they were fabulous with the whole wheat flour. Thanks for reporting back.
Absolutely wonderful. I can smell Christmas already. Delicious. Thanx Paula.
Absolutely gorgeous, Paula! I can imagine the smell of these beauties while baking! And your Christmas themed presentation is gorgeous!
BTW, I love your videos! Very useful, and very well done!
I love the wreath- so pretty for a party!
Pretty neat idea there about he cup in the middle of the rolls before rising. Great photos too 🙂
Beautiful and delicious I’m sure! Love this!
Great post, Paula, and I love the tip about the measuring cup. Beautiful photo.
They look absloutleysuper beautiful and double delicious, love the flavours in those rolls.
I made these last night for dinner. Oh, my! Wonderful, flavorful, pretty, easy and, best of all, delicious! Thank you for the inspiration to get back into bread-making.
Already? Wow! Glad you liked them. Thanks for reporting back. Paula
I’ve made the rosemary dinner rolls before and they are delicious. I love that you made a beautiful wreath with yours and that you left it edible! LOL
Thanks so much for the mention and the link-back to my site. So nice of you and I appreciate it.
PS Very good tutorial on how to make yours.
Oh my Paula, I have just gained 5 pounds by looking at your pictures! I’m so glad to have you as my scapegoat! 🙂 These look incredibly delicious!
I just have a question: could I use instant yeast instead? I don’t live in America and I’m afraid I won’t be able to find the type of yeast you mention to use to make this bread.
It looks yummy, beautiful, and even easy to make.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!
Yes! Instant yeast will work beautifully.