Use your bread machine to make these Really Crusty Bread Rolls with soft and chewy interiors. The secret is in the cornstarch glaze.
You can still make these even if you don’t have a bread machine. Read the notes at the bottom of the recipe for details.
Who can resist a freshly-baked yeast roll with a thin, crisp, crackly, crumbly crust surrounding soft and chewy bread?
Not me, for sure. Show me some marshmallow-soft salted butter, and I’m good for dinner.
But, be warned. Really Crusty Bread Rolls can be messy. Crumbs may scatter everywhere as you slice or tear these rolls, but I have a solution.
How to avoid a mess when slicing crusty bread:
See the picture below for a special slotted cutting board designed to catch the crumbs? It also makes a convenient cooling rack and/or serving tray.
What’s the secret to the crispy crust?
The glaze is a cornstarch and water mixture, microwaved until thick, then cooled. For me, it’s easier than spraying water into my oven or using oven tiles or other special equipment to produce crusty bread.
You’ll want to eat Crusty Bread Rolls hot out of the oven. Whatever you don’t eat the first go-round should get a quick trip back into the oven just before dinner to re-crisp. Bake about 5 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Turn off the oven, and leave the rolls inside for another 5 minutes. Works great in a toaster oven, too, when you are only doing one or two rolls.
Part Two: How to make bread bowls with this recipe.
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, consider helping other readers and me by returning to this post. Leave a rating on the recipe card itself underneath the picture. Although always appreciated, comments aren’t required. Thank you for visiting! Paula
Really Crusty Bread Rolls | A Bread Machine Recipe
Crusty dinner rolls with a soft interior. A cornstarch glaze is the secret.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 -1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1-1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1-1/2 cup bread flour
- 1 teaspoon bread machine or instant yeast
- 1/4 cup water + 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed in 2 cup pyrex container and heated in microwave for 20 seconds on HIGH or until thick.
Instructions
- Heat 1 cup tap water in the microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Pour into bread machine pan with the blade in place.
- Add olive oil, salt, sugar, flour, and yeast to the pan. Select the dough cycle. After 5 minutes, check the dough. It should stick to the side and pull away. Add flour ,1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, or add water 1 tablespoon at a time if dough is too dry (dough slaps against the side)
- When dough cycle has finished and bread has risen to double the original size, remove the dough onto a floured surface.
- For dinner rolls divide dough in half (2 pieces), then cut each half in half (4 pieces) and finally, divide each of those pieces in half again resulting in 8 rolls. Form into balls.
- Cover a cookie baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Lightly scatter cornmeal over the sheet before placing the round dough balls onto the cookie sheet--evenly spaced from each other.
- Cover dough balls with a tea towel and set in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until risen almost double.
- Brush rolls with cooled cornstarch glaze. Use a serrated knife to make a small gash in the top, if desired, but it's not required.
- Bake in 375 degree pre-heated oven for 35 minutes until crust is crisp and brown.
Notes
- To my fellow yogurt-makers: For a faux sourdough flavor, try substituting whey drained off yogurt to produce Greek yogurt for the water in this recipe.
Directions for making bread with a stand mixer or by hand:
- To make this recipe in a heavy-duty stand mixer, add ingredients to the bowl in the same order. Turn on low to mix until all ingredients are moistened. Using dough hook, turn speed to 2 or 3 and continue beating/kneading until dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place. Deflate dough gently and shape rolls as indicated in recipe.
- If making by hand, combine all ingredients into a shaggy ball in a large bowl. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead with your hands until dough becomes smooth and elastic, a process that will likely take 10-20 minutes depending on your experience. Place dough ball into a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise until double. Deflate dough gently and shape rolls as indicated in recipe
- Please note: If you substitute regular yeast for instant or bread machine yeast, you must dissolve it first before adding to the dry ingredients. Stir it into about 1/4 cup of the lukewarm liquid called for in the recipe. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Add to other wet ingredients and then add dry ingredients. Proceed as directed to knead and shape rolls.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. But don't worry. This doesn't change the price you pay.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 rollAmount Per Serving: Calories: 170 Total Fat: 2g Saturated Fat: 0g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 399mg Carbohydrates: 32g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Protein: 5g
Don't miss these recipes if you like crusty bread:
Bread Machine Ciabatta
Because ciabatta starts life as a very slack and sticky dough, the bread machine is a useful tool to mix and knead the dough.
Crusty French Bread (Mixed in a Bread Machine)
A simple, crusty French bread you can mix up in your bread machine and bake in the oven for the freshest bread ever
Crusty Round Bread (made in a bread machine)
Crusty Round Bread (made in a bread machine); Two-step process slowly develops yeasty flavor resulting in a chewy texture with a close crumb.
My Favorite Pizza Dough
My Favorite Pizza Dough is made in a bread machine (although easily converted to a stand mixer recipe or by hand) and is simple enough for a beginner to make.
MJ
Hi Paula! Greetings from Nova Scotia, Canada! Can I refrigerate this dough overnight after the dough cycle ends? If so what would I need to do the next day? Do I need the cold dough to warm up before shaping (like your pizza dough) into rolls or do I shape them cold and allow to rise if so for how long? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I would love to adapt this recipe into an overnight refrigerated all-purpose dough. Thanks so much!
Paula
Hi MJ, I have never tried it with this dough, but in general, you can do it with most dough recipes. Worth a try. I would not think it is necessary to wait for the dough to warm before shaping into rolls. However, if you shape the cold dough into rolls, it might take an additional hour or two for them to proof until almost double in size. I can’t give you a specific time. It will depend on the ambient temperature where your rolls are rising as well as the size of the rolls, how long you took to roll them out, how cold your baking container is, etc. There’s a good chance that refrigerating overnight will improve the flavor of your rolls.
MJ
Paula, I have just submitted a 5 star review. Thank you for answering my questions on refrigerating this dough – it was a great success! I made a biga the night before using 1 cup of the flour and ½ cup whey (instead of water) and ¼ teaspoon yeast. I added it to the recipe reducing your quantities of flour and water by those amounts. After the dough cycle was complete I plopped the dough into a deep greased glass bowl, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated it overnight. Next morning I divided the dough into 8 equal pieces, formed the buns and placed them on a lined baking sheet to rise for 1 hour 15 minutes in the oven with the oven light on. I find the oven with the oven light on is the perfect proofing environment. After they had doubled in size I placed a shallow bowl of water on the bottom rack of the oven (for steam) and preheated the oven to 425F. I brushed the buns with the cornstarch glaze, slashed them slightly and baked them for almost 20 minutes. The tops are “crackly” and the interiors are soft and chewy. I hope my feedback helps.
Paula
Thank you, thank you MJ. You’re the best!! I love that you used whey. Yes. Perfection. I’m going to try it myself.
Ju
Can you ever over-proofed these babies?? Because I’ve forgotten to set my timer ?
Paula
Yes, Ju, you definitely can over-proof. If that is what happened, push the dough down and let it rise again, just not as much. When your bread is over-proofed, it will usually collapse on top and/or the sides. Hope this helps.
Ju
Thanks Paula. They turned out PERFECT! Family requested to make again ?
SS
When I type the fonts so light that I can barely read and so made a spelling error, is it your website or soething wrong on my side! The spelling should read Followed
Thanks
SS
This afternoon I folowed your recipe to make the crusty rolls Your Very special hint of the cornflour soloution brushed on the rolls just before putting them in the oven was Brilliant- Earlier I had to put a pan of boiling water in the oven and still did not acheive the reults, but with this method they came OUT just Amazing! THANKS A LOT , really appreciate it
Paula
Glad you liked them SS. I think I agree with you that the font is light when you are typing a comment. Will remedy that ASAP. Thanks for letting me know.
Ro
I made these for Thanksgiving, with no changes to the recipe. They were a big hit! Easy, and perfect, tender and crusty, as promised.
Christine
Thank you for these wonderful bread recipes. I’ve only recently started making bread again and love making the dough in the breadmaker and baking in the oven. We were not fans of the bread baked in the breadmaker so this is exactly what I was looking for. These rolls were great! Next time I will use part whole wheat flour or 12-grain. Have you done that before?
Our favourite so far is the sunflower oatmeal bread – I skip the sunflowers and substitute Whole Wheat flour for part of the white flour. A very much loved bread here. Thank you for making breadmaking so easy!!!
Krista
I am making these for my mom. Do you have any freezing suggestions? Should I freeze after cooking, freeze before? If freezing before what about the glaze? I would like to make it as easy for her as possible? I am hoping it will be a taste of home (UK) for her.
Karine
I made these last night. They came out perfect and everyone loved them. Thank you for the recipe.
Judy
I have been trying out different recipes for crusty rolls, but they never turned out right. Now I will never have to look for one again!!! Thanks Paula for sharing. These rolls were just yummy and the crust on top was just like your picture!!! The cornstarch mixture, as well as the entire recipe was a bomb!!!
thebakingathome
They are great, no mistakes in measurements! Really nice trick the cornstarch! Thanks for adding this recipe in one of my favorites of bread making! Real tasty rolls!
Susan
Thank you, Paula! We’re going to use them for pulled pork sandwiches tonight. They’re in the oven now and smell amazing! Thank you so much for your recipes. I’m new to bread machines and I’m learning a lot on your site.
Susan
I made the glaze with 1/4 cup of water and then realized there are no units on it implying it should be 1/4 teaspoon but that doesn’t seem like enough water. Should it be cup or teaspoon? Anyone know?
Paula
Hi Susan,
My mistake–which I have corrected. You were right to assume 1/4 CUP of water. Hope your rolls turn out to your liking.
Jocelyn
These are great rolls! I made mine by hand using whey in place of the water. In order to get the nice crust, the rolls definitely need close to 35 minutes, which I initially thought would be too long a baking time. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Margaret
made these tonite. So good. I brushed mine with butter and it only took 20 minutes.
Andrea
I just took these out of the oven. It’s a snow day here and I was looking for a roll to go with the soups (clam chowder and also beef vegetable) I have simmering. Wish I could include a picture but I don’t know if that’s an option. Yes, I took pictures because they are beautiful 🙂 So happy with how they came out!! They look really good, they are crusty on the outside, soft on the inside… and they taste AMAZING. I always come back to your site for bread recipes. Thank you for another fantastic recipe!
Paula
Thanks for the testimonial Andrea!
Beaner
My bread machine directions say to put in the yeast first,then flour, etc. ending with the liquid. I’ve noticed your recipes, including this one, start with the liquid and end with the yeast. Does it matter which way I put the ingredients in? Thanks for helping out a novice. I made my first loaf of bread using the combined bread machine and oven. It came out great!
Paula
Hi Beaner,
You ask a very interesting question. I generally say to follow the directions for your particular bread machine as far as the order of ingredients. All of machines have specified the flour, then the yeast last. I can’t imagine doing otherwise if you are using the timer because you don’t want your yeast to get wet. If not using the timer, I can’t imagine why it would matter. Glad your loaf came out good. May you have many more happy bread-making experiences.
Ashley
Yes it matters! You do not want the yeast to get wet initially in a bread machine.
KAPP902
I’m also making these today. So far so good 🙂 however I didn’t have cornmeal so I’m doing without. The cornstarch / water slurry is very interesting. Can’t wait to eat these with my soup. I love this blog. Thank you so much for doing this.
diane
making them today Tuesday jan 28/13 never heard of using cornstarn and water like that idea thanks
diane
Suzanne
Nice rolls, and I love the tip on using cornstarch with water who knew? Thanks for sharing these I must try this out soon.
Arthur in the Garden!
Wow! I love bread and this recipe looks easy and tempting!
SimplySusan
Would be so good with soup but makes me wonder if you have a good bread machine recipe for bread bowls.
Betty
What an interesting method for making a nice crust! We love crusty rolls, and this sounds like an easy way to make them. They’d be great with all of the soups we’ve been having in this cold weather! 🙂
Marilyn
These look and sound so good! I can’t wait to try them.
Lisa
woo, HOO!! I’m running to the kitchen to start this now! I don’t normally save my whey but just did a batch of yogurt and did! I love the thought of the crusty exterior!!! Is the 1 tsp of yeast true? Very excited ! Thank you!!!