How To Reheat Dinner Rolls So They're Warm and Fluffy (2024)

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Meghan Splawn

Meghan Splawn

Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.

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updated Dec 18, 2023

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How To Reheat Dinner Rolls So They're Warm and Fluffy (1)

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How To Reheat Dinner Rolls So They're Warm and Fluffy (2)

You know the joy of tearing apart a dinner roll to have tufts of steam pour out of it, because it’s still warm from the oven? You can enjoy that same feeling every day until the rolls run out with three simple methods for reheating leftover dinner rolls, whether they’re store-bought or homemade.

Quick Overview

How To Reheat Dinner Rolls

  • The best method for reheating dinner rolls is in the oven. To reheat dinner rolls in the oven, preheat it to 350°F. Place the rolls in a baking dish or on a baking sheet, brush with melted butter. Bake until warm, 7 to 10 minutes.
  • Alternatively, you can reheat dinner rolls in the microwave or slow cooker. To reheat dinner rolls in the microwave, arrange rolls on a microwave-safe plate. Cover the rolls with a slightly damp, clean kitchen towel. Microwave the rolls until just warmed through, 30 to 45 seconds.
  • To reheat the dinner rolls in a slow cooker, cover the top of the slow cooker with a second damp, clean tea towel. Cover and heat on the low setting until warm, about 30 minutes.

The Best Method for Reheating Dinner Rolls: The Oven

Our favorite rule for reheating leftovers applies here (reheat the food in the way it was prepared), so into the oven your rolls should go for reheating. One caveat, though — warm your rolls in a baking dish, not on a baking pan. Placing rolls snugly together in a baking dish leaves the sides of the rolls soft, while separating them and heating on a baking sheet will result in a slightly crisper outside crust.

Our Favorite Method: The Slow Cooker

The slow cooker is a brilliant way to keep rolls warm for serving or as a means for reheating the rolls the next day if you need to bake them before a big holiday. Bonus: Warming store-bought dinner rolls in the slow cooker makes them feel more like homemade. The slow cooker isn’t the fastest method, taking at least 30 minutes depending on the number of rolls, but we’re calling it our favorite method for its multi-use capabilities.

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How To Reheat Dinner Rolls: The Best, Simplest Method (Image credit: Maria Midoes)

Comments

How To Reheat Dinner Rolls: The Best, Simplest Method

Bake your dinner rolls in advance and use one of these three methods to reheat them for dinner the next day.

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • Leftover dinner rolls
  • Optional toppings: melted butter, coarse salt

For microwave method:

  • Microwave-safe plate
  • 2 clean kitchen towels

For oven method:

  • Pastry brush

  • Small bowl

  • Baking dish or baking sheet

For slow cooker method:

  • 2 kitchen towels

  • Slow cooker

Instructions

  1. Reheat dinner rolls in the microwave. Arrange rolls on a microwave-safe plate. Cover the rolls with a slightly damp, clean kitchen towel. Wrap the entire plate in a dry tea towel. Microwave until just warmed through, 30 to 45 seconds. The rolls should not be piping hot, or they will turn tough and chewy as they cool.

  2. Reheat dinner rolls in the oven. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Place rolls in a baking dish or arrange on a baking sheet, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Bake until warm, 7 to 10 minutes.

  3. Reheat dinner rolls in the slow cooker. Lay a damp, clean kitchen towel on the bottom of the slow cooker insert. Arrange the rolls on the cloth. Cover the top of the slow cooker with a second damp, clean tea towel. Cover and heat on the LOW setting until warm, about 30 minutes. After heating, you can turn the slow cooker to the WARM setting and keep the rolls soft and warm until the top towel is dry, about 2 hours. Do not heat the rolls on HIGH — the edges touching the insert may burn and the rolls will become tough.

Filed in:

Bread

Cooking Methods

easy

How To

Side Dish

Slow Cooker

How To Reheat Dinner Rolls So They're Warm and Fluffy (2024)

FAQs

How To Reheat Dinner Rolls So They're Warm and Fluffy? ›

The best method for reheating dinner rolls is in the oven. To reheat dinner rolls in the oven, preheat it to 350°F. Place the rolls in a baking dish or on a baking sheet, brush with melted butter. Bake until warm, 7 to 10 minutes.

How do you keep rolls warm and moist? ›

Place warmed heat source in bread basket: If using rice or pie weights, lay them as flat as possible in their paper or foil wrapper at the bottom of the bread basket. Cover the heat source with a clean cloth napkin or dish towel. Add the rolls and then fold the corners of the fabric over the rolls to cover.

How do restaurants keep rolls warm? ›

Warming drawers.

These drawers serve the same purpose as a warming oven, but they take up less space. You might install a warming drawer in the prep area to keep food warm before service, for example; it's a great way to offer hot, moist bread or rolls.

How do you reheat rolls so they are soft? ›

The best method for reheating dinner rolls is in the oven. To reheat dinner rolls in the oven, preheat it to 350°F. Place the rolls in a baking dish or on a baking sheet, brush with melted butter. Bake until warm, 7 to 10 minutes.

Why are my dinner rolls so dense? ›

If your dinner rolls aren't fluffy it could be because of one of two reasons. Either, you added too much flour or you possibly used all bread flour. Alternately, not giving your dinner rolls enough time to proof and get puffy before baking could yield dense rolls. What is this?

What temperature should dinner rolls be when done? ›

Most loaves and rolls will indeed be done when they register 190°F at their center.

How do you keep rolls soft overnight? ›

Wrap The Bread To Keep It Fresh

It is important to wrap your rolls or buns inside of foil or a plastic storage bag. If you use foil, make sure it completely encases the bread you are storing as any exposed portions will be subject to drying or mold.

How to reheat roadhouse rolls? ›

Think of it as a spa treatment for your rolls. Microwave on high for 30-45 seconds. Start with a shorter time and add more in 15-second increments if needed. Remember, you don't want to turn your rolls into hockey pucks.

Why are my rolls so dry? ›

Too much flour makes dough too stiff to rise properly, creating a dry texture. A range of flour is always given in yeast bread recipes because flours vary in moisture content, reacting in different ways depending on the time of year, weather conditions, etc.

How do you warm bread like a restaurant? ›

Let the bread come to room temperature, then pop in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees for a warm revitalized loaf.

Why is bakery bread so fluffy? ›

Consistency: Bakeries often use machines to ensure consistent kneading and proofing times. This consistency is key to producing the same soft texture batch after batch. Special Ingredients: Many bakeries use dough conditioners or enhancers, which improve the texture and extend the bread's shelf life.

What temperature is keep warm in the oven? ›

An oven's temperature preset for its keep warm setting typically falls between 170°F and 200°F, but some ovens, like select KitchenAid® wall ovens and ranges, let you customize the temperature within a specified range for more control.

How do you rehydrate fresh rolls? ›

Contrary to common belief, spring rolls can be revived the next day! Dip the rolls in filtered water quickly and wipe off excess water. Put the rolls in a microwave safe tray and cover with a wet paper towel. Let sit for a minute before enjoying.

How do you soften hard summer rolls? ›

Use cool water to soften the rice paper rolls.

Many recipes suggest soaking the rice paper wrappers in warm water to quickly soften them, but this makes the paper more fragile and more sticky.

How to make hamburger buns soft again? ›

Try steaming your burger buns on the stove.

Steaming store-bought buns can make them more tender and plump up stale buns by adding moisture. "Hot-dog stands steam their buns because it makes them taste good. You can do the same at home in just a few minutes," Alto said.

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