Overnight Refrigerator Yeast Rolls
These soft and fluffy yeast rolls are made ahead of time and left in the refrigerator overnight before baking the next day.
Overnight Refrigerator Yeast Rolls
I found this super easy recipe for Overnight Refrigerator Yeast Rolls in my grandma’s recipe box titled “Myrtle’s Refrigerator Rolls”. I never had the pleasure of meeting Myrtle but I’ve got to tell you she made some pretty awesome yeast rolls!
These make ahead yeast rolls are made the night before you need them and placed in the refrigerator overnight. The next day you remove the dough from the refrigerator, portion it out into individual rolls and let it rise for a few hours while you go about cooking and/or cleaning.
Then you pop them in the oven for 20 minutes and they come out golden brown on top, hot, fluffy, and perfectly tender on the inside. Add a pat of butter and you’ll be in heaven!
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I’ll be the first to admit I’m not an amazing baker so when I tell you these dinner rolls are easy to make I mean it. The dough comes together easily and I love that you make them the night before so you have one less mess to clean up while you’re working on getting your holiday dinner on the table!
How to Make Overnight Refrigerator Yeast Rolls:
- Sprinkle yeast over ½ cup of warm water letting it sit for about 5 minutes.
- While the yeast dissolves place the shortening and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and cream them together.
- Add the beaten egg, 2 cups of warm water, salt, and yeast to the bowl and begin to mix.
- Add flour 1 cup at a time continuing to mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and your dough is formed.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a large ball. Place it in a large bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil or olive oil. Rub a little of the oil over the top of the dough to keep it from drying out.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to use shape the dough into 3 oz small balls and place them in a greased baking pan. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 3 hours.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes
Tip: Myrtle had one piece of advice for this recipe, make sure you sift the flour and fill right up the the 1 cup line.
Can You Freeze Yeast Rolls?
Yes! Bake the rolls and then let them cool to room temperature before wrapping them in plastic wrap and packaging them in a freezer bag before placing them in the freezer.
When you’re ready to use them remove from the freezer and place on a baking sheet. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. and bake for 15 minutes or until warmed through.
If the rolls begin to brown too much cover them loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
These will last for up to 2 months in the freezer.
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Overnight Refrigerator Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 package Dry active yeast
- ½ cup Warm water
- ½ cup Shortening
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 2 cups Warm water
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
- 8 cups All-purpose Flour, sifted
Instructions
- Sprinkle yeast over ½ cup of warm water letting it sit for about 5 minutes.
- While the yeast dissolves place the shortening and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and cream them together.
- Add the beaten egg, 2 cups of warm water, salt, and yeast mixture to the bowl and begin to mix.
- Add flour 1 cup at a time continuing to mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and your dough is formed.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a large ball. Place it in a large bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil or olive oil. Rub a little of the oil over the top of the dough to keep it from drying out.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to use shape the dough into 3 oz small balls and place them in a greased baking pan. Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 3 hours.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes
Sounds good. I’m wondering have you ever left them in the fridge for 2days before baking?
I haven’t left them for two days. I’m not sure how it would affect the yeast…
So very kind of you to bother replying on Christmas Eve Kat.
I won’t risk it.
made them for Thanksgiving and they were perfect.
Thanks again. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Mystifiedme
Do you think I could use butter instead of shortening?
I’ll be honest baking bread is not my specialty so I’m not certain how that would effect the recipe. Most likely it would be ok but I have never tried it.
Yes you can sub butter or oil for shortening. I am a bread baker and do it all the time.
The mixture was all clumpy when I went to add the flour. It barely rose when I put it in the fridge (probably because there are no instructions to knead it and develop the gluten). I didn’t end up baking it because the mixture did not rise, and I didn’t want flat rolls with clumps of shortening, butter, and yeast in it.
Hi Ava, I’m sorry you didn’t get a rise. As the instructions indicate I mix the flour in a cup at a time until everything is well mixed together. You should not have any clumps the dough should be nice and smooth so it sounds like yours wasn’t mixed well enough. I do not do any additional kneading before putting it in the refrigerator to rise. Is it possible your yeast was old?
What is the yield? Sorry if I missed it. Want to try these for Christmas Day. Seems like with 8C of flour it would make a lot! Thanks!
This made about 30 rolls if you measure the dough into 3 ounce balls.
With the mixer, what kind of beater do use? The regular one or dough hook?
I use either the paddle or the dough hook. The hook is best but both work!
Thank you for Mrytle’s recipe!
If this is for 30 rolls do you bake them in two 9 x 13 pans? One sheet pan?
I baked mine in 3 9×13 inch ceramic baking dishes.
This sounds exactly what I have been looking for, so excited to try it for Thanksgiving supper. Thanks!
What temperature for…..” Let the dough rise in a warm place for about 3 hours.“ I don’t understand how warm of a place they should be in for the 3 hours.
It just needs to be a warm room around 75 degrees F. Because my house is always cold I often sit mine near the oven while in doing my other cooking. That is a nice warm place. In the winter I also often sit it near a heating vent where it is nice and warm.
By one package of yeast do you mean 1 of 1/4 ounce pack of instant yeast that you buy in a strip of 3? We
Yes!
Could you go ahead and make the dough into balls then put in the fridge?
In general you should proof bread once as a whole ball before shaping and proofing again. I’m not certain what effect it would have on the end result if you skipped the first round of proofing in a large ball
Could you use this for cinnamon rolls? I made these and they were WONDERFUL!!! My father said it was the best roll he has EVER had
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. I haven’t tried using this dough for cinnamon rolls but it is very similar and it is an enriched dough so it would probably work.
I’ve never made rolls but I’d like to make these for Easter..
When you put one of your 3 balls in a 9×13, how do you shape them so they come out “roll shaped” like in the picture? It seems it would just bake into one giant roll. Thank you!
Never mind… I had adult adhd. I didn’t read the recipe correctly twice (third time I finally got it- not three balls, 3 oz balls). Thank you!
LOL, I’ve been there 🙂 Glad you figured it out and I hope you enjoy them!
Can’t the rolls be shaped then refrigerated then allowed to rise when ready to bake?
Tanya
You can do it that way if you like. Just depends on how much room you have in your refrigerator 🙂
I just made these today ! I used butter and rolled into 2oz balls ! A very easy recipe and I enjoyed them very much , maybe next time I’d add a bit more salt but over all great !