Master Roll Dough
This dough does it all! Use it for making my Crescent Dinner Rolls, Cinnamon Rolls, Orange Rolls, S’mores Rolls…just about any type of sweet roll! It is an easy-to-mix, easy-to-handle dough that bakes up so fluffy and rich! You’ll love using it for so many different baked treats!!

I use this recipe as a base for several of my Baking Academy Classes – it’s that good!! Go HERE to learn more about how you can get my personal help in mastering this and other amazing recipes, using my Master Roll Dough!
Recipes using my Master Roll Recipe:
These are some of my best recipes from my former bakery days! Thousands sold with rave reviews!! They’re each so delicious and unique!
Master Roll Dough
This dough does it all! Use it for making Crescent Dinner Rolls, Cinnamon Rolls, Orange Rolls, S’mores Rolls…just about any type of sweet roll! It is an easy to mix, easy to handle dough that bakes up so fluffy and rich! You’ll love using it for so many different baked treats!!
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water (about 115°F)
- ¼ cup nonfat powdered milk
- ½ cup boxed potato flakes
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup butter flavored shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 5-6 cups bread flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine warm water, powdered milk, potato flakes, sugar, yeast and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Pour into the mixer bowl and secure the dough hook attachment to your mixer.
- Add the butter, butter flavored shortening and eggs. Add 3 cups of the bread flour. Mix for about 30 seconds until ingredients are incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula.
- Turn mixer on low and add 2 more cups of the bread flour, one cup at a time. After adding the flour, let dough continue to mix for about 1 minute. If dough is not mostly cleaning sides of the bowl, add more flour 1/4 cup at a time until it cleans the sides of the bowl and is concentrated around the dough hook. You can also check the dough by gently pressing your finger into it. If the dough does not stick to your finger, it should be ready to knead.
- Knead on low speed for 5-7 minutes. Dough should be clinging to the dough hook and cleaning the sides of the bowl. *When in doubt, it’s always best to go lighter on the flour. You can always add more flour, but you can’t take flour away. Too much flour in your dough will give you dry, dense rolls.
- Spray a medium bowl with nonstick spray. Place dough in bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until double in size, about 60-90 minutes.
- Dough is now ready to roll out. Roll up crescent dinner rolls or sweet rolls – allow to rise until doubled in size. Whether baking crescent dinner rolls or sweet rolls, generally this dough will bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes.
Notes
- Check out my Baking Academy, where I have recorded video tutuorials showing how to make Crescent Dinner Rolls, Cinnamon Rolls, Orange Rolls and other delicious treats with my Master Roll Dough!
- This dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours for later use.
Nutrition
Calories: 182kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 160mgPotassium: 66mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 95IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.3mg
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These were the best rolls I have ever eaten. Ridiculously delicious. Very easy! Soft, fluffy and buttery and everything you have dreamed of in a dinner roll. I don’t think I will use any other recipe ever again.. these are IT.
I’m so glad you liked them! They’re our family favorite!
I love this roll recipe.
Question: instead of making the crescent shape can I just make a standard ball/ roll shape?
Hi Heidi, So glad you’re loving this recipe! It’s my favorite! You could definitely try to make these into buns instead of crescent rolls. However, it can be pretty tricky to get them looking pretty, as the dough is rather soft. Is it impossible? No, but just play around with it and give it a try. I’d suggest brushing butter on the tops both before and after baking. I do have a couple of really great bun roll recipes you might like to try. My Skillet Dinner Rolls are so good! They’re very soft and fluffy! And my Super Fluffy Whole Grain Dinner Rolls are similar but made with a 10-grain cereal mix and some additional whole wheat flour. Each of these recipes would make an incredible bun roll! Hope you enjoy!
If I let the dough rise once and I am refrigerating the dough, will it rise a second time before baking? How long should I wait before baking if the dough is cold?
No need to let the dough rise before refrigerating – it will rise in the refrigerator. For the second rise, allow the rolls to proof until they pass the poke test. As they rise, they will come to room temperature. It will only add about 30-45 minutes of rise time to the final rise.
Hi Heather. I made the cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning and they were awesome! What other types of things can I make with this dough other than sweet roll and crescent rolls? Can I make soft pretzels with this dough ? Thanks so much!
So happy to hear you loved this recipe! There are so many other things you can make with this dough! You’ll see a list of recipe links at the end of this blog post that use this dough. You can click on the recipe title and it will take you to the recipe. Enjoy!
Can this recipe be doubled
Yes! I double this recipe all the time! Make sure your mixer can hold the capacity. I’ve used a Bosch and Ankarsrum to double it. A Kitchenaid would most likely not have the capacity. Enjoy!