No-Knead Buttermilk Pull-Apart Rolls
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Soft and squishy, slightly sweet, these no-knead buttermilk pull-apart rolls resemble Parker House rolls in texture and taste. So easy and delicious!
Know this: any bread recipe you love can be mixed a day ahead of time and stashed in the fridge to rise. Or, if you like making rolls, you can make your recipe up to the point where you shape the rolls and stick them in the baking pan, at which point you can stick the pan in the fridge.
As I said, you can do this with any bread recipe you love, but if you don’t have one in mind, I have a thought: buttermilk pull-apart rolls. This is a recipe from Bread Toast Crumbs, my cookbook, and I made it recently with one small change: instead of splitting the dough and baking the rolls in two pans, I fit all 12 (or 24) rolls in one 9×13-inch baking pan.
It’s fun seeing a whole mess of rolls all squished together, and my children enjoyed pulling the mass to pieces. Slightly sweet, soft and squishy, these pull-apart rolls resemble Parker House rolls in both taste and texture and are such a festive bread to serve at Thanksgiving or really any holiday gathering. Easy peasy, too. (There’s both video and photo guidance below.)
If you like to make bread for holiday gatherings or dinner parties, a great way to get a jumpstart on preparations is to make the dough a day in advance.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Homemade Bread: Yes. You. Can. 🍞🍞🍞 Everyone will rave. (There’s nothing to it!)
Happy Thanksgiving, My Friends! I hope all of your preparations are going well. Happy to answer any bread (or other) questions you might have.
PS: No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls
How to Make Buttermilk Pull-Apart Rolls, Step by Step
Mix together the dry ingredients: all-purpose or bread flour, instant yeast, kosher salt, and sugar. (Note: For best results use a scale! Metric measurements are given below.)
Pour a scant cup of boiling water over a scant cup of buttermilk and let stand for 10 minutes.
Add the buttermilk-water mixture along with 4 tablespoons melted butter to the bowl of dry ingredients.
Mix to form a sticky dough ball.
Let rise in a warm spot for 2 hours (see recipe notes for details). You can use a cloth bowl cover or a lid here — I love this 4-quart Pyrex bowl + lid set.
After 2 hours, the dough will look something like this:
Turn it out onto a floured work surface. Divide the mass into 12 or 24 small pieces depending on what size roll you wish to make. I prefer the larger size for ease… shaping 24 rolls takes a long time. I typically make a double batch and make 24 larger rolls. Plus the larger size is better for leftover sandwiches. (Video guidance here.) Shape each piece into a round and fit into a buttered 9×13-inch pan. I love this 9×13-inch USA pan for so many things.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. I tuck the entire pan into a 2-gallon zip-top bag.
The following morning, let come to room temperature for 1 hour, then bake at 400ºF for 20 to 25 minutes.
Out of the oven, brush the rolls with 2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt.
Serve immediately with softened butter.
No-Knead Buttermilk Pull-Apart Rolls
- Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 to 24 rolls
Description
Adapted from Bread Toast Crumbs
11/15/2024 Update: I recently updated the recipe slightly in that I’ve upped the amount of flour from the start to 550 gram, and I’ve also, as a result, upped the salt. This higher amount of flour makes the dough slightly more manageable to work with and does not sacrifice any flavor.
Notes:
- Scale: For best results, please use a digital scale to measure.
- Salt: I now make these with 15 grams of kosher salt, which is about 5 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 2.5 teaspoons of Morton. If you are sensitive to salt, use less: 12 grams or 4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal and 2 grams Morton. Note: 15 grams may seem like a lot but the rule of thumb for bread and pizza dough is that the salt should weigh 2 to 3% the weight of the flour. For this recipe, that’s 12 to 15 grams.
- Warm place to rise: To create a warm place for your dough to rise, preheat your oven for 1 minute, then shut it off.
- Other vessels: If you don’t have a 9×13-inch pan, you can use two 8- or 9-inch round or square pans. I love this 9×13-inch USA pan.
- Water: If you live in a humid environment, consider holding back 2 to 4 tablespoons of water (15 to 30 grams) — this dough is very wet and sticky, and while you can use as much flour as needed while shaping, you might save yourself some trouble by holding back some of the water from the start.
- Preparing the dough in advance: I have received questions about how many days the shaped rolls can stay in the fridge, and I recently experimented. I let the shaped rolls (with the pan wrapped in plastic wrap) sit in the fridge for 48 hours before baking them. While the texture was the same — as feathery light as ever — I did not like the flavor, which tasted sour, but not in a pleasant way. So, unfortunately, I cannot recommend stashing these in the fridge for much more than 18 – 24 hours. If you must make them ahead of time, I suggest baking them for 20 minutes — the rolls will not be completely brown. Let them cool completely; then wrap the pan. When you need them, place in a 400ºF oven for 5 to 10 minutes; then brush with the butter and sprinkle with salt.
Ingredients
- 4.25 cups (550 g) all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for shaping
- 4 to 5 teaspoons kosher salt (12 to 15 g), see notes above
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast
- 1 scant cup (235 g) boiling water, or less, see notes above
- 1 scant cup (235 g) buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons melted butter, divided
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour salt, sugar, and instant yeast.
-
In a 2-cup liquid measure (or something similar), pour the boiling water over the buttermilk and let stand for 10 minutes. Give it a stir. The buttermilk will likely look curdled. This is okay.
-
Pour the buttermilk mixture and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter over the flour mixture. Stir until a sticky ball of dough forms. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or lidded vessel — I love this 4-quart Pyrex bowl + lid set, and set aside in a warm place to rise (see notes above) for 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
-
Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Flour a work surface and sprinkle flour lightly over the dough and around the edges. The dough will be very sticky, so use flour as needed. Gently coax the dough out of the bowl onto the floured work surface and shape into a rough ball (video guidance here) using flour as needed. Use a bench scraper to divide the ball into 24 portions (about 45 grams each if you feel like measuring) or 12 portions (about 90 grams each).
-
Using as much flour as necessary, shape each piece roughly into a circle. It’s okay if each piece is a little misshapen. Place the dough balls into the prepared pan, spacing them evenly apart.
- At this point, you can cover the pan and refrigerate overnight. Otherwise, heat the oven to 400ºF. Let the dough rise, uncovered, for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the dough pieces have puffed to almost fill the pan. (Note: If you refrigerate overnight, remove the pan at least 1 hour prior to baking.)
-
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately brush the surfaces of the rolls with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Sprinkle flaky salt over top to taste. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the pan out onto cooling racks and invert onto a plate or serving platter.
- Serve warm with more butter on the side.
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
375 Comments on “No-Knead Buttermilk Pull-Apart Rolls”
Hi Ali. I keep kosher and these rolls have buttermilk in them so unfortunately I cannot make them fr Thanksgiving. Is there a sub for the buttermilk? I’m sure there isn’t bc buttermilk is just so rich & tangy but thought I would ask anyways. Thank you!
I think they’d probably be great with just water… maybe slightly less soft but still delicious.
You can just add a teaspoon of vinegar to whatever non dairy milk you are using. I do this with soy milk and it works great.
Is there any step in the process that you think freezing the rolls and bringing them out for future use would be okay? Hoping to do some holiday preparations ahead of time. Thank you for any input 🙂
If you want to bake them ahead of time, I would bake them until they are nearly cooked through, let them cool then freeze. Thaw before baking them a second time on Thanksgiving day.
Two questions before I tackle this recipe. What does “scant” mean? And also, doesn’t the boiling water kill the yeast?
Scant just means slightly less… so you’ll need more than 3/4 cup but less than 1 cup… if you have a scale you don’t have to worry about this: 235 grams will be perfect.
You pour the boiling water over cold buttermilk, and after the 10 minutes, the temperature will be perfectly lukewarm… not too hot to kill the yeast, warm enough to get things going.
Can’t wait to try for Thanksgiving! Question about doubling like you mentioned for 24 larger rolls. Do you double and still use one 9X13 pan? Or double and use 2 pans? Thanks!
Hi! Great question: I double and use 2 pans 🙂
Thank you!!
These are the best rolls ever! But I prefer the original recipe and never wrote it down before you changed it! Would you share the original ratios of flour, liquid and salt please?! Thank you!!!
I’m so happy you like them 🙂
Here are the original proportions:
4 cups (512 g) all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for shaping
2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt (10 g), see notes above
2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar
2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast
1 cup (236 g) boiling water, or less, see notes above
1 scant cup (236 g) buttermilk
6 tablespoons melted butter, divided
flaky sea salt
Truly shocked at how delicious these are! Followed the recipe exactly and was rewarded with amazing dinner rolls. Will absolutely make again!
So nice to hear this, Amber! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
I have made these in the past and after allowing them to cool completely wrapped them in foil. They stayed together just fine for the transfer. Place the foil wrapped package into a two gallon bag to freeze. Bring them out of the freezer on T day and warm them in the oven whilst all the mains are being plated and the turkey carved. They were demolished by the family and I should have made dozens more!
Amazing! Stacey, thank you so much for writing and sharing these notes: SO HELPFUL!! Everyone wants to know what can be done ahead of time for the big feast 🙂
I love these so very much. Definitely think the update makes sense because they were very wet and I was always generous with adding flour! Making them again now 💛
Great to hear, Ashley! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
How would you adapt these for sourdough starter instead of instant yeast ?
Hi! Omit the yeast. Add 100 grams of sourdough starter. Reduce the water by 50 grams. I haven’t done this, but this is my guess. My reason for not suggesting you reduce the flour by 50 grams as well is because this is a very sticky dough and sourdough sometimes comes out stickier than yeast-leavened doughs in my experience.
How can I make this recipe gluten free? Or can I use your GF Peasant Bread for rolls?
Thanks! Robin Hill
I might consider making the gluten-free peasant bread recipe, but baking them in muffin tins. I’m just not sure how this recipe will work with gluten-free flour, because gluten-free bread dough essentially needs to be the consistency of batter for it to taste good. Have you made the gluten-free peasant bread? If so, you’ll know what I’m talking about, and I do think it would bake up nicely in a muffin tin 🙂
I have made this recipe twice. The first was as written, and I struggled with shaping the very slack dough. The results were delicious, but the process was a challenge. The second time I added about 150 g extra flour to the dough (about 6 C) and kneaded it with my mixer. The dough was beautiful and far easier to shape. So, though it’s a “no-knead” recipe, for those of us who don’t mind the kneading, extra flour in the dough may help with the shaping.
What if fridge space for the rise is an issue? Can you make these the same day? Thanks- I love your recipes.
Yes, absolutely! They come out beautifully same day… I often do this because we nearly always celebrate Thanksgiving at my sister’s house, and there is no space for storing rolls over night. Go for it 🙂
Could I use honey instead of sugar?
Yes!
Question? Taking a leap and making rolls for the first time. The recipe says all- purpose or bread flour – what is the potential difference?
Bread flour will make for a slightly loftier loaf of bread and is slightly easier to work with — the dough will be slightly stiffer. If you are heading to the store, get bread flour. I say either just because it works well with ap flour, too, and I hate for people to feel they have to run out for another flour when they already have one on hand.
I made these exactly as written, even used a scale. unfortunately, they turned out kinda dense and chewy. I prefer light and fluffy rolls. What did I do wrong? All the steps looked exactly the same as in your video, too.
Bummer! A few thoughts. What kind of flour are you using? Did you do an overnight rise or same day rise? How long was the final proof before baking? And finally, what kind of buttermilk are you using? Is it very thick?
Hi Ali! I had the same issue as the commenter here – my dough just never seemed to rise and the final product was really dense. The buttermilk I used was pretty thick, could that be the culprit?
I used AP flour, measured everything carefully (admittedly by volume, not weight). After the first 2 hour proof in my warm kitchen, the dough had barely risen. I let it proof for 30 extra minutes before I divided and transferred to the fridge for overnight proof. But again, they barely rose. 🙁
Wondering if I somehow killed the yeast, even though I did the 10-minute step w/ the buttermilk + boiling water? I might try again, I’ve always had good luck w/ your recipes and I need to redeem myself!
Bummer! A few thoughts:
1. It does sound as though something happened to the yeast. If the dough didn’t rise at all during the first rise, then it makes sense that the rolls were dense. Are you sure the yeast is fresh? As in not expired? Was it instant or active dry?
2. I do think using thick buttermilk could have been the issue, and I have been meaning to make a note about this bc at one point I did love using a local, thick-ish buttermilk. Now, I use Kate’s, which is on the thin side. I think if you measure by weight, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but I think volume measures could lead to using too much, which also could lead to heavy rolls.
3. Finally, I think bread flour might help! But I also think using a scale will be hugely helpful if you’re up for investing in one 🙂
Thanks so much for the reply! I did use instant yeast and it was new. I went ahead and bought a scale yesterday for my baking needs, excited to try again using weighted ingredients – will report back! 🙂
Great to hear, Hally! A scale will make all the difference. And if you can find Kate’s buttermilk, which I think is pretty widely available, go for that 🙂
I can never remember or understand: is instant yeast different than simply active dry yeast? I have lots of active dry yeast and would like to use that. Is it just that I need to let it bloom?
Yes, I’d consider doing this: combine 3/4 cup cold water with 1/4 cup boiling water, which will create perfectly lukewarm water. Sprinkle the yeast over this mixture along with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Let it bloom for 15 minutes. Then proceed with the recipe, simply adding the buttermilk and melted butter to the dry ingredients along with the yeast-y water.
Salted or unsalted butter?!
You can use either! I always use salted, because that’s generally what I always have on hand.
Hello, I see this recipe has us baking the rolls at 400F but your book says 375F. Which should I use?
400F! I find 400 for 25 minutes consistently is what works for me 🙂
Excellent! thank you for the quick reply. I’ve made several of your recipes from Bread Toast Crumbs and have loved every one of them. I will add a small note for the update to the book. Wish me luck! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Can I use my pizza flour 00 for this recipe?
Hi! Apologies for the delay here… 00 flour makes for a very wet dough, so if you were to use 00 flour, I’d hold back some of the water so that the dough is not unmanageable to work with. You also might not get as much loft with 00 flour as with bread flour. 00 flour is known for its “extensible” gluten structure, which is great when stretching out for pizza but not necessarily for making springy loaves of bread.
So yummy and fluffy! We made these for Thanksgiving and they turned out so well. Takes a little time but worth the wait. My kids give it two thumbs up!
So nice to hear this, Karen! Thanks so much for writing. Glad the kids approved, too 🙂
I haven’t been able to find buttermilk this week. Will it be fine if I make my own with milk and vinegar? Thank you!
Yes! And shoot, apologies for the delay here. Hope it worked out for you!
These rolls blew our collective minds on Thanksgiving Day. Because they’re so easy, mixing and baking them felt like the afterthought in all the hustle of cooking and prep, but like your schedule recommends I put them in the oven at last minute (after 1.5hrs coming to room temp on the counter) with the Ottolenghi carrots. When I pulled them out and piled their soft pillowy melted butter warm goodness in baskets on the table, you could hear the collective sigh. The low carb “I don’t eat bread”‘folks ate 2, or 4, and I am starting another batch right now to go with our turkey carcass soup. ☺️ LOVE these and will never make another dinner roll.
Cait, I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this. I’m glad they worked with your Thanksgiving schedule, and I’m so glad they were well received. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!
You never steer me wrong! I made these for thanksgiving this year and they turned out so damn perfect. I did reduce the water a tiny bit as suggested and had no problem handling or shaping the dough. THIS is my new roll recipe. Thank you!!!!
Great to hear, Megan! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
These were so comforting! I stood there dunking 2 rolls in gravy waiting for other things to finish. Our water smelled strong of chlorine on T-Day so I subbed it with 2% milk. It had a hefty crumb that withstood a heavy gravy!
Great to hear, Kasey! Thanks so much for writing and sharing these notes 🙂
I’m going to have to try these again. I followed the recipe exactly, and they cooked beautifully. However, they were so salty that we couldn’t eat them. I’m determined to figure out the amount of salt for round 2.
Hi! Are you using a scale to measure? It’s probably the type of salt you are using. If you are using Morton, use half as much by volume (or the same by weight). What kind of salt did you use?
It was Windsor Iodized Table Salt – for cooking and baking [Canada]. Next go round I will weigh it instead. Thank you SO much for replying. They were a breeze to make, so when I get the recipe dialed, I know they will be a treat.
I hope the second go around will be a success! I think the table salt is the culprit… it’s likely the same saltiness as the Morton Kosher salt, which means you would want to use half as much by volume or the same by weight. Sorry again for the trouble here.
These are WONDERFUL!!! And very easy to make. I did use a digital scale, and doubled the recipe for thanksgiving. Came out beautifully even when prepared the day before and let out of the fridge on the day of for several hours past the recommended 1 hour. I have made a third batch and they are fabulous. I will definitely keep these in the rotation. Thank you!
Great to hear, Tanya! So glad the timing is flexible… I’m going to add notes to the recipe. Thanks so much for writing 🙂
I made these rolls today and they were the best I’ve made to date! I love how simple it was to do everything in one bowl! I used my scale to measure everything which I feel is key to this turning out so well! Thank you for posting. I will be making this one again!
Great to hear, Patty! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this 🙂
Ali, this recipe may be my new favorite from you. I made it for the first time for Thanksgiving 2024 and did the refrigerate overnight method to bake the morning of. My gosh. I made a double batch and thank goodness. Five of us at the meal and I came away with 1/2 dozen for my leftover turkey sandwiches. They were a HIT. And so incredibly easy to follow and create. Thank you for another winner!
So nice to hear this, Heidi! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this 🙂 I made the rolls twice more in the days following TG to satisfy our leftover needs 🙂
Alex, well my Christmas dinner guests have already asked if I was making these again, yes! I had followed you instructions re freezing and reheating, worked perfectly. I am wondering for this year, just for a tiny change, if an egg wash with sesame or poppy would lend itself to these? If so, is it applied right before baking or when reheating after defrosting. Thank you.
Hello! And apologies for the delay here… I am slowly catching up on comments. I think an egg wash + poppy seeds or sesame seeds sounds lovely.
Just baked these to freeze for Christmas. I thought I’d comment re: the minor changes you made to the recipe as my prior year bakes turned out better. This year with the extra flour and using the full amt of water they didn’t rise as light and soft during first rise. Also, with the 400 heat rather than the 375 they cooked too fast. I wanted to take out at 190 as I will freeze and reheat. In 15 min they were over 200 and very pale. I guess for Christmas I will spray with a bit of water attempting to rehydrate and maybe broiler for a moment for color? Then the butter and salt. So from this years experience I will go back to the prior ingredient amounts and 375 oven.. The add’l salt really did improve the taste although if I go back to original flour I probably should cut back to your 3teaspoons.
Denise, hello! And apologies for the delay here. I’m sorry to hear the changes didn’t help! Question: are you using a scale to measure? If you go back to the original amount of flour, cutting back the salt is a good idea: it should be 2 to 3% the weight of the flour, so for 512 grams of flour, it should be between 10 and 15 grams of salt.