Lion House Rolls
Lion House Rolls are known around the world for their incredible texture and flavor. I’ve made this Lion House dinner roll recipe so many times that I’ve learned some tricks that I will share with you in the directions. Great for Thanksgiving, Easter, or any occasion. I may earn commissions for purchases made through links on this post.
LION HOUSE ROLLS
The Lion House Rolls are my favorite rolls HANDS DOWN!
If you aren’t familiar with the Lion House, it is a restaurant in Utah that is known for its food and especially its rolls. Everything on the Lion House menu is amazing but my favorite recipe is still their rolls.
They are so moist and the texture is amazing. Last time I was visiting my sister Shelly in Utah she made these.
I think she made her rolls extra large because she only got 12 rolls out of the batch. Imagine how big those would be.
I remember sitting and eating my roll and thinking there could not be a better roll recipe in the whole world.
My sister has five boys so I love being around her house full of teenage boys because it’s a little glimpse in the future for me.
Her boys are good boys full of energy (and hormones) always headed to a game or practice for one of their sports.
She is constantly cooking and feeding them hearty food trying to satisfy their raging appetites.
I laughed when I saw a tray of sandwiches in the fridge. She makes a tray, a whole tray, of huge sandwiches for them to “snack” on throughout the day.
What I learned is that my food bill is going to be huge in 10 years!
I know Thanksgiving should be all about the turkey, but for me it’s all about the rolls. I’m a sucker for a warm homemade roll with butter slathered all over it.
These Lion House rolls are legendary…for a reason.
What Is The Difference Between Active Dry Yeast & Instant Yeast
- Active dry yeast has a larger granule and needs to be dissolved in water (proofed) before using.
- Instant yeast is finer and doesn’t need to be proofed before using. It can be mixed right into the dry ingredients. This recipe calls for active dry yeast but you can also use instant yeast. You don’t need to proof the yeast in water. Just add the yeast and the water together in the recipe and continue on.
WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD THE WATER BE FOR THE YEAST TO RISE?
CAN I FREEZE THESE ROLLS?
Yes. You can freeze shaped rolls for later use. After the first rise, shape the rolls but do not rise again. Instead, place rolls on a baking sheet and immediately place in freezer. When dough is frozen solid, remove rolls from pan and place in a plastic bag, squeeze excess air out of bag and seal. Rolls can be frozen for 3 weeks.
OTHER ROLL RECIPES
- Taco Pizza Rolls
- Orange Rolls
- Easy Cheese Biscuits
- Dinner Rolls
- Soft Cinnamon Rolls
- Pizza Rolls
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
Lion House Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk, (like Nido or Nestle)
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/3 cup butter, softened (5 1/3 tablespoons - plus more for brushing the rolls after baking.)
- 1 large egg
- 5 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (bread flour can be used if you have it on hand and will make for a lighter roll)
Instructions
- In the large bowl of an electric mixer or in a separate glass bowl, combine the water and the milk powder and stir so the milk dissolves.
- Add the yeast to this mixture while water and milk are still warm. Add a pinch of sugar to help the yeast proof. Let the yeast proof (dissolve and start to react) for a couple of minutes. It helps to cover it with a towel to get it to proof. It should look foamy (see Notes for more information).
- Next, add the sugar, salt, butter, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 3 more cups of flour (now 5 cups total added so far) then mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes to knead. The dough will be getting stiffer.
- Add up to 1/2 cup of flour. You might not need to add it all just slowly add it until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl if using a mixer. This can be done by hand as well. The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not too stiff. Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately on tablespoon of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered with the oil. This helps prevent the dough from drying out. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size (about an hour).
- Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with flour and put the dough on the flour. You want to put enough flour on the dough so that it is workable and not sticky.
- You can roll these into crescent rolls or do it the traditional Lion House way. For the Lion House way: Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll each portion into a rectangle about 11X14 inches and about 1/4 inch thick and brush with melted butter. I probably use 1/4 cup melted butter brushed on here.
- You then want to cut the rectangle into smaller rectangles that are 2"X4" (a little smaller than a dollar bill). If you make and "L" with your thumb and pointer finger that will show you how wide and tall to cut your rectangles. See the video above for clarification.
- Then you roll them into the Lion House shape which is rolled with the tail of the roll touching the baking sheet (see pictures above) and place them on a greased (or parchment lined) baking pans with the end of the roll resting on the pan. Cover again with a kitchen towel so they don't dry out as they rise. Let rise in a warm place until the rolls are double in size (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours).
- Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are lightly browned. This definitely depends on the size of your rolls. Brush with melted salted butter while hot. Yields 2 to 2 1/2 dozen rolls.
Video
Notes
CAN I FREEZE THESE ROLLS?
Yes. You can freeze shaped rolls for later use. After the first rise, shape the rolls but do not rise again. Instead, place rolls on a baking sheet and immediately place in freezer. When dough is frozen solid, remove rolls from pan and place in a plastic bag, squeeze excess air out of bag and seal. Rolls can be frozen for 3 weeks.
My first rise looked perfect, but after rolling them out and rolling as directed, they didn’t rise hardly at all for the second rise. What could have gone wrong?
Since they rose the first time, I’m assuming the yeast was activated correctly. Some reasons it wouldn’t rise the second time are 1) a cool environment – too cool to rise 2) Overproofing or underproofing in the first rise. If they rose too long in the first rise the yeast could be exhausted 3) Dough wasn’t kneaded long enough
I have made this recipe for  a few years now. I taught my 13 yr old Grandson to make them and he does an awesome job! About a year ago, I decided to make cinnamon rolls out of this recipe with the addition of butter, cinnamon,sugar, of course!  Delicious!!!!!
Ooh I love that!
If I can’t find powder milk, can I use regular milk instead of water?
I never mess with the original but some have used regular milk.
Hi, thank you for the recipe! I don’t have a mixer. How long should I knead the dough by hand? Thank you
FANTASTIC recipe! Â Easy to follow and so light! Â My new go to! Â Thanks!
Thank you!
Hello I a going to attempt to make this. I was wondering if you could send me the video. For some reason the video is not coming up.
Here’s the video: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0t16aniyda04d0s5keqrk/Lion-House-Rolls-square.mp4?rlkey=f3n3jrqsiz1qov1ibrvdtnd8k&dl=0
I made these last year to take to my in-laws for Thanksgiving. Guess who has been asked to bring the rolls again this year? My in-laws are made-from-scratch die-hards & refuse to let anyone bring food for Thanksgiving. A request for these home-made rolls from my kitchen is a huge deal! Thanks for the brownie points! =)
Yayyy!
Is there any adjustments for high altitude?? every roll recipe I make flops .. these look delicious.. thank you
Shoot I’m sorry! I’m at 5300 ft and it doesn’t need adjusting
I never leave reviews but I absolutely had to for these rolls! I have tried LOTS of different recipes for dinner rolls, but these are by far the best ones I’ve ever made. I used bread flour for softness and for the sugar, I did half granulated sugar and half brown sugar for a touch of extra sweetness. These were amazing! My husband ate 5 in one sitting!!Â
That’s amazing!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE ROLLS! THE ONLY THING I DO A LITTLE DIFFERENT IS TAKE A COUPLE TEASPOONS OF THE SUGAR AND ADD IT TO THE DRY MILK, WATER AND YEAST. IT JUST REALLY HELPED THE YEAST ALONG. IDK WHY MY YEAST WASN’T ACTIVATING —BUT AFTER 20 MINUTES IT DIDN’T FOAM SO I ADDED A LITTLE SUGAR AND BAM! SO I HAVE JUST DONE IT THAT WAY EVERYTIME. IT COULD HAVE BEEN MY YEAST, I HAD IT VACUUM SEALED IN THE FREEZER FOR AWHILE. BUT THIS TRICK WORKS GREAT!
SOMETIMES I’LL ADD A LITTLE GARLIC AND SHREDDED CHEESE TO THE MELTED BUTTER TO MAKE DELICIOUS GARLIC ROLLS.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR AMAZING RECIPE!
Yes that definitely will help the yeast. Great tip!
This will be amazing to try! Can’t wait
The rolls look delicious. Â Can they be made with a sugar substitute? (Monk fruit)
Yes, Monkfruit works great.
I swear this is the recipe I always use from you,  but did you used to have it as crescents and with regular milk? I want to make these for thanksgiving and don’t have powdered milk and I wanted to make sure this is the recipe I used to always make? Did you change it?Â
Sorry this is the one I’ve always had? Never changed it.
Once you take the rolls out of the freezer how long do you let them defrost/rise?
I would say around two hours
These rolls look fabulous and will be trying them for the first time this thanksgiving. I am going to make them ahead of time and freeze. It is noted to freeze before the second rise. So to clarify, when I get them out of the freezer, do I let them do the second rise before baking?
Yes, let them rise after freezing.
Reading thru your notes and the comments, I see where you confirmed that the yeast amount of 2 tablespoons was a misprint, so instead it should be 2 teaspoons? And I want to shape, then freeze, and bake later so your notes say double the yeast, so I will use 4 teaspoons? But the water, sugar, etc amount all stays the same?Â
Sorry the official online recipe said “2 tablespoons (or 2 packages of yeast)” which is not equivalent and is a misprint. 2 tablespoons is correct. The online freezing instructions said to double the yeast before freezing but to be honest I’ve never done that and they turn out great. all other measurements stay the same.
I made these rolls today as a trial to see if they are good enough to serve at Thanksgiving. Oh my goodness YES!! These rolls are so flavorful, soft, and pillowy! Like a fluffy cloud! They will be my go to roll from now on!
Yay that’s awesome!
Can I make the dough in my bread machine and then make them into rolls?
You’re welcome!
Yes!
Is it 2 tablespoons of yeast? that would be 6 teaspoons… or almost 3 packets. Is that correct? I saw someone asking about that before and wondered if there was a misprint??
Sorry I cleared it up above. The online recipe had a misprint from Lionhouse. It is 2 tablespoons. I usually buy the jar of yeast so it makes measuring easier.
These rolls are absolutely fantastic. Everyone I made them for loved them. I got phone calls from some of my friends who said they were fabulous after being refrigerated for a week. They just popped them in the microwave and they tasted just like when I made them.
Thank you for the terrific recipes.
Yes. I love them reheated.
Your recipe sounds wonderful…I bake 12 different types of bread for several families. I think the amount o f yeast is a misprint…there are 2 1/4 teaspoons in a packet of yeast…so two packets would be 4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast.. I look forward to trying your recipe.
Yes, thank you! You are right