School Lunchroom Cafeteria Rolls

Delicious!! My new roll recipe. I, too, halved the ingredients, but used two pks of the yeast. I've been trying other roll recipes, but this one is "it". Thank you.

Wow! These were EXACTLY the rolls I remember from school. Thank you!!! I read the reviews before I made these and noticed many comments said they were bland, so I looked up typical salt-to-flour ratios for yeast breads, and the amount was off by 2 teaspoons, more if more flour is used while kneading. (Ratio is 1/2 teaspoon salt per 1 cup flour.) I didn't have shortening so I substituted butter for that, and since shortening is 100% fat and butter is 20% water (if you use typical butter--European butter has a higher fat content), I used a tablespoon more butter (so 5 tablespoons were used) for rubbing into the flour, and took away a tablespoon of water from the 3 cups. These were amazing!!! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!!!

I have been searching for the perfect roll recipe, this is it! Just follow the recipe and you can't go wrong. I could not believe how light this dough was and the rolls turned out GREAT. Thanks for the recipe.

Very easy. I followed the recipe to a "t". Very light and fluffy. Tasty with melted honey butter on them.Mix your honey and butter together. Pop into the micro for about 10 seconds. Pour over the rolls. Yum, Yum, Yum!!!

I made the full recipe and while the dough rose beautifully and the rolls looked very good they had absolutely no taste whatsoever. I was really hoping for somthing a little better. I'll stick with the "best rolls ever" also found on this site. Thanks for sharing though.

These rolls were delicious - just what I was looking for. I served these right from the oven at dinner, and they were the best part of the meal. I made half a batch (about 24 rolls) and they were all gone the next day - the kids wanted to take them to school for lunch. Thanks for the recipe, MOMMY2THREEANGELS, I'll be making these again and again and probably during the holidays too. Update: I like to scale the recipe down to 15 servings and make the dough in my bread machine. I've replaced up to 1/3 of the flour with ww flour. I don't make these as often as my kids request because I usually eat too many (the big reason why I never make a full batch). Enjoy!

My 10 yr old came home from school today BEGGING me to get the my friend (the lunch lady at his school) to teach me how to make the rolls they serve in the cafeteria. It would be 2 days before she had time to get together with me, so I turned to the internet! This being my FIRST time baking bread, not to mention my limited cooking skills in general.....I felt pretty brave just for trying. Well....I hate to admit allowing him to do this......but he ate FOUR of these rolls right out of the oven!! His comment: "Mom, I never say this about your home cooking but (as he placed his fingers at his mouth and saluted me with a kiss!).....SUPERB!!!" He then went on to tell me that my rolls blew the cafeterias OUT OF THE WATER! Wow! What a compliment! My heart SOARED and I was filled with pride! LOL. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!

These were good and easy. I used 1/2 wheat flour and ended up not using all the dry/flour mixture, maybe a 1/2 cup or so was left. Oh and I didn't roll them out. It was just easier for me to pull chunks off and roll them into balls.

Wonderful! Just like school...don't be stingy with the time for kneading, it's so important to get that texture right. Fab flavor! Making them again today.

These rolls are delicious,soft,most and just what I was looking for. I served these right from the oven at dinner, I made half a batch and I (about 18 rolls)I will be making them a lot. Thanks for posting the best rolls on this site. my family loved them......Terry

Now these are some great, easy to make and tasty yeast rolls. I did cut the recipe down to 15 and made 14 rolls, placed in a buttered 9x13 glass dish. I did have to bake for about 17-18 minutes to get the nice browning. They are light, fluffy and I think the flavor is just what I love! Served with Brown Sugar Meatloaf and fresh greenbeans with little new potatoes. What a gourmet meal!

a little sticky but good! next time I will just cut them into squares and bake then in a cake pan. really soft and moist.

Best darn yeast rolls EVER!!! Kids and husband absolutely LOVED these rolls. Even my husbands' supervisor requested these lovely balls of heaven! He said it tasted just like his grandma's recipe, but she let hers rise on the table overnight and then steamed them until done over a pot! This way is soo much easier and they taste fabulous! Wonderful recipe, everyone must try this one if they love yeast rolls!

I made only a half recipe. Quick and easy to make.

They are wonderful. I make these rolls every Sunday for dinner, and have done for months now. Instead of sugar in the yeast I use honey. It seems to grow faster. I also use quick rise yeast just to speed up the process a bit. I have also used this recipe to make white bread. It makes two large loaves. I usually make braided bread and bake it on a cookie sheet. It is wonderful every single time.

Oh my! This takes me back to my school days for sure! As other reviewers have said, sure, these rolls could stand to have a little more salt. But things like that can be adjusted. The texture, fluffiness, and density of these rolls are what make this recipe 5 stars. Just perfect, and will absolutely be my go-to recipe from now on. Oh, and don't be afraid of the dough - it gets really sticky!

Outstanding. We absolutely loved. Scaled down to 15 and made primarily as directed. Noting following changes for my records (as I *will* be making these again): use 3T from the warm water along with sugar to proof yeast; 2 2/3 c flour; 1/3 c whole wheat + more when kneading. Do knead dough after adding flour - not much, but give it a few nice turns. Only added about 1T of melted butter after 1st rise and then kneaded for a good 3-5 minutes. Baked in 13x9" buttered pan and mine did take a few minutes longer to bake - probably around 15 to 16 minutes. Very nice!

This is, without a doubt, the best bread recipe I have found yet. Very light & fluffy. I added a little more sugar because I like a sweeter bread. Turned out wonderful. I will be serving these at our Christmas dinner.

These were exactly what I was looking for! I followed the recipe to a T (although I scaled it down by half) and they were perfect. My husband and kids couldn't eat them fast enough. I ended up making a second FULL batch the same day! Since then I've made them several times and frozen the dough once the rolls are shaped. They thaw beautifully. I have made one small change though, I started substituting whole wheat flour for 1/3rd of the white flour. They don't rise as high, but the flavor is not affected, and I'm getting some whole wheat into my kids. Thanks for a FABULOUS recipe!

I made these rolls today as a 'trial run' while trying to find a winning recipe for thanksgiving dinner. This is it! Although when I make them tomorrow, I will add about an extra 1/2 tsp of salt or so.... I brushed some melted butter on these before baking to add a light 'shine' to them, and to encourage browning. These are AMAZING! I can't wait to hear the accolades!

Yum....be sure to cook long enough . It takes some time for them to brown and cook through. I used a glass pie pan w /shortening and rubbed stick of butter on tops of rolls and cooked until golden . This made a ton. next time I will half .I kept in fridg for about 4 days and just kept pulling from it to bake . Adding to rotation for sure ...Thank you !

I scaled it down to 12 servings BUT once I had it mixed up I cut the ball of dough in half and made 6 dinner rolls and 8 cinnamon rolls! Best of both worlds! They were so amazing! I did the math myself because I forgot about the "change the serving" button. So my measurements were a little different, and laughable at the way I went about it, but they turned out A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 3/4 c water, 1/2 tbsp + 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp yeast, 3/4 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp milk, 1/2 egg, 3/4 tsp + pinch salt, 2.5c flour, 2.5 tbsp + 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp shortening. I did end up mixing the butter in with the milk in the beginning, oops! I made the dough up and went through the first rise, punched down and kneaded for 2 more minutes. I did use my kitchen aid. Then I halved the dough and formed 6 balls of dough with one half and followed the recipes directions for second rise and baking. With the other half I rolled into a 6x11 rectangle (approx size) and then I smeared 2-3 tbsp softened butter, generously sprinkled with cinnamon, and 2 tbsp sugar. Rolled the short 6" end to the other short end. Cut with floss into 8 even pieces. For cinnamon rolls I preheated oven to 170 and turned off oven, then let rolls sit in oven for 30 minutes covered, took them out & set on top and preheated oven to 400. Then baked for 13-15 minutes. Frosted with 2 tbsp melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp milk, 1 c powdered sugar. The cinnamon rolls were fantastic re-heated in microwave for 15-20 seconds!

This is one of the best roll recipe I have found and easiest to make. Freezes well too.

This recipe is perfect! I made it exactly as it says. Served them with dinner with some honey cinnamon butter... delicious! Froze some of them since it makes so many.

Great recipe. Did change a few things though.7 cups of flour instead of 10 and used 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening instead of 1/4 cup shortening. Mixed dry ingredients together, then added milk,eggs and salt and mixed together. Added the yeast and water last, because I heard that salt will deactivate the yeast.I also used the moist towel over them after I rolled them into balls and used salted butter.A+

I don't think that rolls can get much better. I was worried that they weren't rising, but turned out great! Halved the recipe, used .50 ounces of yeast. Soft, big, delicious-tasting with butter drizzled over them. I am NEVER resorting to BISCUITS again. ROLLS are where it's at!

this recipe is awesome! these are exactly like the rolls my husband and i loved in school. i'm not much of a baker but i just followed the directions and they turned out great!

great rolls when fresh. found that they got a little dry after they had cooled for a while.

Finally, the recipe for rolls like we use to get in the school cafeteria! I did use rapid rise yeast for this. I used my stand mixer and dough hook and let it do all the work. Make the rolls a good size (golf ball). I also found that using a round pie/cake pan worked better than a baking dish as the rolls rose more evenly. Yummy!

I made this twice, once for my husband, and then for a dinner with 12 people. All the rolls were gone! I did not substitute anything.

Halved the recipe, it made 27 good sized rolls. My family raved about these and said they reminded them of popular TR Steakhouse rolls. I'm getting ready to make them again and will be making the full recipe this time. I have found my new roll recipe! Awesome with honey and butter.

These are delicate, tender, delicious, and far superior to everything my school lunchroom ever produced! I made a half batch--now I wish I'd made a double! I will use this over and over and over! I didn't change a thing except method-wise--I kneaded in the bowl, and used the tear-off-and-shape method. I did have to add about a half cup more flour when kneading--it was far too sticky but that's probably something to do with halving the recipe. EDIT: 11/2009: Made these again, using the overnight rise method. Even more delicious. But do be sure to let them reach room temperature before you bake, otherwise the tops will get too done before the middles are done! I gave mine 2.5 hours to reach room temp & ran out of time...so at least 3 hours.

AWSOME! Even the lady at work who doesn't know how to cook can do this one! Thanks! Brings back many memories of school lunch ladies' fresh made bread! Thanks for sharing!

I used this for my 1st time baking rolls and it was a success! Now I use it as a guideline. We eat whole wheat so I substitute 7 cups with wheat and use less sugar. They turn out great everytime! Thank you for posting!!! :) also note: My mother in law is a great baker and is jealous of the texture of my bread! :)

I am so excited! I made half of the recipe and they are great! I have never made bread before that we actually could eat! I agree with the 8 yr old daughter, these are the best!

These rolls were good although they weren't just like MY lunchroom rolls when I was a kid! I like the more doughy, gooey soft rolls. If you're like me, reduce the bake time to 10 minutes and remove BEFORE the rolls are golden brown. I also used unsalted butter b/c the recipe didn't say either way but next time I will use salted. I also used square bake pans instead of the round.

Great recipie, just like my old cafeteria used to serve. I live in Spain and the powdered yeast we get here is practically worthless. Once I figured out that I had to use real yeast instead of the powdered stuff the rolls turned out wonderfully.

I used this same recipe for the bread machine. I cut the measures by two thirds so that it would fit into the machine. This still makes two pans worth of rolls by the end. I set the machine too the 'dough' setting which takes about half an hour and rises during that time. Once the machine is finished I remove the dough and form balls of dough onto baking pans and let them rise again for about 40 mins. Then once I bake them at 400 for 12 mins and they come out like a dream.

My boyfriend has been on a cooking spree and decided to make these for my children and I! They were the best he's made yet! But of course he split the recipe in half and made 18 rolls for us and my (our) 2 teenage children! Way to go my cowboy! We love u so much! Keep up the good work!

I ended up making more of a loaf because I found the dough to be too sticky to make balls, but it was WONDERFUL! This was a huge hit, and it is something that I will make over and over again. It was also my first experiment with making bread from scratch without a breadmaker, so it was really pretty easy. If I can make it, anyone can!

Yep these are the ones!! Although I do agree with othere reviews that this recipe could use a tad more salt. I feel that is a personal preference and does not take away from the ease of making these delicious rolls. I was looking for a recipe for dinner rolls for Thanksgiving and I think I have found it! Makes plenty and they turn out beautiful. Scaled recipe down to 15 servings and they turned out great! Thanks for sharing and bringing back so many great memories!

These are the best! They were so easy to make and the family LOVED them! Will make again and again!

I made these rolls for my Thanksgiving dinner for the first time on 11/22/07. They were positively AWFUL! They were dry and flavorless. I think the recipe calls for way to much flour. What a waste of time and ingredients. It made 54 rolls. I had 27 people for dinner. What a flop. They went begging. They certainly weren't anything close to the school rolls we used to get which were high, light, fluffy and delicious. Don't waste your time making these.

The best!

didn't work for me

used whole wheat flour...still delicious

Even tho this made pretty good rolls, they did not taste the way I remember schoolhouse rolls. To me, they had the taste and texture of commercial white bread..and there's nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I was looking for.

These are really easy to make and the best rolls we have ever made! This recipe has replaced a long time yeast roll recipe that we have used for years.

It's true, you can't mess these up! I am not any good at bread making and these turned out great. I used butter flavored Crisco and they tasted wonderful!

I was fortunate to grow up in a district where the school cafeteria food was pretty darn good. These rolls are just like the ones I grew up on. In fact, since my grandma was also my favorite lunch lady, this recipe takes me back to the days when she would bring me some of the leftover rolls to have at home. The schools also used to use the same dough to make the best cinnamon rolls. I'll be trying that this weekend. Thanks for posting!

Got on "Recipe Buzz" for a quick answer for a recipe I remember reading for cafeteria rolls. This was exactly what I was looking for. Very easy and yummy. I did half it and use 2 pkg of yeast as another suggested. All those recipes I have tried and now I have it!!

These did rise beautifully, and it could just be me, but I don't think there was enough salt. Kind of bland flavor.

Oh my goodness, these are better than what I expected, especially with my bread talents. :) This was so easy and not time consuming at all. And it made a lot of rolls. Thank you so much this will now be my roll recipe. I may add some herbs and cheese next time to spice it up.

just as easy as they claimed! taste was nice, I've never made dinner rolls before. would be super with a sunday chicken dinner! thanks for sharing

interesting, but yummy!

We made these at work for fellowship dinner. We make about 150 yeast rolls each week and wanted to try a new recipe. We like the flavor of these but did not care for the texture. They were a bit lumpy from the shortening. Perhaps we increased the batch yield by too much and it caused problems or didn't knead enough? I will try making a smaller batch at home.

This is a great recipe!! I think it can be very versitile! I do think it needs a little more salt :)

Awesome recipe. I cut it in half or thirds to make great cinnamon rolls as well. I have also made it with organic wheat pastry flour it was awesome

These are the best rolls ever. It is so worth the time and effort. I have made these several times with no problems they are a favorite with my family. Just like the school rolls we used to have when I was little.

I halved the recipe and it still turned out great. I used a little more sugar just because I like a sweeter bread but other than that stayed right with it. Great recipe for beginners.

Wonderful recipe! Due to my families dietary needs, I substituted a few ingredients, but this is the best roll recipe I have found.

These were not what I was expecting taste wise. They were very bland. I would have given only 3 stars, but I scaled down the recipe and did not make as posted. The rolls had a nice fluffiness and texture was beautiful, but taste was just blah.

Made a half batch of these in the form of garlic knots as my contribution to a friend's dinner. They were a hit. I substituted bread flour for the AP flour. I found it unnecessary to use a floured surface to roll it out as kneading the butter in made it plenty slick and would have ruined that smooth golden finish that is such a large part of these types of rolls. I brushed them with butter and sprinkled garlic salt and Italian seasoning on them and they were perfect. I would up the salt if I were just making them as regular dinner rolls as they might be a little bland otherwise.

These rolls turned out great and i have never made rolls from scratch before. However, it does make a lot of rolls! I should have read the amount of each ingredient first - 10 cups of flour - you will need a big bowl! Yummy though!!

Fantastic rolls! The whole family loved these. This recipe will definitely go into our regular rotation. Thanks for posting!

Excellent recipe. Very easy, this was my first time making bread. The rolls came out perfect so light and fluffy tasted great. I made two batche in two days, gave some away. everbody loved it!!!!!

I, like other reviewers, am wondering how it is that I really didn't like these rolls, yet others really loved them. Different strokes I guess. The rolls in my school cafeteria were amazing and these just tasted completely bland. The only flavor I could taste was the yeast, which wasn't appealing. Since it made so many, I threw out lots of rolls. My family just didn't enjoy them.

Although I followed the recipe to a "T" and the rolls looked delicious before going into the oven, they came out dry and a little hard. And they didn't puff up at all in the oven..not really sure why.

The directions were easy to follow. Absolutely Delicious!

Scaled to 15 for small batch. Good - but not great. Needs more flavor and umph!

Delicious, soft, plain white yeast rolls. If you are looking for a basic soft roll for dinner, this is it! I halved the recipie (I didn't have 10 cups of flour on hand!). I also cooked enough for dinner, and froze the rest of the dough in balls so I can have fresh baked brea on another evening. Easy and yummy!

These are very bland. They need a lot more flavor.

unbelievable........... My ex wifes family invites me to holiday meals and assign me the Roll part... Use this recipe everytime....... perfect.... My Grandma use to be cook at high school and gave this recipe to me but it was for 250 rolls this one is just as good.

I'm 14, and this is the first dinner roll recipe I've ever made. It was SSOOO easy and tasted delious!!! These rolls are light, fluffy, and flavorful. I am going to make these for every holiday and special occasion. 5 stars!!!

I think this was a great recipe. I used it to make pepproni rolls. I was out of milk so I used buttermilk and they turned out awesome and I brushed a egg wash on top before I put them in the oven and brushed butter on them when they came out

Just Loved Them. They were TERRRRRIFIC!!! :)

These rolls are awsome!! Makes a whole bunch of rolls! My family of five all liked it alot!! I have tried many different yeast roll recipes and by far this one is the best!! moist, perfectly brown and simple to make!!! thank you!!!!

Excellent! Follow the recipe and you won't fail. I found it easier to roll and shape into mini oblong loaves about 3" long, then pressing by hand to flatten about 1" thick rather than rolling them out and cutting them. These are the lightest rolls you will find anywhere.

Beautiful! Thanks for an incredibly simple and tasty recipe. These baked up fluffy and with a good flavor - a definite keeper!

These rolls are really light and fluffy but I did agree with others that they could use a little extra salt. Needed just a little more flavor.

good, but kind of thick.....

This is nothing like my school food. You couldn't even eat my school food. LOL. But this is very good!!! I am making them for thanksgiving some of them I am going to add a little honey to them before baking.

I was pleasantly surprised by these rolls-- I wasn't sure, since the name sounds kind of strange, but they turned out awesome. I used fat free margarine substitute in place of the butter and shortening to cut back on some of the fat. They were very good with soup or for breakfast the next day, and we thought they had plenty of flavor. Honey butter is a great idea to make these even better! Thanks for a great recipe!

These looked good, smelled good and most importantly, tasted great.

I'm sure these rolls are yummy .. however there is no whole wheat flour in them .. we make a roll that has whole wheat flour over 51% (as required by USDA guidelines) and they are YUMMY and the kiddos eat them.

I used this recipe to make cinnamon rolls, and everyone loved them. I'll definitely keep this one on hand.

For me, this dough was a dream to work with and it yielded fantastic results. I halved the recipe and made 25 rolls of different sizes. I wanted some as dinner rolls and others as hamburger buns. I let the Kitchen Aid mix dough hook to do the work for me. What most impressed me about the rolls was how 3-4 days later the rolls were still extremely soft and fresh tasting. So many recipes I have tried are great the day I make the rolls, but the following day or two it is oblivious that they weren't made that day. For that reason alone, this a definite keeper for me and a recipe I will be using again.

I made these today. They were wonderful and made so many. I have dough left over to make some more in the morning. I shared rolls with two separate neighbor families this evening. They could use a tad more salt next time, but they still were delicious!

This recipe turned out delicious. I made what I call "the two person loaf". I have used it and will be using it again soon. YUMMMY!!

Made these for my granddaughter who loves Costco buns. She loved these so much better. They were easy to make

Absolutely Great, soft and wonderful.

Out of this World!! Can't brag enough about this recipe. Freezes well if you can manage to hide any before they're all eaten up.

loved the receipe-- but today i made them and placed uncooked hotdog and rolled up each bun to rise and then baked for a kids luncheon yum!! house smelled so good!!

These are great! After 5 cups of flour in I was out of all purpose so the rest I used wheat flour and these turned out great!

This was a big hit for both sides of the family. They were soft and melt in your mouth yummmmm! yummmmm! Thank you! Cattie

These are good, but not the taste I was expecting. Cafeteria rolls were denser and more buttery. It's a good recipe, but my search for the best rolls is still on.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this recipe yet! Found this recipe approximately 2 years ago, made them to bring to a family get together! They were polished off! Now they are requested at every family function! Thank you Mommy2threeangels for posting this!

Delicious. It is just like the school cafeteria rolls! I made these for our family Christmas dinner and everybody really liked them. I made the full recipe and they disappeared fast! Went to have one for lunch today & they were gone!

I calculated this down to 15 servings and I'm glad I didn't use the ingredients for the original 45 servings. Unfortunately, I'll be tossing these out for the birdies in the morning. They just turned out oddly. The texture looked spot on but felt gummy & heavy in the mouth. I had read the reviews so I increased salt slightly but apparently not enough to combat the lack of flavor. I'm actually baffled by the result. I won't be using this recipe again.