These garlic butter rolls are super soft and fluffy and are jam-packed with garlic flavor. You’ll forget your regular garlic bread after tasting these!
Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t like garlic bread? Probably not. But you know who LOVES garlic bread? Me, it’s me.
It’s just the PERFECT snack. I mean, it’s literally bread topped with butter and garlic, how can it get any better? Well actually, it CAN get better with these garlic butter rolls.
Think cinnamon rolls, but instead of the cinnamon sugar filling, you have a garlic butter filling. And instead of the cream cheese glaze, there’s more garlic butter. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?
Trust me when I say this, these are the softest, fluffiest rolls ever. All that butter makes them SO soft, it’s really a texture I cannot express in words.
For these rolls, I have used the same dough as my signature cinnamon roll recipe. And yes, it does have sugar but the sugar doesn’t really sweeten the dough but just adds a nice sweet touch that pairs perfectly with the salty, garlicky filling.
Let’s get into the details.
The Dough
These rolls are made with an enriched dough that has a high-fat content. It’s made with seven basic ingredients – butter, sugar, salt, eggs, flour, instant yeast, and warm milk.
Here are the steps for making the dough
- Start by creaming the sugar and butter together until fully blended, using an electric mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
- Add the egg and mix until completely combined.In a bowl, combine the flour, warm milk, and instant yeast, then gently mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- The dough will begin to form at this stage. Using instant yeast means there’s no need for pre-fermentation in sugar and milk. It activates effectively during the mixing and kneading process.
- Knead the dough by hand or with a dough attachment until it becomes a smooth and soft dough ball. Keep some extra flour on hand in case the dough is too wet.
- The dough should be smooth, soft, and not sticky. Kneading by hand will take around 20 minutes, while using a machine will take about 10 minutes.
- Check the dough’s readiness with the windowpane test. If it passes, it’s ready for the first rise.
- For the first rise, lightly oil a glass or metal bowl, place the dough in it and turn it to coat all sides with oil.
- Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it rest for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. You can create a proofing box in your microwave by heating it empty for one minute and placing the dough inside afterward.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and transfer it to a floured surface. Roll it into a 14×12-inch rectangle, maintaining a thicker dough.
- Spread a thin layer of the garlic butter filling on top. Roll the dough horizontally, tucking it tightly as you go. Ensure the seam is at the bottom. Use a floss string to cut the rolls cleanly.
- Place them in a baking tray, cover, and let them rise for another 1.5 to 2 hours, or refrigerate them for later baking. Before baking, brush the rolls with melted garlic butter.
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes, then broil the buns for 5 minutes until golden brown.
- Brush them with more melted butter on top right after the rolls come out of the oven.
For tips and tricks, you can watch my full cinnamon roll tutorial on YouTube and check out my full guide.
Garlic Butter Filling
The garlic butter filling is super simple to make, just like any other garlic bread topping. But what I do differently here is add roasted garlic. This takes the flavor of the garlic butter to a whole new level and I HIGHLY recommend doing this! You can skip it but..don’t.
Here are the steps for making the garlic butter filling.
- Roast the garlic: Slice the top off a whole garlic bulb, place it on a piece of foil, top it generously with olive oil and salt, wrap it tightly and let it bake at 180 degrees celsius for 30-40 minutes until it softens.
- In a bowl, mix the softened butter with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili flakes, roasted garlic, chopped parsley, and honey, and mix until everything is combined.
- Don’t forget to reserve some of the butter for glazing the buns before and after baking.
These rolls will make you forget your boring-old garlic bread and you’ll be craving them over and over again.
Ready to make them? Let’s go.
PS: I always measure ingredients in grams, never in cups. Using a measuring scale is the only way to bake accurately. Cups are unreliable and can give different measurements, so I suggest you buy a measuring scale before you start baking! If you can’t get your hands on one, you can use the online tools for converting grams into cups; however, I do not guarantee their accuracy.
Garlic Butter Rolls
Equipment
- Electric or stand mixer with whisk and dough attachment
- Silicone spatula
- Rolling Pin
- Baking tray
- Floss
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 whole garlic bulb
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 150 grams unsalted butter softened
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili flakes optional
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp parsley chopped
Dough
- 92 gs granulated white sugar
- 78 gs unsalted butter softened
- 7 gs salt
- 1 large egg
- 454 gs all-purpose flour
- 6 gs instant yeast
- 255 gs full-fat milk lukewarm
Instructions
Garlic Butter Filling
- Roast the garlic: Slice the top off the garlic bulb, place it on a piece of aluminum foil, top it with olive oil and salt, and wrap it tightly. Bake for 30-40 minutes until softened.1 whole garlic bulb, 2 tsp olive oil, Salt to taste
- In a bowl, add the softened butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili flakes, roasted garlic, chopped parsley, and honey, and mix until combined.150 grams unsalted butter, Salt to taste, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp chili flakes, 1 tsp honey, 2 tsp parsley
Dough
- Cream the butter, sugar, and salt using a whisk attachment until fully combined, for 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and mix for 1-2 minutes.92 gs granulated white sugar, 78 gs unsalted butter, 7 gs salt, 1 large egg
- Add the flour, lukewarm milk (35-40 degrees Celsius), and instant yeast and mix using a spoon or spatula until the dough starts to come together.454 gs all-purpose flour, 6 gs instant yeast, 255 gs full-fat milk
- If you are using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook attachment. If not, use your hands to start kneading the dough. The dough will be sticky and wet at first but should become smooth, soft, and not sticky by the end. The kneading process can take up to 20 minutes if done by hand. If the dough is still very sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add 15 to 20 grams of flour to the dough, a little at a time.
- Test if the dough is done by doing the windowpane test – cut a small piece of the dough and stretch it using your fingers. The dough should be able to stretch to paper thinness and be translucent without breaking. If the dough breaks during the test, knead it for a few more minutes.
- Lightly oil a bowl, place the finished dough inside, and turn it around so that all sides of the dough are lightly coated with oil. Cover with cling film and let it rise in a warm place for 1.5 to 2 hours until it doubles in size.
- Punch the dough, then place a baking sheet on the surface and transfer the dough to it. Lightly flour the rolling pin and roll the dough into a rectangle (around 14×18 inches). Don’t roll the dough too thin; keep the thickness to around 1/2 inch. If the dough is too thin, the rolls will be tough and chewy rather than soft and fluffy.
- Spread the garlic butter filling evenly across the dough, make sure to reserve some of the butter for glazing the buns before and after baking.
- Roll the dough horizontally (breadth-wise) slowly, making sure you are tightly tucking it in, and roll it all the way through until it forms a cigar shape. If it does not work in the first go, unravel it and do it again.
- Place the roll seam side down and slice it with a string of floss. Mark the dough with roughly equal sizes across the roll, then place the floss string underneath the roll, making sure there is enough overhang on both sides. Bring the overhang up using both hands, then cross it across the dough roll the way you do while trying a string. (For make-ahead instructions, check the notes at the end to follow after this step)
- Place the cut rolls in a baking pan, making sure to leave enough space between each roll for them to rise. Cover them lightly with cling film, and let them proof and rise for another 1.5 to 2 hours until they are doubled in size.
- Once the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 160-170℃. Brush the rolls with melted garlic butter and bake for 20-25 minutes. After this, broil the buns for 5 minutes until they are golden brown.
- Brush some more melted garlic butter on top while the rolls are still hot.
Notes
- To make ahead, follow up till step 9 of the dough recipe, then place the cut rolls (without rising them) into the fridge.
- Remove the buns from the fridge 3-4 hours before baking to help them proof and rise. Bake as mentioned in the recipe once they have doubled in size.
- The unbaked rolls can be stored in the fridge for up to two days.
If you love garlic bread, you will absolutely love these rolls. If you give them a try, let me know how you liked it in the comments, and of course, share it with me on Instagram.
Until next time!
