Name: No Yeast Quick Dinner Rolls
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 30-40 rolls
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 5 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons salt; 2 cups plain yogurt; 1 cup olive oil or another oil; 2 teaspoons sugar, optional; 5 cups all purpose flour; 1/2 to 1 cup whole wheat flour; 1 egg yolk

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No time for yeasting dough? Don’t worry! These Quick Dinner Rolls have no yeast. They have 3 secret ingredients that make them cotton soft. Ready in 30 minutes! No rise is required. Watch the tutorial below and learn how to make No Yeast Bread Rolls easily!

No yeast quick dinner rolls served in an oval pan on a white background.

What Are No Yeast Bread Rolls

They are soft rolls that don’t call for yeast, so easier and quicker to make. Baking powder is the substitute for yeast in the dough, so there is no rise wait. This recipe is one of the easiest homemade bread recipes on our blog and I think that’s why it has become one of the most tried recipes as well. Easy, simple, quick and quite satisfying, these quick dinner rolls are worth trying.

My favorite rolls recipe until this one was Turkish pogaca recipe, which has yeast and mineral water in its dough. I still love that but this one is way quicker.

We all love short cuts, right? This recipe is a great example for doing things in a shorter way because it doesn’t call for waiting until it rises thanks to baking powder, yogurt and olive oil. This will become the ultimate baking powder bread roll recipe in your home.

Bread without yeast in the form of small rolls

Who can resist newly baked soft and fluffy dinner rolls? I’m sure spreading a little butter on one of them when it is still hot can easily take you to heaven. There is no yeast in the dough, so you don’t need to wait it to rise. This really reduces the time and you end up with super quick rolls that are soft enough. They are ready in about 30 minutes, so you can make these simple no yeast dinner rolls right before the dinner and make the whole family feel in heaven.

Yeast free bread rolls with melting butter

Ingredients For Quick Dinner Rolls

This is a 7-ingredient bread recipe. We use:

baking powder
salt
plain yogurt
oil
sugar*
flour
egg yolk*

Two ingredients in the list above are totally optional: sugar and egg yolk. So you can easily make it a 5-ingredient quick roll recipe.

Sugar gives a subtle sweetness to the bread rolls, so I like using it but you can leave it out.

Egg yolk makes the rolls shine and I love it but it is not necessary. You can leave it out and skip the egg wash step. If you still want your rolls shine, you can brush them with melted butter right after you remove them from oven.

As for the flour, I sometimes use a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour in the dough to have a nice color and to make the rolls more filling. However, it’s optional; just skip it if you like white looking breads. They are even softer when you make them using only regular all purpose flour. The ones you see in the first picture on the top are made with all purpose flour only.

Making Bread With Baking Powder

When you don’t have time for a yeast bread or if there is somebody in your family who is intolerant to yeast, using baking powder or baking soda is a good solution.

Baking soda and baking powder work differently from yeast. You don’t need to wait for the dough to rise when baking with these. On the other hand, it’s better to combine them with an acid to double the bread when baking.

Baking powder is mainly a combination of baking soda and an acid, but to my personal experience, it works even better when combined with an acidic ingredient especially when baking bread like this.

Acid Alternatives To Combine With Baking Soda Or Baking Powder

I mostly use plain yogurt as an acid when baking with baking soda or baking powder. However, it is not the only ingredient that helps the reaction. Other options are as follows:

Lemon juice: Use one teaspoon for one tablespoon baking soda

Vinegar: One teaspoon for one tablespoon baking soda

Buttermilk: Use the same amount as the yogurt in this recipe.

Milk (lukewarm) and vinegar mixture: Use it as a substitute for buttermilk.

How To Make Yeast Free Bread Rolls

I got the recipe from a colleague at a potluck party and adapted it to my taste. She stuffed the rolls with cheese, which is something traditional in Turkey and they were amazing! I felt like I was eating the best rolls in my life just at first bite. I had had no idea on how to make bread without yeast before.

When I asked the recipe for these baking powder bread rolls with a big curiosity, my friend said that it is really easy. She said that the recipe even has a special name. It is called 3-2-1 rolls because the ingredients include 3 packages baking powder, 2 cups yogurt and 1 cup olive oil. She didn’t give the amount of flour, she said I just need to add it gradually until I have a non-sticky dough. Don’t worry, I measured all the ingredients for you.

The recipe has four easy stages.

First, combine baking powder, yogurt, oil, salt and sugar in a large bowl.

Second, whisk together all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. This is completely optional to use a mixture of flours. If you want, you can use all purpose flour only. Gradually add it into the wet mixture and mix either using your hand or in a stand mixer until the dough holds together.

Third, roll it into balls and place in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Fourth, brush with beaten egg yolk and bake about 20 minutes.

Making Dough Without Yeast

One of the secrets of these quick dinner rolls is that there is no water in the dough. Yogurt and olive oil are the only wet ingredients in the dough and they make the rolls super soft.

The other thing that makes these rolls super magical is baking powder as the substitute for yeast. Use 5 teaspoons baking powder in the dough. I hadn’t used that much baking powder in a dough before, but believe me it’s not too much for these rolls.

No yeast bread rolls with whole wheat flour

Can I Make Dinner Rolls With Mayonnaise?

Yes you can! If you don’t have yogurt, you can use a combination of milk and mayonnaise. To adjust this recipe with these ingredients, use 1 and 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Make sure they are at room temperature.

Can I Use Self Rising Flour To Make Quick Rolls?

Yes! You can easily turn this recipe into a 3-ingredient quick bread because self rising flour already contains baking powder, salt and flour.

Meals To Eat With These No Yeast Dinner Rolls

I’ll be baking these quick dinner rolls quite often. They are to die for especially right after they are removed from oven. These are perfect with the following dishes:

About This Quick and Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe:

I used only white flour when updating the recipe with a video and they turned out even softer than the one with a combination of white flour and whole wheat flour.
Try not to use much flour. Although the no yeast rolls turn out fine with the measurements in the recipe, add the flour gradually until everything holds together. Even the brand of flour you use might cause different results, so you might need to experiment to find the right amount. It’s okay if the dough is a bit sticky. Use a little oil (olive oil in my recipe but you can use whatever oil you like) to wet your hands and make small balls from the dough.
I use olive oil in this recipe because I like it, but you can use whatever oil you like if you don’t like olive oil. You can even use melted butter.
As some readers suggest in the comments below, it might be a good idea to add herbs and garlic in the dough.
These homemade rolls without yeast are great on the day they are baked. I love them cold too on the next days but if you are after soft rolls, I suggest you to reheat them in the oven or microwave so that they get as soft as they are on the first day.

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