CopycatSpices
Copycat Golden Corral Yeast Rolls
Golden Corral's famous yeast rolls are pillowy-soft dinner rolls brushed with honey butter that practically melt in your mouth.
copycat · golden-corral · casual-dining · bread
🕑Prep25 min
🍳Cook15 min
⏱Total40 min
🍽Serves16
⭐DifficultyMedium
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk (110°F)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1.Bloom the yeast. In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, yeast, and a pinch of the sugar. Let sit for 5-7 minutes until foamy.
- 2.Mix the wet ingredients. Add the remaining sugar, melted butter, and beaten egg to the yeast mixture. Stir until combined.
- 3.Build the dough. Add the flour and salt, one cup at a time, mixing until a soft dough forms. It should be slightly sticky but workable.
- 4.Knead the dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should spring back when poked.
- 5.First rise. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled.
- 6.Shape the rolls. Punch down the dough and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball and place in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan, spacing them evenly. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
- 7.Bake the rolls. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the tops are light golden brown.
- 8.Make the honey butter. While the rolls bake, beat together the softened salted butter, honey, and vanilla extract until fluffy and well combined.
- 9.Brush and serve. Remove the rolls from the oven and immediately brush the tops with honey butter. Serve warm.
Copycat Golden Corral Yeast Rolls
Prep time: 25 minutes (plus 1.5 hours rising)
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 16 rolls
Golden Corral’s yeast rolls are the silent MVP of their buffet. People load their plates with fried chicken and mashed potatoes, but it’s these buttery, honey-brushed dinner rolls that keep them coming back to the bread station. They’re impossibly soft — the kind of roll that tears apart in fluffy layers and practically dissolves on your tongue.
The honey butter brushed on top while they’re still oven-hot is what takes them from “good dinner roll” to “I need four more of these.” The honey melts into the butter, soaks into the warm bread, and creates a sweet, glossy finish.
- Don’t over-flour. A slightly sticky dough makes softer rolls. Add flour gradually and stop as soon as the dough is workable. Too much flour equals dense rolls.
- Pack them tight in the pan. Rolls baked close together push upward instead of outward, creating taller, softer rolls. This is why a 9x13 pan works better than a cookie sheet.
- Pull them early. Light golden on top is done. If you wait for deep golden brown, the interior will be dry instead of pillowy.
Buffet Math
You can’t really price out individual Golden Corral rolls since they come with the buffet ($15-18 per person). But this recipe makes 16 rolls for about $3 in ingredients. That’s roughly $0.19 per roll. Make a double batch and freeze half — they reheat beautifully in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes.
