The Biggest Dinner Roll Mistake You're Making

Whatever comforting dish you're tucking into, whether it's a plate of roast beef with gravy and mashed potatoes or a delectable chicken noodle soup, there's no accompaniment quite as satisfying as a perfect dinner roll. The fluffy rolls can easily be nestled alongside the other elements on your plate, and they add that little something extra to an already enjoyable meal. Though you can certainly buy dinner rolls, they're not too difficult to make — you may not want to be dealing with bread dough on a busy evening when you're trying to whip up a quick dinner, but for a weekend meal nothing beats homemade dinner rolls that are warm and fresh out of the oven.

Bread can be somewhat temperamental, and there are a few different mistakes that you may run into when crafting your rolls, as EatingWell explains. These range from a dough that just doesn't rise enough, creating hockey pucks rather than pillowy rolls, or dough that has the wrong type or amount of flour, resulting in tough, chewy rolls. If you're an expert that knows your way around all steps of the bread making process, but you find you're still ending up with dinner rolls that aren't quite what you envisioned, there may be one simple step that you're missing — and it happens just before you put those risen balls of dough into the oven to bake.

The biggest dinner roll mistake you're making in particular has nothing to do with some of the common pitfalls, like the rising time or texture and structure of the bread. Rather, it's all about the egg wash, which combines eggs and water. If you don't add anything to the top of your dinner rolls, even if they're baked to perfection for just the right amount of time, they can be a little pale and dull in appearance. Egg wash remedies this — and all you need to do is brush the tops of the dinner rolls with your egg mixture. 

As Everyday Pie explains, there are different methods to crafting your egg wash. Some prefer to use just the whites or just the yolks, some whisk a full egg, and others combine the egg with a splash of a liquid like water, cream or milk. The different types offer slightly different results and levels of golden brown and gloss, but all will improve the appearance of your dinner roll. Simply whisk up the egg wash and brush onto your rolls. If you want to level up your rolls even more, try adding herbs or spices to your egg wash, which will season your bread to perfection.