Poppyseed Rolls

My Aunt Carol’s “homemade” Poppyseed Rolls are a family tradition at the holidays. These soft and fluffy dinner rolls, topped with poppyseeds disappear from the breadbasket in a flash! But don’t be intimidated, they are easier to make than you might think!

Aunt Carol’s Homemade Poppyseed Rolls

These rolls have been around at the holidays for as long as I can remember. Now I know why because my aunt Carol’s mom taught her how to make them, and a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to have her teach me. 

For my entire married life, a big huge bag of these rolls show up at my house, and my kids tear into them like they haven’t eaten in weeks. I have always wanted to learn how to make them, and we had good intentions for the last couple of years, but it just didn’t happen. This year, it did! (hey – 2020 was good for something!)

“Homemade” Dinner Rolls

We always referred to these as her “homemade rolls.”  One Christmas, my aunt, her daughter and I were talking, and I said “homemade rolls.” My cousin laughs and rolls her eyes and says, “homemade my butt!” I was like “huh?” She revealed that they started with frozen dinner roll bread dough. 

Of course, I could care less. Aunt Carol said that they used to make homemade bread dough, and using the frozen dough tastes great and makes life a lot easier. Who doesn’t want life to be a little easier? So maybe we should refer to these as “handmade” instead of “homemade?”  In our family, we just call them “homemade my butt rolls” with a giggle. 

How to make the BEST Poppyseed Rolls

All you’ll need for these gorgeous poppyseed dinner rolls is Rhodes frozen dinner rolls, non-stick cooking spray, vegetable oil, an egg, and poppy seeds.

Typically I spend all sorts of time trying to make the process shots and the food “pretty” for you, but on this day, I was so happy to have her in my kitchen, I just wanted to live in the moment. I snapped photos of each step for you, (my favorites are the ones with her and her hands in them ) – so let me show you how it’s done!

Take one roll and flatten it into an oval with a rolling pin. Leave the rolling pin on the edge furthest away from you.

Begin rolling the dough away from you –

– tugging outward and towards you, as you go to stretch it a bit.

Lay them, seam side down, facing the same way, with “room to grow” on the cookie sheet. We fit 18 to each cookie sheet.

Brush each roll gently with vegetable oil. 

Cover the cookie sheets loosely with plastic wrap.

Let rise for 2-3 hours, or until rolls are about one and one half to two times their size. The temperature of your kitchen will determine how fast they rise. I was making a big pot of my grandma’s hamburger noodle soup that day, and it was really warm in mine, so they rose quickly. 

Make an egg wash. Brush the tops of the risen rolls with egg wash, and sprinkle them with poppy seeds.

Bake.

Remove them from the oven, and brush the tops with vegetable oil.

My Aunt Carol says that this gives them a nice shine to the top, and keeps them nice and soft. 

Transfer them to cooling racks to cool completely.

Find the complete printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

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If you can’t wait to make these Poppyseed Dinner Rolls, don’t forget where you found the recipe! Pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go!

How to Freeze Poppyseed Dinner Rolls

When we baked these rolls together, my aunt suggested purchasing 3 packages of the Rhodes frozen dinner rolls, so we made 108 of them. That may sound like a lot, but they freeze beautifully if you do it the right way.

Once the rolls had cooled completely, we transferred them to the 2.5 gallon ziplock bags.  Not all 18 will fit in one layer, without crowding them into the bag. We were able to get 24 to a bag by carefully stacking 2 layers of 12. 

The rolls are really soft, so be careful not to smash them. Place them in the freezer, without stacking them, until they freeze. Then you can safely stack them if need be. Just don’t go putting a gallon of ice cream on them or something.  They will keep nicely in the freezer for 3-4 months. 

Defrosting Rolls

You don’t have to use all 24 rolls when you want some, simply remove what you want from the bag, take a paper towel and wipe out any condensation from the inside of the bag, re-seal and place back in the freezer.  If you defrost the whole bag, wipe out that condensation from the bag after they defrost, to keep that extra moisture out.

Soft Poppyseed Buns for Sandwiches & Sliders

This roll recipe produces nice soft rolls.  They are similar in size and shape to a hot dog bun and are fantastic for sandwiches, which paired with holiday leftovers is a match made in heaven. 

If you love those recipes for overnight sliders that use Hawaiian rolls, like Ham & Cheese Sliders, you’ll love them even more with poppyseed rolls!

Or instead of using Hawaiian Rolls in my Baked Roast Beef Slider recipe, use these handmade rolls!

Just look at those soft pull-apart poppy seed rolls! 

Tried & True Family Recipes

My Aunt Carol’s Poppyseed Rolls will be the newest addition to my grouping of family recipes, joining her delicious Cherry Pie Jell-O, and so many other recipes passed down to me from my mother, grandmothers, and other family members that I truly cherish.

This collection of family recipes comes from generations of good food, and the tradition of gathering around the family table, that I hold dear.  I promise you can’t go wrong with any of these tried and true family recipes!

More Bread to Love and Bake

My love of bread baking comes in many forms, from simple Quick Bread Recipes to Yeast Breads, Muffins, Biscuits and Rolls, there aren’t many other things that can be quite as comforting, or can make your kitchen smell quite as heavenly as baking bread. 

I invite you to browse through my Bread Recipes as well as my collection of Biscuits, Rolls and Muffins before you go.

How about we get to the recipe for these “homemade” Poppyseed Rolls? 

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe

The BEST Poppyseed Rolls

My Aunt Carol’s “homemade” Poppyseed Rolls are a family tradition at the holidays. These soft and fluffy dinner rolls, topped with poppyseeds disappear from the breadbasket in a flash! But don’t be intimidated, they are easier to make than you might think!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time18 minutes mins

Additional Time3 hours hrs

Total Time3 hours hrs 33 minutes mins

Course: Rolls-Biscuits-Muffins

Cuisine: American

Keyword: frozen dinner rolls, how to make dinner rolls from frozen bread dough, poppyseed bread rolls, poppyseed buns, poppyseed diner rolls, poppyseed rolls, soft rolls

Servings: 36 rolls

Calories: 22kcal

Author: Michaela Kenkel

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 package 36 count Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls
• Vegetable Oil
• 1 egg
• poppy seeds

Instructions

• Spray a large cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
• Take one roll and flatten it into an oval with a rolling pin. Leave the rolling pin on the edge furthest away from you.
• Begin rolling the dough away from you, tugging outward and towards you as you go to stretch it a bit.
• Lay them, seam side down, facing the same way, with "room to grow" on the cookie sheet. We fit 18 to each cookie sheet.
• Brush each roll gently with vegetable oil. Cover the cookie sheets loosely with plastic wrap.
• Let rise for 2-3 hours, or until rolls are about one and one half to two times their size.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix an egg white with 1-2 teaspoons of water to make an egg wash. Brush the tops of the risen rolls with egg wash, and sprinkle them with poppy seeds.
• Bake for 10 minutes and turn the pan 180 degrees. Bake for about 8 minutes more, watch them closely so they don't get too brown.
• Remove them from the oven, and brush the tops with vegetable oil.
• Transfer them to cooling racks to cool completely.
• Store in large (2.5 gallon) zippered bags.

Notes

HOW TO FREEZE POPPYSEED DINNER ROLLS - Once the rolls have cooled completely, transfer them to the 2.5 gallon ziplock bags.  Not all 18 will fit in one layer, without crowding them into the bag. 24 to a bag is what I did, by carefully stacking 2 layers of 12. 

The rolls are really soft, so be careful not to smash them. Place them in the freezer, without stacking them, until they freeze. Then you can safely stack them if need be. They will keep nicely in the freezer for 3-4 months. 

DEFROSTING ROLLS - You don’t have to use all 24 rolls when you want some, simply remove what you want from the bag, take a paper towel and wipe out any condensation from the inside of the bag, re-seal and place back in the freezer.  If you defrost the whole bag, wipe out that condensation from the bag after they defrost, to keep that extra moisture out.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 22kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 41mg | Sugar: 1g