Homemade rolls without hours of hands-on fuss? Yes! Impress everyone at your table with these Bread Machine Oatmeal Rolls.

Want to place an impressive basket of homemade rolls on your table–without hours of hand-on work? Me too.

That’s why I love the time-saving trick of this recipe: letting my bread machine do most of the heavy lifting (then taking all the credit).

These bread machine rolls are mixed, kneaded, and risen in the bread machine–then shaped and baked by you.

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How to make bread machine rolls

Place the ingredients (oats through yeast) into the bread machine, set it on the “dough” cycle, and go do something else for 90-ish minutes.

Here’s what the dough looks like after the dough cycle is finished.

Turn the dough out onto a board, punch down, and knead for about 15 seconds. Then cut into eight equal pieces. (Don’t flour your board or counter unless you experience a lot of sticking. The dough will roll easier into balls without extra flour.)

I’m still working on my technique, but this video is helpful to show you how to roll dough into neat balls. I use this inexpensive kitchen scale for portioning them out, and it’s a total game-changer for baking.

Butter or spray a baking sheet and sprinkle it all over with cornmeal. Place the rolls on the baking sheet, leaving enough room for them to rise and expand. Cut a criss-cross on top of each roll with a knife.

Cover the rolls with a clean dish towel and place in a warm spot to rise.

My trick for getting dough to rise

You know those “proofing ovens” they have on the Great British Baking Show? Here’s how to make your own:

• Heat a saucepan of water on the stove until boiling.
• Remove the pan from heat and place pan on the bottom rack of the oven.
• Place your covered rolls inside the oven on the top rack.

(When I’m proofing dough in a bowl, I do a similar thing with my microwave: Heat a glass measuring cup of water for several minutes. Place the covered bowl of dough into the steamy microwave, leaving the hot cup of water inside.)

Once the rolls have about doubled in size, brush them gently with a mixture of one beaten egg and one tablespoon water. Sprinkle the tops with some oats. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Can I make these rolls smaller?

Yes! These are big, generous dinner rolls. But if you prefer smaller ones, simply divide the dough into more portions, then adjust the time down.

Which kind of oats are best for these bread machine rolls?

You can use either old fashioned oats or quick oats for these rolls.

What is oat bran?

Oat bran simply is the outer covering of the oat. You can use it in recipes like this one or eat it as a hot cereal. (Here’s the kind from Bob’s Red Mill that I use).

If you don’t have oat bran, you can also use ground flaxseed in place of the oat bran.

What is white whole wheat flour?

For this recipe, I used white whole wheat flour. It’s made from white wheat (instead of the usual red) and is lighter in color and milder tasting than regular whole wheat. But like all whole grains, the wheat kernels haven’t been stripped of any of their parts. So the flour is naturally rich in fiber, iron, protein, and B vitamins.

If you don’t have white whole wheat flour, you can use regular whole wheat or simply use all-purpose for all the flour.

What’s the best bread machine?

I got my machine in the mid-90s at the height of Bread Machine Fever. (And I’m pretty sure I was supposed to denounce it several years later at the height of Low Carb Fever, but I didn’t.)

My faithful Sunbeam bread machine just keeps on trucking. That particular model isn’t available anymore, but this Hamilton Beach Bread Maker gets high marks from Good Housekeeping, and it’s affordable.