Get ready to take the lowly sandwich to the next level with these chewy, crusty cornbread sandwich rolls! These homemade rolls are the perfect combination of soft, fluffy bread and the classic cornbread flavor you love.
Plus, they freeze like a charm!
Table of Contents
- 🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- 🧾🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
- 📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- 🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
- 🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat
- Marye's Tip o' the day
- 💭 Insider tips: things to know
- 👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
- 📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
- 🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose cornmeal sandwich rolls
- 📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
- 📖 Recipe
- ✍🏻 A note from Marye...
- Cornmeal rolls
- 💬 Comments
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- I love how soft and flavorful these rolls are. Perfect for all. kinds of sandwiches. They'll add a Southern twist to any meal.
- Great for lunch, dinner, picnics, and even cookouts. Shape them any way you want - they make great hamburger buns.
- If you want them even more chewy and crust add about 2 cups of ice cubes to the bottom of the oven when you add the unbaked rolls - then close the door and don't peak. Be careful not to get the ice on the oven glass - it could crack.
Buttery and lightly sweetened with honey, this cornmeal yeast rolls recipe makes the perfect, crusty, sandwich bread for all kinds of fillings from bbq and hamburgers to grilled steak and chicken salad.
The cornmeal adds a slightly nutty flavor and unique texture. You can let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator AND they freeze well, too.
🧾🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- Cheesy cornbread rolls: Add shredded cheddar cheese to the dough for a cheesy twist.
- Herb-infused: Mix in some chopped fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme for added flavor.
- Spicy kick: Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or chopped, sauteed jalapeños for a bit of heat.
- Be a pepper: A little cracked black pepper added to the dough is one of my favorite variations.
🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up -
Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and a sprinkle of flaked sea salt right after they come out of the oven for an extra delicious touch!
zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive
🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups and spoons
- making sheet
- pastry brush
- stand mixer or hand mixer
🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat
Once baked you can store these sandwich rolls at room temperature for a couple of days. Put in a good breadbox or an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
They freeze well for about 3 to 6 months. Bake them first, let them cool, and store in an airtight container (or vacuum sealed) in the freezer.
Marye's Tip o' the day
Reheat the rolls in the oven for a few minutes to make them taste freshly baked again.
💭 Insider tips: things to know
- Make sure your water and milk are warm, not hot, to properly activate the yeast. Measure the temperature with an instant read thermometer - it should be around 110-115F
- Letting the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place will give the best results. Learn more about making bread dough rise faster.
- Don’t skip the second rise; it helps the rolls become light and fluffy.
- If you want to make them into hamburger buns you'll probably get about 16. Some of y'all know that I use tin cans (cleaned and opened at both ends) for dough cutters. I use a tomato paste can for biscuits, a vegetable can for scones (14-ounce?), and a big diced tomatoes can for hamburger buns. So you should get about 16 burger buns using a cutter that size.
- To make the sandwich rolls (like torpedo rolls) I weighed the dough and divided it in 10 equal pieces of about 5.2 ounces each (I think). Just try to keep them the same size so they bake evenly. If these are not quite what you're looking for try the Cheddar and black pepper rolls.
👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
Yes, you can substitute instant yeast for active dry yeast. Just mix it directly with the dry ingredients.
Absolutely! You can refrigerate the dough after the first rise and bake it the next day.
It depends on the sandwich. These crusty, homemade sandwich rolls are perfect for saucy sandwich fillings like BBQ beef or beef au jus... but wouldn't be so great for peanut butter and jelly.
Yes and no. Cornmeal and polenta are made from the same thing but the polenta is ground much more coarsely.
These are crusty sandwich rolls, like torpedo rolls, not like a soft dinner roll. You could make a smaller roll with this recipe but it wouldn't be what I'd call a dinner roll.
📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose cornmeal sandwich rolls
- Cornbread Croutons: Cut leftover rolls into cubes and bake until crispy for homemade croutons.
- Breadcrumbs: Blend leftover rolls in the blender to make breadcrumbs for casserole toppings and more.
- Breakfast Sandwiches: Use the rolls to make tasty breakfast sandwiches with eggs and bacon or to spoon white sausage gravy on!
📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
I adapted an old cornmeal yeast rolls recipe to make sandwich rolls with them. I wanted them to be less delicate and not as soft so that the bread would stay together no matter how high you stacked bbq and sauce or beef and gravy.
I hate being halfway through a sandwich and having the bread decide to mutiny leaving me with a dripping, half nekkid burger burning the palm of my hand, don't you?
These cornmeal yeast rolls are loyal to the end.
They will NOT fall apart and will keep your sandwich (of whatever sort) firmly together while you're eating it. They're sweet enough to have a flavor of their own but not so sweet they'll mess with the other flavors of your sandwich.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Cornmeal Yeast Rolls
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 2 tablespoons yeast, active dry
- 1 Pinch ginger, ground
- ¼ cup honey, divided use
- 4 cups water, 110F divided use
- ⅓ cup vital wheat gluten
- ⅓ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 -½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 6 cups bread flour, may need a little less or a little more
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Add the yeast, 1 tablespoon of honey, ginger, and ¼ cup of warm water to the bowl of your mixer.
- Set aside until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining water, honey, and 2 cups of the bread flour.
- mix until smooth.
- Add the vital wheat gluten, the butter, salt, and cornmeal with the mixer on low.
- with the mixer continuing to run add the remaining bread flour a little at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead as directed by the manufacturer, about 6 minutes, adding a little flour if necessary.
- Turn the dough out on a floured countertop and knead a few strokes to make sure it's thoroughly kneaded.
- Place in a greased bowl, grease the top, and cover with plastic wrap.
- At this point you can leave it in the refrigerator overnight to rise.
- If you aren't letting the dough rise in the refrigerator then let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 90 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Punch down the risen dough, shape into oblongs or other desired shapes.
- brush with melted butter and let rise, covered with a tea towel, until almost double - about 40 minutes.
- Mix the egg yolk with the water and brush on the rolls.
- Bake for 10 minutes then brush with more of the egg yolk mixture.
- Continue to bake until done, about 20 minutes more, depending on the size of the rolls.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Use or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- If you want to make them into burger buns you'll probably get about 16. Some of y'all know that I use tin cans (cleaned and opened at both ends) for dough cutters. I use a tomato paste can for biscuits, a vegetable can for scones (14-ounce?), and a big diced tomatoes can for hamburger buns. So you should get about 16 burger buns using a cutter that size.
- To make the sandwich rolls I weighed the dough and divided it in 10 equal pieces of about 5.2 ounces each (I think). Just try to keep them the same size so they bake evenly. If these are not quite what you're looking for try the Cheddar and black pepper rolls.
- These freeze well for about 3 to 6 months. Bake them first, let them cool, and store in an airtight container (or vacuum seal) in the freezer.
- If you want them even more chewy and crust add about 2 cups of ice cubes to the bottom of the oven when you add the unbaked rolls - then close the door and don't peak.
- A little cracked black pepper added to the dough is one of my favorite variations.
- Another variation is chopped, sauteed jalapeno.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published June 23, 2017. Last updated June 29, 2024 for editorial improvements, more information, and readability.
✍🏻 A note from Marye...
I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.
My aunt and uncle had a big, old foursquare house with a ginourmous porch.
One of my very favorite summertime activities was sprawling across the porch swing, head propped up on the faded and musty pillows, reading the "book o' the day". As often as not I had a glass of icy lemonade within reach.
Most of my aunts and uncles were farmers and had three hot meals a day. It was so different from my parents' corporate life and seemed so much more relaxed and happy!
I decided I would grow up and farm, too. Spoiler alert- I had chickens, goats, and sheep for a couple of years -- it's not easier, nor more relaxed, nor happier.
Just in case you were wondering.
Breakfast was usually bacon and eggs with crunchy toast spread with homemade jam of some sort and a glass of grapefruit juice or a half a grapefruit hiding under an inch or so of table sugar served with a serrated spoon.
Lunch meant something easy served with leftover dinner rolls. My very favorite was creamed peas and potatoes served with cornbread.
SOMETIMES my aunt would add chopped, leftover ham.
The aromas of lunch would start wafting out of the open windows around mid-morning making my stomach rumble in anticipation. I'd have to concentrate that much harder on what I was reading.
Old wood, roses, dirt, and dinner - it should be made into a scented candle.
Don't lose this recipe!
Cornmeal rolls
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Carol B says
Your description makes these sound scrumpdillyishous!!
When making buns, do you roll it out or pat it down? How thick? And you do it before second rise?
Marye says
Carol - it' depends on the shape you want. If I am doing hamburger buns I'll roll it after the first rise and cut them out. For sandwich buns I'll just shape them like small baguettes.