The Easiest Way To Make Store-Bought Bread Rolls Taste Homemade

It doesn't matter what kind of bread rolls you buy from the store. Maybe you get the regular kind, maybe you get those big, fluffy Kings Hawaiian rolls, or maybe you get the Parker House ones. Whatever the case, you're probably wondering how you can zhuzh them up for your next big dinner, whether that's your weekly Sunday roast or your Thanksgiving feast. Ina Garten may tell us that store-bought is fine (especially if it's Trader Joe's French Apple Tart, a favorite of hers), but that doesn't mean we can't put a little more effort in, right? That's why it's a good idea to brush some melted butter over your store-bought dinner rolls before warming them up to make the bread taste more fresh and homemade.

As we all know, butter makes just about everything taste better. As a fat, it makes foods taste richer, more decadent, and more substantial. It's the same reason why your sandwich tastes better with a smear of mayonnaise, or why your Italian bread tastes better dipped in olive oil (although Italians don't actually dip bread in oil). What's more, you can combine your butter with herbs and spices to make compound butter, which will add another dimension of flavor to your rolls.

Maybe you've only used compound butter in the context of steaks, but it's really a versatile ingredient for all sorts of dishes. If you want to take things easy (which is probably why you got store-bought dinner rolls in the first place), you can always buy ready-made compound butter — for instance, Kerrygold sells a garlic and herb butter while Walmart offers a lemon pepper version. But it's quite easy to make at home and doing so offers endless customizability.

All you really have to do is soften up some unsalted butter, mix in whatever ingredients you'd like, form it into a log, and pop it in the fridge. When it comes to what flavors to choose for compound butter that's going to go over something like bread rolls, you might want to go the slightly sweet route — that reliable honey butter, for example, would doubtlessly add some welcome sweetness to your eating experience. After all, honey butter also goes great on cornbread. Or, if you'd prefer something more savory, you could mix some chives or tarragon into the butter, adding a brighter twist to those rich, pillowy rolls. Either way, you are the butter boss, and you can do as you please.