If you have lived in the Beehive State for any length of time, you’ve been to the Maddox Restaurant in Perry, Utah (close to Brigham City). My favorite meal at Maddox is fried chicken, Maddox Ranch Rolls with honey, and a slice of fresh strawberry or peach pie with whipped cream. Easy Homemade Maddox Ranch Rolls are out of this world, delicious and simple to make at home!
The Maddox opened in 1949, and their rolls are famous in our state. They’re light and fluffy, and best served warm from the oven with some honey or raspberry butter. I wanted to recreate the Maddox roll at home, so I set out to find a recipe that baked up like the rolls at the restaurant.
After one failed attempt (the rolls tasted alright but not similar in shape), I remembered my blogger friend, Bonnie, at City Home Country Home posted a recipe for Maddox Ranch Rolls a while back. I gave it a try. Jackpot. This is it! Ahhh, memories of driving home from Logan and scarfing down freshly baked warm rolls!
If you want to attempt making rolls for Thanksgiving, but are looking for an alternative to traditional shaped rolls, this is the recipe for you. No rolling or cutting out. Just mix, raise and plop into muffin tins. A true beginner recipe, with an experienced baker result! Thanks for sharing your recipe Bonnie 🙂
Originally posted in 2013, this recipe updated with new content and photos in 2021
Maddox Ranch Rolls
Copycat recipe for the famous rolls at the Maddox restaurant in Brigham CIty, Utah.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk I use 1/3 cup of powdered milk and 2 cups lukewarm water
- 1/2 cup butter cut into chunks
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup of warm water
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon yeast
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 5 1/2 – 6 1/4 cups flour
Instructions
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Warm milk in microwave for 2 minutes. Place butter in milk and let melt.
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Add sugar to the milk and mix with whisk or fork to dissolve. Set aside and let cool a bit. The butter will continue to melt as the milk cools.
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Pour 1/4 cup of warm water into a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over top of water, sprinkle about 1 teaspoon sugar on top of yeast. Let sit for a few minutes until yeast bubbles.
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Pour the the cooled milk, (the milk should be warm- not hot), butter and sugar into the yeast mixture (never add a hot liquid to yeast).
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Add beaten eggs and salt to yeast mixture. Mix in flour with a large spoon 1-2 cups at a time, just until blended and no lumps of flour remain. Do not over mix. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth or Saran Wrap.
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Let the dough raise until doubled, about 45 minutes in a warm kitchen.
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, place rack in middle of the oven.
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Spoon or scoop dough (grease the inside of scoop for easier handling) into well greased muffin tins and let the dough raise again for about 30-45 minutes.
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Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.
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Yields about 30 dinner-size rolls.
Recipe Notes
- I often use powdered milk when making rolls or breads that call for milk. It’s a good way to use up the dry milk I have in my food storage. I buy dry non-fat milk and have found it mixes up best with warm or lukewarm water and a whisk.
- Make sure to thoroughly grease the muffin tins, this is a sticky dough.
- Use a large cookie scoop to fill the muffin tin. I greased the scoop a few times with cooking spray to prevent dough from sticking to the inside of scoop.
- Add just enough flour to take away the wet look of the dough. This should be between 5 1/2 to 6 cups of flour total. I add about 6 cups of flour total, keep in mind I live in a very dry climate. The dough should still be “scoopable”. The dough will be very soft. Do not add too much flour, or it will be difficult to scoop the dough out of the bowl. When in doubt, use less, not more flour.
- To create the perfect place for dough to raise, I use a trick my friend Frieda taught me in a bread making class. Place a cup of water in a microwave. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes. Remove cup of water. Place covered bowl (I use plastic wrap) in microwave, close door and let dough raise. I have an oven with a “proof” setting, but prefer Frieda’s method. This is also a great tip for making bread in a small kitchen!
- One tip (and a plus for some) while making this recipe, no mixer is required. This recipe is best made by hand, meaning, use a large bowl and a large spoon or spatula while folding in the flour. The dough will look a bit shaggy, or not completely smooth (as it would if using a mixer) which is fine. Make sure to fold the flour and wet mixture up from the bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated!
- The first recipe I tried for Maddox Rolls had too much liquid and not enough flour in the dough. I believe this is why the rolls tasted good, but didn’t bake up into a nice dome shape. Also, after the rolls cooled a bit, they shriveled, which I believe was a result of not enough flour in the dough in relation to the liquid. I wanted a roll that looked beautiful even after cooling a bit. Not asking too much, right? The recipe from Bonnie had two tablespoons of yeast, I reduced it to 1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon, because I wanted the dough to have a little less of a rise and hold its shape better. If you are looking for a roll that is a bit puffier, use two tablespoons of yeast.
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Thanks Si, can't wait to try this one! 🙂
I'm making these now, but I had to use a packet of Platinum yeast and half a packet of Rapid Rise. That's what I had on hand. Also, I think I slightly over mixed the dough….I failed to notice the "do not over mix" note, until the mixing was done.
I'm excited to try these, unless I ruined them. Then I'll be sad.
Chrystallina,
I'm sure they will be fine! I would love a report after they are out of the oven 🙂
I am going to try your tips Si. thanks for the mention
Great recipe and I love the tips! One question though… every time I make these, I end up with huge air bubbles. Is there any way to avoid that?
Brenna,
Perhaps the bread is raising too long. Try timing the bread rising at the minimum time allotted.
Let me know how that goes…
Thanks for reading ABK!
xo,
Si
Nothing better than Maddox rolls! These were a lot easier to make than I thought. I love that you can use a scoop, makes it less messy and more uniform.
I agree, love the Maddox Rolls! I love the scoop method too.
Thanks for reading ABK Margee.
XO
Si
I love this recipe! The first time I made this recipe, I nailed the inside texture of the Maddox rolls. The second time wasn’t quite right but they were still amazing rolls. I think it may be because I use a stand mixer. Anyhow, great roll recipe. Thank you Si and Bonnie!
Hi Arielle,
I’m glad these rolls worked well for you. They’re quick to make and so delicious. Check out my recipe for Raspberry Honey Butter if you want the full-on Maddox experience!
Thank you for your positive comments and thanks for reading ABK.
xo,
Si
I made these tonight for the first time. They turned out perfectly! The detailed directions were so helpful.
Vanalee,
Thanks so much! Glad this roll turned out and the instructions helped!
XO
Si
Hi there! Curious if it’s cold or softened butter? New baker here 🙂
Hi Hillary,
Thanks for the question. It really doesn’t matter what temp the butter is, just cut it in chunks and add it to the warm milk to melt. Then just continue with the rest of the instructions. I hope you like these easy to make and bake rolls! Thank you for reading ABK!
xo,
Si
I grew up going The Maddox on special occasions. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Any ideas on how to recreate their raspberry butter?
Hi Sara,
For no-spoil raspberry butter, combine 1/2 cup of butter at room temperature and 1/2 plus 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam. Store in fridge when not using.
Hope this helps!
XO
Si
I made these with Bob’s Redmill 1 for 1 gluten free flour and they turned out amazing! Thank you for the detailed steps. I’m always unsure when I’m baking bread and it was so easy to follow.
Thanks Krista! I really appreciate you leaving a review regarding GF baking! So very helpful!
Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
XO
Si
Curious if you bake these in a convection or convention setting?
In general when do you use convection?
Hi Alli! Great question.
I love my convection oven for pies, cookies, roasting meats and veggies, cooking anything with a cover and toasting. I find cakes and muffins can get dried out when using a convection oven, so usually I use a regular oven. Breads cooked in convection may dry out so the choice is up to the baker’s discretion. Diane’s No Fail French Bread bakes up wonderfully in a convection oven, but other breads not so well. Hope this helps! Thanks for reading ABK.
xo,
Si
What kind of yeast needs to be used in this recipe. I am making these for Thanksgiving and I want to make sure I have the right ingredients.
These are delicious!! Mine turned out slightly more dense and not quite as fluffy as a Maddox roll. Any tips for getting them to be more light and airy in the center?
Can these be made ahead for a dinner. If so when should I cover and freeze?
Natalie, these rolls are best made fresh since the dough is so soft. If you are wanting to make them ahead of time I suggest baking the rolls and then freezing them. Thanks for reading ABK!
Happy baking!
XO,
Si
So easy and so yummy!
These rolls were spot-on (if not better than) Maddox rolls.
I have always had the biggest fear of yeast and just the mindset that I could not do bread/rolls. But being a Brigham City girl I had to try these and they are AMAZING!! The detailed tips + tricks in your recipes make all the difference!