Grandma Lucy’sfamous clover rollsare extra soft and fluffy, easy to shape, and a perfect recipe for little hands to help bake.

Grandma Lucy's famous clover rolls in muffin pan on white striped blue towel next to stick of butter.

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law and is a long-time family favorite. The only thing I changed from her original recipe isusing real butterinstead of margarine. This is my go-to bread forSunday dinners of roasted chickento holiday dinners, and I like to make these rolls ahead to serve withmeals on busy weeknights. These rolls make every meal special!

I love this recipe because it was one of the first yeast bread recipes I made that not only turned outlight and fluffybut also looked great, too! Making clover rolls is pretty fool-proof, thanks to the help of a muffin tin. All you have to do is divide the dough evenly and roll it into balls.The shaping is so simple that this is a great recipe for kids to help make.

hand holding Grandma Lucy's famous clover rolls in muffin pan on white striped blue towel next to stick of butter.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

You don’t need a stand mixer to make the dough, which makes this a really accessible roll recipe.
Serve these rolls during the week or scale up the recipe to make larger batches for family gatherings or holiday meals.The perfect bread for all meals!
This recipe makes a dozen rolls, just the right amount for a weekday meal without too much fuss.

Recipe Ingredients

Milk –2% or whole milk works best
Butter –I use real butter, but you can substitute margarine
Sugar
Active dry yeast
Flour –all-purpose flour

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Clover Rolls

Melt butter with milk, sugar, and salt on the stove. Mix with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl andadd flour a little at a time, stirring to combine.
Knead and let rise until doubled.
Divide the dough, roll into balls, and form the clover rolls. Let rise until doubled again.
Bake until golden brown, andrub the tops of the rolls with butter.

Recipe FAQs

What should you do if your dough isn’t rising?

If your dough doesn’t rise, it could mean the room is too cold, you didn’t knead the dough enough, or your yeast is dead. Sometimes, using the wrong type of flour can also cause dough to not rise, but I’ve actually had pretty good luck using half all-purpose flour and half whole-grain in this recipe! If you’re experiencing issues with the dough rising, try troubleshooting it by kneading the dough more, checking the yeast’s package, or making the room warmer.

What if the dough is too sticky or too dry?

Perfect dough is one of the most difficult parts of baking bread, but don’t let that discourage you! If the dough is too sticky, generally that means not enough flour has been used. Similarly, if it’s too dry, that usually means there’s too much flour. To avoid over- or under-flouring your dough, be sure to add flour to the mixture one cup at a time until it reaches an ideal, stretchy consistency.

How do you keep clover rolls fresh for the next day?

If your rolls stick around for a day or two, more power to you! Store them at room temperature in a breadbox or paper bag to cut down on moisture loss. These storage options also allow the outsides to remain pretty firm—there’s nothing worse than a soggy roll!

Expert Tips

To avoid over- or under-flouring your dough, be sure toadd flour to the mixture one cup at a timeuntil it reaches an ideal, stretchy consistency.
If you’re experiencing issues with the dough rising, try troubleshooting it by kneading the dough more, checking the yeast’s package, or making the room warmer.
This recipe makes a smaller bath of a dozen rolls, sodouble or triple if you are feeding more mouths.