dinner rolls
Also known as: party rolls, Pepperidge Farm Party Rolls
Small, soft, individually-portioned rolls sold pre-baked in a tray or bag of a dozen or more, meant to be split and filled or served alongside a meal rather than eaten as a full sandwich roll on their own. Their small size and soft crumb make them a common base for baked party sliders -- a whole tray gets sliced through as one block, filled, and rebaked together.
Buying guidance
Pepperidge Farm Party Rolls (a plain, slightly sweet white roll) are the classic choice for baked ham or turkey sliders, sold in resealable trays. King's Hawaiian sweet rolls are a widely used alternative -- noticeably sweeter and softer, which pairs especially well with a salty ham-and-cheese filling; either works in a recipe that just calls for "party rolls" or "dinner rolls."
Substitutions
- King's Hawaiian sweet rolls -- sweeter and softer than a plain party roll; a very common 1:1 swap for baked ham or turkey sliders specifically.
- Any other small, soft roll sold by the dozen -- works the same way structurally, though flavor and sweetness vary by brand.
Tips & common mistakes
Slicing rolls apart individually rather than through the whole connected block at once is far slower and makes it easy to end up with mismatched tops and bottoms -- most party-roll recipes count on slicing the entire tray horizontally in one pass, keeping the rolls attached to each other, so the filling can be spread and added in one motion before rebaking.
Storage
Keep in the original bag or wrap tightly -- they dry out and stale faster than a full-size loaf because of their small size and higher surface-area-to-crumb ratio. They freeze well; thaw at room temperature before filling.