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These easy homemade hoagie rolls are soft, chewy, and sturdy enough to hold all your favorite sandwich fillings — yet simple enough for even beginner bakers. With just a handful of pantry staples and straightforward steps, you can skip the store-bought rolls and bake bakery-style hoagies right at home.
Made with just 9 simple ingredients, these easy Hoagie Rolls are the perfect base for French dip sandwiches, meatball sliders, pesto meatball sandwich and more!
Why Make Fresh Hoagie Rolls?
BECAUSE YOU WILL BE A HERO.
We make our own hoagie rolls because it goes so fast, it’s easier for me than to remember to run to the store. The only problem is, I didn’t think everyone else would want to make them too, but boy was I wrong!
We received a comment on our french dip sandwiches post saying they would like the recipe for the hoagies and I had stated I would post it, but I forgot and got busy aka side tracked with the gazillion recipes always floating around in my head. And then that recipe has gotten really popular and I not only started getting more comments, but emails too!
One night, we were eating french dip for dinner when, BAM! I remembered that I was going to photograph them. I had hardly any light left and we were literally eating them so I quickly threw the hoagies on a board, snapped a few shots and now here we are.
What’s Needed for Hoagie Rolls?
To make this hoagie bread recipe, you need 9 simple ingredients:
- Warm Water: Activates the yeast and hydrates the flour, helping the dough come together smoothly.
- Instant Yeast: Leavens the dough, allowing the rolls to rise and develop a light, airy texture.
- Granulated Sugar: Feeds the yeast to encourage rising and adds a subtle sweetness to the rolls.
- Honey: Enhances flavor, adds gentle sweetness, and helps create a softer crumb and lightly golden crust.
- Flour: Provides structure and strength while keeping the rolls soft and tender.
- Salt: Balances sweetness and enhances flavor while strengthening the dough’s structure.
- Butter: Adds richness and tenderness, creating soft, fluffy hoagie rolls.
- Egg: Used for brushing the rolls before baking to promote a shiny, golden finish.
- Milk: Combined with the egg white to thin the wash and help create an evenly browned crust.
The measurements for all the ingredients are listed in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Hoagie Buns
This sub roll recipe is incredibly easy, but it does require some patience as the dough goes through two separate rises.
- Make the Dough: Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, make the dough (**see section below for tips on making the dough).
- First Rise: Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled.
- Shape the Dough: Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and shape the dough into 4-8 hoagies.
- Second Rise: Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rise another 1 to 2 hours.
- Slash: Slash the top of each roll with a really sharp knife or blade and brush with egg and milk mixture.
- Bake: Bake until golden and sound hard when you gently tap the outside. Brush with butter.
The complete instructions are listed in the recipe card. You can also print or save the recipe there.
Tips for Finishing Hoagie Rolls
- I highly recommend brushing the hoagie bread with butter before serving it.
- If you like a little crunch and an added flavor, sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top right after brushing with butter.
- The bread is hard upon removal but quickly softens, so don’t worry that you over baked.
- Let the sub rolls cool for 15 or so minutes before cutting them.
Hoagie Roll FAQs
A hoagie roll is a type of long flat roll used to prepare hoagie sandwiches. A Hoagie is the same thing as a Sub sandwich, hero sandwich, or grinder.
There is no difference. They are the same thing, but they just are called a variety of names depending on where you are from.
In all my research, it’s a little hard to say where the word “hoagie” comes from. There’s a consensus that it comes from the Philadelphia area in the mid 1900s, but where it exactly originates is debatable.
Wrap the rolls well, or place in a zip lock bag. Hoagie rolls will keep for 5-7 days at room temperature.
Yes! To freeze hoagie rolls and buns, place them inside a freezer bag and seal tightly. Hoagie rolls will keep 3 months in the freezer.
Tips for Making the Dough
- Since posting this recipe, we have received several comments about the recipe being wrong, the dough is too wet, the ratios are off, etc. I started to wonder if somehow the recipe had been changed without my knowing it. So I made the recipe again exactly how it is written, and they came out perfectly!
- In fact, they were so good, I re-photographed them and those pictures are the ones you see now.
- The dough will seem a little wet and shaggy at first (known as slack dough which is like a blog and will not hold a shape), but you just have to keep mixing it. As you work the gluten, the dough become so smooth and silky. Patience is key and trust the process!
Homemade hoagie rolls might sound intimidating, but this easy recipe proves just how achievable they really are. Soft, chewy, and incredibly versatile, and homemade is always better. Make a batch for dinner, freeze extras for later, and enjoy fresh, bakery-quality bread whenever you need it.
More Easy Bread Recipes to Try:
- No-Knead Artisan Bread
- French Bread
- Herbed Focaccia Bread
- Classic Potato Rolls
- Homemade Naan
- 7 Up Biscuits
- All of our bread recipes!
Watch How Each Step of This Recipe Should Look…
Easy Hoagie Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups Warm Water
- 1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 3 ¾ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cubed
- 1 Egg White
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, add the warm water, yeast, sugar, and honey.1 ½ Cups Warm Water, 1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast, 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Honey
- Allow to foam up for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the flour and using a dough hook mix for 4 minutes on low.3 ¾ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- Increase the speed to medium and add the salt, mixing for another 3 minutes.1 Tablespoon Salt
- Finally, add the cold butter, one tablespoon at a time and mix for another minute or two after each addition. Continue to mix until no pieces of butter remain. This is going to be odd to see that butter slapping around in there, but trust me, as you mix, the dough will firm up and be silky and all butter will be incorporated.3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled (olive oil or vegetable oil is great) bowl, turning over to coat, cover with a towel and allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours.
- Place a silpat or parchment paper on a baking sheet and shape the dough into 4-8 hoagies depending on size preference. I like to flatten each piece into a rectangle, fold one end up like an envelope, turn 180 degrees and fold up the other end over the first. Repeat until you've formed a hoagie and pinch shut the seam and end seams.
- Place seam side down and repeat with remaining dough.
- Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rise another 1 to 2 hours.
- Whisk together the egg white and milk. Using a razor blade, make a slit down the top of each roll. Brush each top with the egg mixture.1 Egg White, 1 Tablespoon Milk
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF, place the hoagie rolls on the baking pan and bake for 16 to 22 minutes.
- Remove from the oven when they are lightly golden and feel hard when you tap the crust.
- Rub with a little butter if desired and allow to cool.
- The bread is hard upon removal but quickly softens, so don't worry that you over baked.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
They have the right flavor but didn’t rise once put in over
Hi Jordan! That’s interesting. I’m so sorry for the frustration. This shouldn’t happen if the correct type of yeast is used and all the instructions are followed closely. That being said, yeast bread can be so temperamental!
What suggestions could I use as an egg replacement without compromising the recipe or could it be omitted?
Hi Krissy! The egg is just used for an egg wash to help the rolls get golden. You could use milk or cream, butter, oil, etc. brushed on the top instead.
Ratios weird for me too, but not because of the flour amounts, that seemed perfect, the salt was to much for me. I might go for 3/4 tbsp a whole tbsp is just to much. In fact I had to read the recipe a few times to make sure it wasn’t a tsp because it just seemed crazy high. I did use Himalayan salt thought, maybe I should have just done standard iodized?
Thank you for the feedback! Any type of course salt should work just great. You can definitely reduce the salt if needed.
Question? Can I freeze the dough for later use?
Hello! I’ve actually never tried freezing the dough but you can freeze the baked rolls. They actually freeze and thaw extremely well. There’s a little section in the post on freezing the rolls.
The ratios didn’t work out for me. My dough was super wet, like not cohesive at all. I was able to add an additional 3/4 cup of flour to reach the consistency of the dough in your video. I don’t think YOUR ratios are wrong, I just think the amount of flour called for may change based on the brand of flour each person uses. I’m thinking that it’s just the difference in protein content which can vary pretty greatly from one brand of flour to the next and of course that changes how the gluten forms. After adding the additional flour, the rest of the recipe turned out beautifully! For anyone having trouble with the dough not coming together, I would suggest just gradually adding extra flour maybe a tablespoon at a time until you reach a shaggy, soft dough. My husband loved these hoagies and I have bookmarked your recipe for future use! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the feedback Amber! The dough does start off really wet. The more it mixes or kneads, the more it will come together and get silky smooth. I’m glad it worked out for you!
I second Amber’s ratio comments. I tried 2 different batches, scooping the flour differently both times, both are sooooo wet. Wish I would have seen Ambers comments before trying the second batch. They are currently rising after I formed them into hoagies, not too hopefully they are going to work.
Hi Janica! Did you watch the video and read the post from beginning to end? We’ve had many readers with this same issue, but the dough really does come together and become silky smooth the more it mixes. So sorry for the frustration! We’ve had so many readers be very successful with this recipe. I can’t figure out what is going wrong.
I love these so much! I make them a couple of times a month. I use this recipe for homemade hamburger buns and I usually divide it into 12-14 buns.
Yay! Thank you so much Ann! Using this for homemade hamburger buns is a brilliant idea!
Wow! These were a hit in my family, and have been requested in a weekly basis! I had to use a bit more flour than the recipe called for, probably half a cup, and it was still a very loose dough. I used plant cream to brush on the dough before baking since my son is allergic to eggs, and it worked fantastic as a replacement. They browned lovely, and had a great flavor.
Thank you so much for the feedback Kim! I’m so glad your family loves these rolls as much as we do!
I made this today and I actually used 1/4 cup less flour than called for. I usually keep out the last 1/4 cup to work with on surfaces. I found this recipe to be perfect. I did not find any issues with the dough being sticky. It turned out amazing the first try. I tried to link a picture but could not figure it out.
Thank you so much for feedback Suzy! And thanks for the tip!
I don’t know what happened but these did not turn out at all. I think just putting a teal towel on them in the 2nd rise dried mine out too much. Mine did not rise in the 2nd rise and did not brown. I usually use the King Aruther recipe for hoagies but it has you start part of the recipe the night before and was limited on time. I picked this one. Sorry, but I would choose a different recipe.
Hi Heather! I’m so sorry for the disappointment. It sounds like something definitely went wrong along the way. Were you able to watch the video in the post to see how it should look at each step of the way? We’ve had countless readers have great success with this recipe so I’m always curious about what goes wrong for people so that I can make things more clear in the instructions. Thank you so much for taking time to leave feedback for us!
Haven’t baked them up yet, but wanted to make a note for people with wet dough issues: keep working the dough. I used the exact recipe here and my dough was almost a bit dry so I wet my hands while kneading it. My roles are on the second proof and they look perfect. I had to knead this thoroughly and by hand. I don’t feel like mixers do bread dough well.
Thank you so much for the feedback and extra tips! This is perfect!
I love how you make note of the ingredient amounts directly under each of the individual instructions so we don’t have to keep scrolling up to the ingredient list! Great recipe! Thank you!
Thank you so much! It is a new feature of our recipe cards and readers have been loving it!