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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.
Dough was super wet even after a lot of mixing. Added almost 1/2 cup more flour to give it better texture and it was still very sticky. It got very fluffy during the second rise (only proofed for 1 hr each rise) and flattened too much during the bake. They were also very salty (1 tablespoon of table salt seems to have been way too much.) They ended up edible with some unsalted butter, but don’t work as sandwich rolls as intended.
Followed the directions as written, no substitutions. The rolls were perfection! Thank you
Thank you for the feedback Cindy! So glad you enjoyed them!
I tried SO hard and used so much extra flour trying to make this recipe work, but it was way too sticky. I’ve been non-stop baking for Thanksgiving for weeks without issue, something is definitely off with measurements.
Hi Taylor! It does start as a very sticky dough. As you let it mix and knead, it becomes very silky. Did you get a chance to watch the video? Sorry for the frustration! The dough just takes time to develop.
Followed this to a T! Made them for meatball subs. The dough was so soft and silky. They turned out SO good that I skipped the meatball sub and ate the bread with butter instead!😂 I will definitely be using this recipe again!!
You’ve made my day, Katie!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I make bread often and I thought this was a beautiful dough. Unfortunately it was not at all what a hoagie bun should be, to me. The bread is very, very soft. I did not have a crust on my buns at all to speak of. Perhaps using bread flour would get me closer but all in all just not going to be what I want in a hoagie bun. I will probably revisit them for hot dog or hamburger buns.
Thank you so much for the feedback!!
Artisan Bread in Five taught me a lot about baking bread. I use this recipe and Artisan Bread in Five for mixing (with a bread whisk) and hand kneeding. (I don’t have a stand mixer, no room.) I otherwise followed the recipe. I had excellent results. I had to bake 15+ for a party – 3 batches. The dough stored nicely in the fridge for 1-2 days until I was ready to bake. I used my perforated baguette pans, 3 per side, each pan holds 6. They were beautiful and everyone raved!
Thank you so much Brenda!
Turned out deflated and awful. I make meals for our harvest crew and was going to do meatball subs, typically for sandwiches I would do ciabatta, but I wanted to try a softer bread this time. I doubled the recipe for a large group, and did the kneading according to instructions in my kitchenaid. It only went wrong after the shaping and during the second proofing. I always set my oven to warm and throw the trays in to proof, which has never done me wrong and works wonderfully. I was shocked how large the rolls got, but i just separated them and left them on the counter while the oven preheated. The moment i went to slash the top of a roll, the entire thing deflated, as did all the others as I kept going. I realized at that moment that this recipe was a bust, but i decided to bake them anyways in good spirits. The result was deflated and sad, as they were before going in the oven. Now i’m going to scour for a recipe to feed my crew, with half the time I usually have.
I’m so sorry to hear this Vee! It sounds like they probably got overproofed the second time. So sorry for the frustration!
I make all kinds of bread all the time. I needed an easy to follow recipe for my husband to make for meatball sandwiches as I work nights and was just wiped out. He followed the instructions exactly watched the video did everything right. Dough was far to wet. I tried again to see if maybe he had unknowingly missed something. Nope I did everything the recipe said and it was a fail. Made my usual hoagies and called it a day. I ended up baking up both batches of this dough and it was just not right.. definitely will stick to what we know from here on out
Hi Alyssia! I’m so sorry for the frustration! I cannot for the life of me figure out what is happening for people in this recipe. I made it last week just as written and had no problems. I can’t imagine that humidity or elevation would make that much of a difference.
Followed the recipe EXACTLY, BUT the dough was very wet, never got nice and silky and stuck to the sides of the mixer bowl. When baked, they flattened. Were there metric measurements that I missed?
Hi Ann! Yes, there are metric measurements in the recipe card. There is a button that says “Metric” that you can click on all the measurements to switch to metric. I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t turn out the way it should! I haven’t been able to figure out why it works perfectly for some people and doesn’t for others.
I don’t think people used 11 cups water think common sense tell them that’s wrong. But didn’t see way written prior. Issue they may have is flour. I will try this but I’m not using all purpose flour for me that makes things too dense. I will use bread flour and let you know from my area of world.
I’d love to hear how it turns out for you! Thanks for the feedback!
These tasted delicious, left off a star because I did have to fuss a little with the flour-water ratio. It only worked out because I understand hydration ratios. Have you considered providing the ingredients measurements by weight? I bet providing that would take care of the sticky vs not comments below.
AND I apologize-metric is available, I just didn’t see the button. But it looks like an automated conversion- I guess my question would be if you actually developed the recipe by weight or cups? That would go a long ways towards explaining the different outcomes. Next time I make these I will use the metric version and see if it still needs fussing.
Thanks Donelle! I developed the recipe using cups since that’s what more people in America is familiar with.
Hi Donelle! Thank you so much for the feedback! There is a feature on the recipe card where you can switch the measurements to metric which will give you the weights of everything. I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Hi! I want to make these sourdough style. Would the ratio be the same as your recipe – 1 tbsp of active starter? Thanks 🙂
Hi Shauna! I have no idea unfortunately. I haven’t ever tried to make them with sourdough starter.