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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.
What type of flour should no use?
I meant should I use….
Hi Felicia, just all purpose flour.
While the recipe appears easy and tasty, I was bombarded with ads and the recipe was confined to only 2/3 of the screen width wise. Sorry. Too much trouble to view and do and I love to bake for my guys.
I’m sorry you had an ad take over. We have guidelines set for ads and that should not have happened.
Put on your AD Blocker this will stop the problem not just here but all web sites
Just made these and they turned out fantastic! I had to add about a cup and a half more of flour, but if you are used to the feel of dough, you will know when you have added enough. I also added less salt. But these hoagie rolls are a winner in our house!
Yes, depending on where you live and how you measure flour it could come out a little different, but it’s an easy dough to make and add flour as needed. 🙂
I know I might sound silly, but..when the recipe says, “warm water”, does it have to be a specified temperature? Thank you!
Hi Christie,
Warm water for yeast is generally around 105-110 degrees, or in other words a warm, not hot, bath temperature.
I’ve looked for months for a good recipe for a (hoagie/bun) dough and I’ve found it!!!
I didn’t have any issue with the dough being too wet as some reviewers mentioned…Other then having to sprinkle in a few tbsps of flour on the initial kneading. Bread is a “living” thing and needs to be nutured based on your environment. When it’s humid, your dough might need more flour. More water if our environment is dry.
These rolls came out soft, and amazing. I am already planning to cut and shape smaller ones for hot dog buns, and round buns for burgers!
To be fair, my only critique is that it was too much salt for us. I will have to cut the salt a bit. That’s a small critique however. I usually bake with kosher salt and had to use regular salt today. We aren’t used to the higher sodium level and could really taste it.
Thank you for the recipe I was searching for! Philly cheese steaks have never taste so good!
Hi Kelly, so glad to hear that you liked them and you’re absolutely right about the bread. Clearly you know yeast well. 🙂 Thanks for the love!
I have tried so many different recipes over the last few years and this is hands down the best for hoagies! Perfectly soft rolls. The family loved them. Thanks so much for this keeper!
Thank you Lisa! That makes us so happy!
Tried the recipe out today, it was great, everybody loved the hoagie rolls. Yes I thought the dough was a bit softer than I thought as well, but I used some samolina both on my hands and on the worktop while shaping the dough and it helped a lot(though I did use quite a bit of samolina for the dough not to get too sticky), it even helped to give the surface of the rolls a sense of crunchiness. Just in case anyone thinks the dough comes out too gooey, this could be a solution.
Making these as I type. The dough did come out gooey after the first rise. Next time I make this, i will put another cup of flour.
Unfortunately, since it was so gooey, I couldnt roll it the way it says on the recipe. Instead, I just laid down parchment paper with flour on it to get a little more control on it. Still pretty stoked to see what happens. Thank you!
Just baked the hoagies using your recipe. As noted in some of the other messages, it was much (much) softer dough than I expected. But luckily I made them before I read the comments and continued with the process. It was much easier to manage after the first rising. They are soft and well cooked inside. Can’t wait to taste test with my son but I think he will love them. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you did too. It’s a soft dough but they totally turn out. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe a few times (along with your French dip) but always have to add an extra 1-2 cups of flour because it’s like cake batter otherwise. Still good! I look forward to trying other recipes from your blog!
Really? How interesting, I’ve never had such a loose dough. We must measure differently. I guess I have a heavy hand haha