This post may contain references to products from one or more of our advertisers. Oh Sweet Basil may receive compensation when you click on links to such products.
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.
I too followed the directions exactly and my dough was very wet! I am so glad I wasn’t the only one and way too salty!!! I questioned the tablespoon of salt!!! I should have listened to myself!!!
Don’t know if you can help… following your recipe to the ‘t’ and other recipes for no-knead bread, my dough is to wet!!! I literally had to “pour” the dough out of the bowl after following your recipe. I had to add so much flour before I could even handle it and form into rolls. Now I’m wondering if they’re going to rise again because I had to handle it so much. My husband and I are trying to learn how to make these breads and finding it very frustrating. We live in CT and it is an overcast day. Can the weather have that much to do with it??? I’m using normal measuring devices for water and flour. I aerate the flour just a bit before putting into measuring cup.
Hi Diane! I’m so sorry for the frustration on this! It absolutely shouldn’t be that wet if everything was measured properly. I’ve had readers add up to a cup more flour to get the right texture. The dough should be tacky but not sticky. Be sure you are also using liquid measuring cups for your wet ingredients.
Can I skip the honey?
If you don’t have honey, you could use corn syrup or maple syrup, but I wouldn’t skip it altogether.
When am I supposed to knead? I have never made a bread that doesn’t require kneading but I see no steps for it here.
Hi Carly! All of the steps where you are mixing with the dough hook attachment is actually kneading the dough. This recipe doesn’t need too much kneading!
Can I make a day ahead of time and refrigerate? I want to bake tomorrow but make the dough today.
Yes absolutely!
Oh. My. Word.
I didn’t have honey so I used maple syrup and this was hands down the best bread I have baked.
I also appreciate that it isn’t a 10 cup flour recipe- we just don’t need that much at a time and these portions were perfect- thank you so much for sharing!
Yeah! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for taking time to leave a comment!
Can you use a bread machine for the dough
I made these yesterday. They are super easy and after about 1 additional cup of flour the dough was the right consistency. Made 4 hamburger buns and 4 hoagie rolls. Best burger buns ever in my opinion. Soft and delicious. Thanks!
Thank you so much!
Hi again thought I’d tell you about my latest add on to this recipe Powdered French Sour Dough sounds weird dosen’t it! But most people have trouble keeping sour dough starters alive and while I have had mine for years someone gifted this to me and I thought why not. I added about a TBS to the yeast as it was started and then did a slow rise in the fridge overnight and WOW it was good not quite as tangy but you knew it was sour dough. I’ve also added herbs to make dinner rolls and made Garlic Monkey bread with it!! CHEERS
LOVE LOVE LOVE!! I use this recipe now exclusively to make Hogie Buns, Burger Buns, Hot dog Buns and even dinner rolls!! I am considering trying to make white bread with it as well!! I bake a lot (almost daily) my husband LOVES fresh bread but wasn’t wild about white bread of any kind tell I made these as hamburger buns for a BBQ we had with the kids who all raved about the buns so he tried one now he is hooked. As to the issue with the amount of flour if you have never done breads the dough should be tacky but not sticky it needs a very silky sooth soft texture, if its.to wet just sprinkle in more flour a little bit at a time, if it’s to dry do the same with tepid water a Tablespoon at a time.
Thank you so much Sandra!! That means the world to us. And yes, dough is tricky and can be weird to work with if one hasn’t before but you are spot on with your tips.
Thanks!