Hot roll mix substitutes
Hot roll mix substitutes — 5 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix, yeast roll mix, dinner roll mix
Use Flour + sugar + salt + instant yeast
Per 16 oz box
3 cups flour + ¼ cup sugar + 1 tsp salt + 1 packet instant yeast
Mix your own: 3 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 packet (2 ¼ tsp) of instant yeast replace one 16 oz box. Then follow the recipe as written, adding the same 1 cup of hot water, 2 tbsp butter and 1 egg the box calls for. The dough behaves the same and may want a few more tablespoons of flour while kneading. If you would rather not mix dough at all, use about 1 ½ pounds of thawed frozen bread dough.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Stir the dry ingredients together, yeast included, then add the liquids the box calls for: 1 cup hot water at 120°F to 130°F, 2 tbsp softened butter and 1 egg. Knead about 5 minutes, adding flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough is no longer sticky.
- Best for —
- dinner rolls
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the hot roll mix doing?
Pick your caseAre you willing to mix a dough, or do you want one ready-made?
Mix 3 cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 packet of instant yeast, then follow the recipe exactly as written from the point where it opens the box.
Notes on flour + sugar + salt + instant yeast
3 cups flour + ¼ cup sugar + 1 tsp salt + 1 packet instant yeast per 16 oz box
Thawed frozen bread or roll dough picks up at the shaping step. Use about 1 ½ pounds for each box and allow a longer rise.
Notes on frozen bread or roll dough or yeast bread mix
1 ½ lb thawed dough per 16 oz box
Pizza dough works and gives a chewier, crustier result. The homemade mix with the sugar cut to 1 tablespoon is closer still.
Notes on pizza dough or flour + sugar + salt + instant yeast
1 ½ lb dough per 16 oz box
Refrigerated crescent dough bakes in minutes with no rise. Expect a flaky pastry, not a soft roll.
Notes on refrigerated crescent dough
3 cans per 16 oz box
Hot roll mix is a shortcut to a soft enriched yeast dough. The box supplies the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the right proportions; the cook adds hot water, butter and an egg, kneads for about 5 minutes, and the dough needs only a short rest before shaping and a 30-minute rise. Many older recipes, from cinnamon rolls to kolaches to stuffed breads, use it simply as the dough, so the swap is any soft yeast dough of about the same size and sweetness.
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of hot roll mix | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flour + sugar + salt + instant yeastdinner rolls | 3 cups flour + ¼ cup sugar + 1 tsp salt + 1 packet instant yeast per 16 oz boxTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Frozen bread or roll doughdinner rolls | 1 ½ lb thawed dough per 16 oz boxTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Yeast bread mixdinner rolls | Same amount by weightTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Pizza doughpizza and calzones | 1 ½ lb dough per 16 oz boxYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Refrigerated crescent doughpigs in a blanket and sausage rolls | 3 cans per 16 oz boxYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | Biscuit baking mix | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
| Not a swap | Plain flour, cup for cup | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Flour + sugar + salt + instant yeast
same
The box rebuilt from the pantry. The mix is flour with sugar and salt, and the packet is fast-acting yeast.
- Best for
- dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls and sweet rolls, pizza crust, filled breads, kolaches and runzas
- Prep
- Stir the dry ingredients together, yeast included, then add the liquids the box calls for: 1 cup hot water at 120°F to 130°F, 2 tbsp softened butter and 1 egg. Knead about 5 minutes, adding flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough is no longer sticky.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegetarian
- Contains
- gluten
Use instant or rapid-rise yeast, which is what tolerates hot water mixed in with the flour. Bread flour gives a chewier roll. Adding ¼ cup of nonfat dry milk makes a softer, browner roll and is optional. Expect to work in up to ¼ cup more flour.
Frozen bread or roll dough
less sweet, plainer
Ready-made yeast dough from the freezer case. It skips the mixing and kneading and picks up the recipe at the shaping step.
- Best for
- dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, stuffed breads and pizza
- Texture
- chewier
- Prep
- Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or as the package directs, then shape, let rise until doubled, and bake as the recipe says.
- Contains
- gluten
A starting amount: one box of mix makes roughly 1 ½ pounds of dough, so a single 1-pound loaf of frozen dough makes about two-thirds of the recipe. Frozen bread dough is leaner and less sweet than hot roll mix, with no egg, and its rise takes longer than the 30 minutes the mix needs.
Yeast bread mix
less sweet · similar texture
Another boxed mix that comes with its own yeast packet, such as a white bread or bread machine mix.
- Best for
- dinner rolls, filled breads, pizza crust
- Prep
- Use the liquids and fat listed on that box, not the hot roll mix amounts, since each mix is balanced for its own.
- Contains
- gluten
Box sizes differ, so match by weight: 16 oz of mix for each box of hot roll mix. Most bread mixes are less sweet; for cinnamon rolls or sweet dough add 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Pizza dough
plain, not sweet
Store-bought or homemade pizza dough is a plain yeast dough of flour, water, salt and a little oil.
- Best for
- pizza and calzones, savory stuffed breads and pockets, breadsticks
- Texture
- chewy, crustier
- Suits
- vegan
- Contains
- gluten
No sugar, egg or butter, so it bakes up chewier and crustier with less browning. Good for savory recipes, wrong for cinnamon rolls or soft dinner rolls. Most store-bought balls weigh 1 pound, about two-thirds of what a box makes.
Refrigerated crescent dough
richer, buttery
Canned dough from the refrigerator case. It works as a ready wrapper in recipes that roll hot roll mix thin around a filling.
- Best for
- pigs in a blanket and sausage rolls, filled squares and turnovers, quick sweet rolls
- Texture
- flaky, not bready
- Prep
- Press the perforations together to make a sheet. Do not knead it or let it rise; fill, shape and bake at the temperature on the can.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Contains
- gluten
A starting amount: cans are 8 oz each, and three come close to the 1 ½ pounds of dough a box makes. It is a flaky, layered dough raised with baking powder, not yeast, so there is no bread-like chew and it cannot be shaped into rolls or a loaf.
Biscuit baking mix
biscuit, slightly salty
Bisquick and similar mixes look alike on the shelf and are a different kind of dough.
- Best for
- nothing here
- Texture
- crumbly, no chew
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
Baking mix contains shortening and baking powder and no yeast. It makes a tender biscuit dough that cannot be kneaded, will not rise on the counter, and tears when rolled around a filling. Recipes written for hot roll mix depend on a stretchy yeast dough.
Plain flour, cup for cup
flat, unsalted
Measuring out flour alone in place of the box.
- Best for
- nothing here
- Texture
- dense, no rise
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
The box is more than flour: it carries the sugar and salt, and the yeast is a separate packet. Flour by itself gives a dough that does not rise and tastes flat. Add ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt and a packet of yeast to 3 cups of flour, as in the first option.
Don’t swap it here
2 cases- The homemade mix made with active dry yeast stirred in dry, as the box method does.Use instant or rapid-rise yeast. With active dry, dissolve it in the cup of water cooled to about 110°F, wait 5 minutes, and allow a longer rise.
- Water hotter than 130°F poured onto any yeast dough.Measure 120°F to 130°F with a thermometer when the yeast is mixed into the flour. Without a thermometer, use water that feels hot but that you can hold a finger in.
Questions
5 questionsWhat can I substitute for Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix?
For one 16 oz box, mix 3 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) of instant yeast. Add the same liquids the box calls for: 1 cup hot water at 120°F to 130°F, 2 tablespoons softened butter and 1 egg. Then follow your recipe as written.
What is in hot roll mix?
A bag of wheat flour blended with sugar and salt, and a separate packet of fast-acting yeast. The cook adds water, butter and an egg. It is a mix for soft, slightly sweet yeast dough.
Can I use frozen bread dough instead of hot roll mix?
Yes. Use about 1 ½ pounds of thawed dough for each box and start the recipe at the shaping step. Frozen bread dough is leaner and less sweet, and it needs a longer rise.
Can I use Bisquick instead of hot roll mix?
No. Bisquick is a biscuit mix leavened with baking powder. It makes a crumbly dough that cannot be kneaded, shaped or left to rise like yeast dough, so recipes written for hot roll mix do not work with it.
Can I use regular yeast in homemade hot roll mix?
Instant or rapid-rise yeast is the match, since it can be mixed straight into the flour. Active dry yeast works if you dissolve it in the water at about 110°F first and allow a longer rise.
Tips for substituting hot roll mix
5 tips- One packet of yeast is 2 ¼ teaspoons, or ¼ ounce. Measure that amount if your yeast comes in a jar.
- Make the mix ahead: combine the flour, sugar and salt in a jar and keep the yeast separate until the day you bake.
- Spoon flour into the cup and level it. Three scooped, packed cups can hold 2 to 3 ounces more flour and make a stiff dough.
- After kneading, cover the dough and rest it 5 minutes before shaping, as the box directs. It rolls out without springing back.
- Plain rolls from this dough bake at 375°F for about 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. Filled or larger breads follow their own recipe.