A soft, plain roll is the easy choice when you’re hustling to make the Thanksgiving feast, but don’t be afraid to up the flavor and texture. We’ve gathered options that, while crowd-pleasing, aren’t shy. Salty Parmesan, briny olives, verdant herbs and fragrant seeds punctuate these Thanksgiving bread options. As far as texture is concerned, soft is only the beginning. We welcome flaky, chewy, crusty and airy, too.

Garlic-Parmesan Potato Bread Dinner Rolls

These rolls are slathered in garlic- and rosemary-infused butter and topped with a salty layer of grated Parmesan—and that’s not even the special part. To maximize their pillowy texture, instant potato flakes are added to the dough. This addition increases the starch content and the rolls’ capacity for moisture retention. The resulting roll feels just as soft at room temperature as it does straight out of the oven. Our recipe is especially Thanksgiving-friendly, as you can make and shape the dough a day ahead of time.

Butter Rolls

Inspired by the soft butter rolls popular in bakeries across Hawaii, we developed our this recipe with an emphasis on a light crumb and a rich, slightly sweet flavor. Through rounds of testing, we settled on a combination of butter and vegetable shortening to achieve the soft texture. Whole milk and a touch of sugar deliver subtle sweetness to round out the flavor. To make shaping easier, our recipe uses standard muffin tins to achieve the famous Liliha bakery look.

German-Style Winter Squash Bread

Our beautifully braided German-Style Winter Squash Bread is pillowy and moist with a warm golden hue and a smattering of pumpkin seeds across the top—perfect for autumn celebrations. The texture, flavor and color are all owed to incorporating butternut squash directly into the dough. Even with the addition of cooked squash, the baked crumb structure manages to be light, with a pleasing height. The raw dough mixture will be very loose at first, but don’t be dismayed. After proofing and spending some time in the fridge, you’ll find that it’s workable and easy to braid.

Maque-Style Mexican Bisquetes

A true crowd-pleaser, this is a dinner roll that straddles the line between tender American biscuit and brioche bun. Maque-style Mexican Bisquetes are our version of a popular Mexican roll that uses high-gluten bread flour for structure, and two types of leavening—yeast and baking powder. The unusual combination gives the bread height and a delicate, fluffy texture. To further tenderize the roll, butter is blended into the dry ingredients, preventing excess gluten development and adding plenty of rich flavor. They work well in both sweet and savory applications, or eaten as-is.

Mini Focaccia with Tomatoes and Green Olives

Studded with green olives and red cherry tomatoes, these rotund focaccia buns are reminiscent of Christmas tree ornaments. A bread basket full of these is a festive and flavorful way to usher in the holiday season, and the tart-briny flavors are wonderful companions for decadent meals. Our recipe makes portioning and shaping the dough easy with the help of a spring-loaded disher and a standard muffin pan as a bread mold.

Buttermilk Biscuits

For a classic Thanksgiving companion, our buttermilk biscuits deliver on all fronts. They’re flaky, buttery, crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. We use the classic method of cutting in big chunks of butter to make feathery, flaky layers, but the work is made easier and faster with the help of the food processor. In about 45 minutes, you can have these biscuits on the table. They’re a good option for the host that doesn't have time to wait for yeast-raised dough.

Hawaiian Sweet Bread-Style Rolls

The subtle sweetness of these wonderfully squidgy rolls pairs surprisingly well with Thanksgiving fare. Modeled after the pull-apart favorite from Kings Hawaiian, we developed this recipe to mimic the depth of flavor and moist crumb. The rolls are wonderful served the day of baking, but revive remarkably well even after days in the refrigerator. There’s nothing stopping you from making these towering rolls in advance and reheating them in the oven on the big day.

German-Style Seeded Rye Bread

Break ranks this year and opt for a hearty, dark rye bread studded with farro and coated in a heavy blanket of seeds. Our German-Style Seeded Rye Bread recipe isn’t one of those “4-ingredient, quick and easy” types, but we guarantee the longer fermentation time and beer-soaked grains are well worth the effort for robust flavor. This recipe uses a preferment with buttermilk to kickstart the sour flavors, and a beer soak to bring in warm, malty notes. This substantial loaf is delicious during the meal and a wonderful companion to Thanksgiving leftovers in the following days.

Greek Olive Bread with Rosemary and Oregano

Good olive bread feels like a bit of a treat, and this one is a full-on gift. Kalamata olives swirl through the loaf, offering a burst of tart, salty flavor in every slice. This soft, whole-wheat bread has the tender energy of a wee spongy dinner roll but the power and presentation of a full loaf. We use a bit of honey to add sweetness and flavor to the dough—a lovely contrast to the salty olive moments—and the floral notes play well with the oregano and rosemary mixed throughout.

Moroccan Seeded Breads with Semolina

This everyday Moroccan bread is transformed into a robustly nutty loaf with the addition of toasted sesame seeds, flax, fennel seeds and wheat bran. The pleasantly dense loaf has the fortitude to soak up turkey gravy without disintegrating under the moisture. Be mindful of how much flour you add in the initial mix. Splitting the flour measurement gives the semolina and wheat bran a chance to fully hydrate, making for a better crumb later.

Tomato, Feta and Black Olive Quick Bread

For those who don’t want to bother with yeast but prefer the texture of bread over a buttery biscuit, turn to quick bread. Quick breads are leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda. Instead of taking hours to proof (like with yeast-raised breads) you’ll get the full rise right in the oven. Our Tomato, Feta and Black Olive Quick Bread is packed with bold Mediterranean flavors. A slice of this bread pairs well with a feast, or stands up on its own when you’re taking a break between helpings. Be sure to seed your tomato beforehand to ensure a moist crumb that isn’t soggy.

Sicilian Semolina and Sesame Bread

Few would expect a loaf of bread to outshine the turkey on Thanksgiving, but this golden S-shaped semolina loaf is as stunning for the eyes as it is for the tastebuds. We use a combination of finely ground semolina flour and bread flour to give the loaf a rustic texture and crisp, chewy crust. Ground sesame seeds mixed directly into the dough add a wonderful aroma to the freshly baked bread.

Herbed Irish Ale Bread with Caraway

Caraway seeds finally have a chance to charm everyone in this herbed Irish ale quick bread.

It’s a hearty pan-loaf that leans into aromatics with a smattering of herbs and a bottle of malty beer. The dough is a quick bread, which makes it a breeze to assemble. The mixture is akin to muffin batter, and should be treated as such—gently, and lumps are a good thing. If you whisk this batter until smooth you’ll eliminate the tender crumb. A roasted Thanksgiving turkey with gravy pairs well with the heady herbal quality of this loaf.

Brazilian Cheese Puffs (Pão de Queijo)

Our Pão de Queijo recipe presents an irresistible combination of texture, flavor and size. The Brazilian bread is made from a combination of tapioca flour and cheese, resulting in a savory, chewy, puffy bread. The outside features a crisp shell and the interior is decadently soft and gooey. While a cheese-forward bun might seem like too much alongside a heavy meal, our version is made using a mini muffin pan resulting in small puffs that aren’t going to ruin your appetite.

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Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Allie Chantorn Reinmann is a Digital Staff Writer for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. She’s a Thai-American chef who earned her diploma for Pastry and Baking Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education and worked professionally for over a decade honing her craft in New York City at places like Balthazar, Bien Cuit, The Chocolate Room, Billy’s Bakery and Whole Foods. Allie took her know-how from the kitchen to the internet, writing about food full-time at Lifehacker for three years and starting her own YouTube channel, ThaiNYbites. You can find her whipping up baked goods for cafés around Brooklyn, building wedding cakes and trying her hand (feet?) at marathon running. She’s working on her debut cookbook and lives in Brooklyn, NY.