Most restaurants in the US bring either biscuits or rolls to the table with your meal.  What is the difference between the two? 
The principle difference between dinner rolls and biscuits is how they are assembled not how they are risen.  Dinner rolls are normal glutinous bread    With this method, wheat flour is mixed with water to form gluten. The dough is kneaded to align the gluten into sheets which can be inflated. Developing the gluten is essential to this type of dough.  When baked, this dough produces a springy sponge that is chewy and easy to slice.        Biscuits are assembled using the aptly named "biscuit method"  With this method, solid fat is cut into flour. The fat is not fully incorporated but is instead left in small pieces. Liquid is added and mixed in only briefly. Only a very small amount of gluten is formed and the fat is not homogeneously distributed in the dough.   When the dough bakes, the pockets of fat and lack of gluten produce a flaky, fragile product which is the characteristic biscuit texture.    Notes   Dinner rolls often have more fat and sugar than regular bread dough. This makes them more tender and richly flavored than regular bread. Gluten also caused rolls and biscuits to be formed differently:   Rolls are made from balls of dough that are rolled to give them a tight skin Biscuits are either cut into shape or spooned onto a pan  Rolls are risen with yeast, and biscuits with baking soda/powder. This does not cause the differences in texture but is a result of it.    Yeast acts slowly and, if used in biscuits, the rise time would allow gluten development which would make them less tender.  Conversely, baking soda doesn't have as much lift and wouldn't inflate a springy glutinous dough as much.   