Light and fluffy sourdough pull-apart dinner rolls that don’t taste sour and make your kitchen smells amazing! With one little trick, learn how to get them ready in 2 hours.
Dinner rolls are amazing: they’re perfect with soup, with butter, for sandwiches, by themselves.
These sourdough rolls are softer than any dinner roll I ever had and are super quick to make. That’s because we’re using both a sourdough starter and commercial yeast for this recipe.
While the sourdough starter will give your rolls an amazing taste, the commercial yeast will be the main responsible for fermentation. Don’t leave any of them out for this recipe!
About the sourdough, you can use an active sourdough starter for this recipe, but I always use my discard when making these. Both ways work and make delicious rolls.
Still don’t have a sourdough starter? Lest fix it right now: I can teach you how to make a starter in a simple, foolproof way.
How to make them
- Start by mixing all dry ingredients in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer if using one.
- Add lukewarm milk, melted butter, egg and sourdough discard, and mix until the dough forms. You can do it using the dough hook of a stand mixer for about 2 minutes, or you can do it with a spoon if you’re doing everything by hand.
- Knead the dough for 6 minutes if using a stand mixer, 8 to 10 minutes if doing it by hand. The dough should be smooth and tacky, with a good windowpane.
This is not a dry dough: measure all dry ingredients carefully before starting, specially if you’re using cups.
- Cover the dough, and let it rise for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until it doubles.
- Deflate the dough. Divide in 9 pieces and shape each piece into a tight ball.
- To shape the rolls, fold each piece over itself until tight (about 6 to 8 folds). Pinch all ends together in the center, and place the shaped roll into a lined baking pan, pinched side facing down.
For more visual information, check the sourdough dinner rolls full video.
- Let them rise again until light and puffy. It should take about 40 minutes.
- While they rise, preheat the oven to 350°F, rack into the middle shelf. Preheat it for at least 15 minutes, to be sure it’s at the right temperature before placing the rolls to bake.
- Brush each roll with an egg wash, or a milk and honey wash if preferred.
- Bake dinner rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re golden brown at the top.
- Let them cool for 10 minutes before serving.
You can substitute milk for any plant-based milk, and butter for the same amount of oil. It will change flavor a bit, but the rolls will be as fluffy as the dairy ones.
I don’t have a substitute for the egg that works well for this recipe.
Sure! If doing with sourdough start only:
1. Use an active starter;
2. Remember that fermentation time will increase in some hours.
If making these dinner rolls with commercial yeast only, I would let the dough rise for 2 hours before refrigerating it overnight.
The next day, I would shape the rolls and wait until they’re puffy and light to bake. Follow the same temperature and baking time in the recipe card. Don’t forget to preheat the oven!
You can use whole wheat for making these and still get amazingly soft dinner roll. For that, substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. I don’t recommend using only whole wheat flour, as the rolls might turn out too dense.
How do you make sourdough rolls soft and fluffy?
These are my 5 tips to get dinner rolls soft and fluffy every time!
#1 Knead the dough properly.
#2 Use all-purpose flour.
#3 Moisturize the top before baking. You can choose to make an egg wash, or a simple milk and honey wash like I did. That gave me a sweet and super soft crust.
#4 Don’t rush fermentation. Wait for the dough to double and then wait for the shaped rolls to get light and puffy before baking.
#5 Preheat the oven. If these rolls reach the oven while it still cold, the rise will be compromised and you risk getting denser dinner rolls.
Bonus tip: brush the top of the rolls with butter as soon as they're out of the oven to keep the exterior extra-soft!
Tips for getting pull-apart perfection
Remember to never add hot ingredients to your dough: milk should be lukewarm, and melted butter, slightly cooled. Ingredients that are hot or even too warm can kill all yeast before fermentation even starts.
Never place the dough into a cool place during fermentation. That’s even more important if you’re baking in the middle of winter. Place the bowl with the dough in a warm spot, like next to the stove if you’re cooking, or near the heater if it’s on. If your oven has a proofing function, use it.
If you’re a beginner bread baker, you need to check my 10 tips to get perfect bread every time!
How to keep dinner rolls warm
For keeping dinner rolls, or any bread product warm, try this hack:
- Grab a clean cloth sack (you can use a pillowcase or kitchen towel) and add 2 cups of uncooked rice.
- Microwave for 2 minutes, until it gets warm when touching. Do it for a minute more, if still not warm enough.
- Place the rolls/bread on top of the cloth sack. The rice keeps warm for about 20 minutes, as do the rolls.
Storing and freezing
After cooled, store these rolls into an airtight container or bread keeper, away from sunlight. Keeping them covered make these rolls soft for about 3 to 4 days.
Do not store these rolls in the fridge.
You can freeze these dinner rolls. For freezing, wait for them to cool completely, then place rolls into a freezer safe bag, push most of the air out and seal the bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To thaw, place rolls in the fridge overnight. You can reheat them without thawing first, but rolls might get a crispy exterior.
To reheat and prevent rolls from drying out, brush their tops with butter. Place them into preheated oven (350°F) for 6 to 8 minutes.
More sourdough discard recipes
Sourdough Pancakes
Gourmet Sourdough Crackers
Sourdough Pie Crust
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 cup sourdough discard
- ½ cup milk lukewarm
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup butter unsalted and melted
- 1 egg yolk plus 1 teaspoon water for egg wash or 1 tablespoon milk + 1 teaspoon honey for milk and honey wash
Instructions
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer if using one, mix all dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Stir to combine.
- Add lukewarm milk, melted butter, egg and sourdough discard, and mix until the dough forms. You can do it using the dough hook of a stand mixer for about 2 minutes, or you can do it with a spoon if you’re doing everything by hand.
- Knead the dough for 6 minutes if using a stand mixer, 8 to 10 minutes if doing it by hand. The dough should be smooth and tacky and have a good windowpane.
- Cover the dough, and let it rise for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until it doubles.
- Deflate the dough, punching it with your hand. In a clean surface, divide in 9 pieces, and shape each piece into a tight ball.
- To shape the rolls, fold each piece over itself until tight (about 6 to 8 folds). Pinch all ends together in the center, and place the shaped roll into a lined baking pan, pinched side facing down. For more visual information, check the video.
- Let them rise again until light and puffy. It should take about 40 minutes.
- While the shaped rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350°F, placing the rack into the middle shelf.
- Brush each roll with egg yolk wash, or milk and honey wash if preferred (the rolls at the photos were baked with milk and honey wash).
- Bake dinner rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re golden brown at the top.
- Let them cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
You can substitute milk for any plant-based milk, and butter for the same amount of oil. Flavor might change a bit, but the rolls will be as fluffy as the dairy ones. You can substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour for 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I don’t recommend using only whole wheat flour, as the rolls might turn out too dense. Tips Never add hot ingredients to your dough: milk should be lukewarm, and melted butter, slightly cooled. Never place the dough into a cool place during fermentation. Place the bowl with the dough in a warm spot, like next to the stove if you’re cooking, or near the heater if it’s on. If your oven has a proofing function, use it. Check the post to learn how I bake this recipe using an active sourdough starter only.
Yoli
I’m excited to try this recipe. Can I freeze and bake on Thanksgiving? I appreciate any guidance.
Tatiana Kamakura
Hi Yoli,
I recommend to freeze these dinner rolls after baked. If you want to try freezing them before baking: shape rolls right after kneading and freeze them right away. It should take between 4 to 6 hours for them to rise and be ready to bake. Frozen rolls are good for 1 to 2 weeks, after that, yeast can start to lose its power/die-off.
Hope that helps! Let me know how it went.
Happy baking!