Light and fluffy Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls that don’t taste too sour and make your kitchen smells amazing! With one little trick, learn how to get them ready in 2 hours.
Still don’t have a sourdough starter? I can teach you how to make a sourdough starter in a foolproof way.
Ingredients
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.
Sourdough discard. You can use an active sourdough starter for this recipe, but I always use my sourdough discard when making these rolls. Both ways work and make delicious soft bread.
Instant yeast. While the sourdough discard will give your rolls an amazing taste, instant yeast will be the main responsible for fermentation.
Butter. I usually use unsalted butter, but it's ok to use salted if that's what you have. For a dairy-free option, you can substitute butter with margarine or a vegan butter option.
Milk. I usually use whole milk, but partially skimmed and skimmed milk also work. For a dairy-free option, you can use unflavored and unsweetened almond, cashew, soy or oat milk.
Flour. Use all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I don’t recommend using only whole wheat flour, as the rolls might turn out too dense.
If using whole wheat flour, for every 1 cup of whole wheat flour, you need to add 1 tablespoon more than what the recipe calls for.
How to make them
Step 01. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer if using one, mix all ingredients.
Step 02. Knead the dough for 6 minutes if using a stand mixer, 8 to 10 minutes if kneading 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 to measure flour.
Step 03. Cover the dough, and let it rise for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until it doubles.
Step 04. Divide dough into 9 equal pieces and shape each 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 a better visual information, check the video on the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 05. Let them rise for the second time until light and puffy. It should take about 40 minutes.
Step 06. Before baking, brush each roll with an egg wash, or a milk and honey wash if preferred.
While the rolls 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.
Step 07. 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 plus 1 tablespoon of milk. 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 sourdough dinner 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
If you tried this Sourdough Dinner Roll Recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below!
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Discard 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.
Irene Morales Ward
Absolutely delicious!! I was looking for an easy sourdough discard recipe I could incorporate into my Thanksgiving menu and this recipe is perfection! I’ll probably make 12 rolls instead of 9 because they were HUGE! They will be perfect for turkey and gravy leftovers!❤️
Tatiana Kamakura
So glad you like it, Irene! Cheers!
Irene
Absolutely delicious! I’m new to sourdough baking and have been searching for a soft dinner roll recipe to bake for Thanksgiving. This recipe wins! The dough seemed a bit too wet for me after it rose and was difficult to shape but I used a bit more flour (dusted lightly) to absorb some of the moisture and make it more manageable. The result was perfect. Excited to make this for the holidays! It’ll hold up to a large turkey sandwich and perhaps even gravy!
Tatiana Kamakura
Glad you like the recipe, Irene! A turkey sandy with these rolls sounds delicious! 🙂
Sandra MacLean
Hi, did you recently change the recipe measurements from grams to measuring cups and spoons? This is my go-to recipe and I’ve been making a double batch about once a month for the past year now and noticed something different: my dough isn’t as wet as it used to be. Is it possible for you to put the gram weight next to the other measurements? Pretty please??
Tatiana Kamakura
Hi Sandra! I added both grams and cups into the recipe card: for grams, you just need to click "metric" when in the ingredient section. Did it help? Let me know if you're having any trouble finding it!
Sandra M
My bad! I didn’t see that option! Thank you for pointing it out and THANK YOU for this recipe! I should have said it earlier but it is a family favorite! It works every time and tastes amazing! I typically use active starter with the instant yeast and it makes 9 BIG rolls, so I’ve learnt to divide them into 12 smaller portions. Thank you again!
Wendy Purcer
These look amazing! Could I make the dough, ferment overnight and bake next day? Can't wait to try them!
Milk and Pop
Yes, you can! If fermenting overnight, just remember to refrigerate the dough.
Happy baking!
Kasi
Best sourdough rolls I've made thus far! I will definitely repeat this recipe again soon!
Tatiana Kamakura
Glad you like them, Kasi! Cheers!
Sue
What is the trick to getting them ready in 2 hours? I have made them following the recipe before and they were great but am short on time this time and was looking for a faster way.
Milk and Pop
Hi Sue! This is a recipe using discard plus commercial yeast, that's why it takes less time! But you can adapt this recipe for a full sourdough. I recommend 100g of starter and using an oven to proof the dough if doing so.
Happy baking!
Isabella
AMAZING. These were so easy, sooo pillowy soft, and very easily enjoyed by everyone! I ended up making these into 12 rolls, each roll ended up being about 3” x 3”, and they fit perfectly into a 12” cast iron pan for the final rise and bake. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Morgan Gossett
Can these be made with bubbly starter instead of discard?
Milk and Pop
Hi Morgan,
You can make this recipe with an active starter, but you'll need to change all rising and proofing times. For me, 1th rise will take between 4 to 6 hours, and after shaping, second will usually take from 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on how hot/cold it is, and if I'm using my oven to proof it. When making with a bubbly starter, I use 100g of it in the recipe.
Hope that helps!
Cheers!
Kasi
Have you ever made ahead? I made some the other day, but I had a sudden errand to run in the middle. So I followed the steps through shaping the rolls. I covered them and put them in the fridge while i was out for a few hours. When I got home, I preheated the oven and let them rise for a bit and baked. They were still perfect! My question is how long I could leave them in the fridge like this? Just planning ahead for upcoming holidays! Thanks:)