These sourdough dinner rolls have the soft squeeze-ability that you’re craving in any dinner roll. The tang and buttery flavors complement each other brilliantly and make the perfect companion when serving a big pot of soup, stew, or chili, or to use as a vessel for a tray of sliders. They are light, buttery, and hit the spot without competing with other flavors when dipped, spread upon, or used to mop up any beautiful sauces. Like a Rib Auj Ju with fresh garden vegetables, just a quick example…:)
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Below is the printable recipe card. If you would like to deep-dive into the details of this recipe, and for a Frequently Asked Questions section, scroll down! Enjoy!
Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup/56g. Butter + 2 tbsp. extra for brushing on top of rolls Grass-fed, we love Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter
- 1-2/3 Cup/400g. Milk or Filtered Water
- 1/2 Cup/100g. Sourdough Starter Fed, Active, Bubbly
- 1 tsp./5 g. Salt Sea Salt, + 1 tsp. sprinkling salt
- 1 tbsp./10g Honey
- 2 Cups/335g. Bread Flour unbleached & organic
- 1 Cup/160g. All-purpose Flour + 1/3 cup more for adding if needed unbleached & organic
Instructions
- Into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer weigh the milk or water. Next, add the sourdough starter. Which should float nicely atop the liquid. Whisk until fully incorporated and bubbly.
- Weigh/add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure to add the salt on top of the flour, as salt has the potential to kill the yeast when in direct contact. With clean hands, mix until a shaggy ball forms and cover, and allow to autolyze for 15-30 minutes.
- After allowing the dough to rest, knead the dough on medium-low speed in the stand mixer with a dough hook. Watching that a nice dough ball forms and is not sticking to the sides of the bowl. If after 5 minutes, the dough is not fully pulling away from the bowl, add a tablespoon of flour at a time, until it pulls away. Knead for about 15-20 minutes until a smooth, elastic dough forms. The dough should also pass the window pane test.
- After your dough is properly kneaded, allow it to rise in a greased bowl covered for 12-24 hours at no higher than 75 degree Fahrenheit. The temperature in the room, and the ambient temperature of the dough directly effects the time it will take for your dough to rise. If sourdough has taught me anything, it would be, not to rush this process, slow down and let time create a lustful depth of flavor. I love to allow my dough to rise overnight. Something magical happens to dough in that quiet, darkness.
- The next day, divide your dough. Start by weighing the dough and dividing by 12. Then, equally weigh out each piece of dough with a bench scraper. To shape, pull all the sides of the dough into the center and flip, shaping into a tight ball.
- Butter the inside of the cast iron or baking dish, and place each ball into the baking dish, giving them a little room for expansion.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Cover and let rise for another hour or two. Again, time always depends on temperature. At the end of the second rise they should be nice and puffy.
- With a pair of scissors, make a small cut in the center of each roll. Brush with the melted butter, and sprinkle with sea salt. Place them in the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and a buttery fragrance wafts through the house.
- Allow to cool, & Bon Appétite!
Notes
- During the photo shoot for these rolls- I made them in the middle of winter. I prepared the dough, and let it rise and ferment for a full 24 hours. The next morning I shaped, and let do their final rise for 2 hours before baking them for exactly 30 minutes. I brushed them again after I took them out of the oven.
Equipment you may need to make Sourdough Dinner rolls:
- Glass Container with a lid, preferably straight-sided.
- Kitchen Scale
- Whisk
- Stand Mixer
- Bench Scraper
- Pastry Brush
- 9″ inch cast iron pan or a 9″ x 13″ Pan
Ingredients for Sourdough Dinner Rolls:
- 1/4 Cup/56g.- Butter + 2 tbsp. extra for brushing on top of rolls
- 1-2/3 CUP/400g.- Milk or Filtered Water
- 1/2 Cup/100g.- Sourdough Starter- Fed, Active, Bubbly
- 1 tsp./5 g. Salt– We like to use Himalayan Salt or Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp./10g- Honey
- 2 Cups/335g.- Bread Flour, unbleached & organic
- 1 Cup/160g. (plus, 1/3 cup more for adding if needed) – All-purpose Flour, unbleached & organic
How to make Sourdough Dinner Rolls:
Step One: Weigh/Measure & Mix Ingredients
Into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer weigh the milk or water. Next, add the sourdough starter. Which should float nicely atop the liquid. Whisk until fully incorporated and bubbly.
Weigh/add the rest of the ingredients. Make sure to add the salt on top of the flour, as salt has the potential to kill the yeast when in direct contact. With clean hands, mix until a shaggy ball forms and cover, and allow to autolyze for 15-30 minutes.
Step Two: Mix in stand mixer
After allowing the dough to rest, knead the dough on medium-low speed in the stand mixer with a dough hook. Watching that a nice dough ball forms and is not sticking to the sides of the bowl. If after 5 minutes, the dough is not fully pulling away from the bowl, add a tablespoon of flour at a time, until it pulls away. Knead for about 15-20 minutes until smooth and an elastic dough forms. The dough should also pass the window pane test.
Step Three: Rise
After your dough is properly kneaded, allow it to rise in a greased bowl covered for 12-24 hours at no higher than 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature in the room and the ambient temperature of the dough directly affect the time it will take for your dough to rise. If sourdough has taught me anything, it would be, not to rush this process, slow down, and let time create a lustful depth of flavor. I love to allow my dough to rise overnight. Something magical happens to dough in that quiet, darkness.
Step Four: Divide & Shape
The next day, divide your dough. Start by weighing the dough and dividing by 12. This step is flexible. If you would like to make more, small rolls, then divide by that number, or less by larger rolls, then do that! Just know the baking time will also have to be adjusted.
Pull all the sides of the dough into the center.
Flip, shaping into a tight ball.
Butter the inside of the cast iron or baking dish, and place each ball into the baking dish, giving them a little room for expansion.
Step Five: Second Rise
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover and let rise for another hour or so. Again, always depends on temperature. At the end of the second rise, they should be nice and puffy.
Step Six: Score, Butter and Bake
With a pair of scissors, make a small cut in the center of each roll.
Brush the rolls with melted butter.
Place them in the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and a buttery fragrance wafts through the house.
Allow to cool, & Bon Appétite!
Frequently Asked Questions:
What exactly is sourdough bread?
Sourdough is a “wild yeast,” and a slow-rise method of baking bread. It’s created using a simple mixture of flour and water. When enough wild yeast is active in a flour and water mixture, it begins to ferment. Every fermentation process is the same. Fermentation is the breakdown of anti-nutrients and sugars found in all foods. In this case, with the flour and water, the wild yeasts are fermenting and breaking down the antinutrients and sugars present in the flour and releasing gas, causing bubbles and a rise.
Some starters have been kept alive since the time of the gold rush. Because the process takes longer than that of standard yeast bread, there is more character and flavor development that occurs. As well as, health benefits because the wild yeasts have predigested the flour, making it easier for you to digest later.
Do you need to autolyze?
Yes. I would NOT recommend skipping this step. This rest period or autolyze stage after the flour and water have been mixed is a time-tested technique that helps the flour to absorb the water or liquid. It becomes helpful in the following step of kneading/stretching and folding, to activate the gluten molecules. Gluten molecules act like glue. Letting the flour absorb the water properly, helps to activate the ” glue” in the kneading process. The properly moistened floured begins to join together creating a gluten network, that gives the dough the elasticity you desire.
What is the purpose of the window pane test?
The window pane test helps you to identify that you’re bread dough is properly kneaded. It means that the gluten network has properly formed within your dough. If the gluten network is well established, you will be able to stretch your dough to create a “window pane” that does NOT break. If it DOES break before a thin “pane” can be made, it’s a good sign to keep on kneading!
What does milk do to the dough?
The proteins and fat present in the milk, make for a soft and tender final product. Adding anything more than than salt, water, flour and yeast to a dough categorizes it as an enriched dough. Milk, eggs, or oil would be considered enriched doughs, and will produce a soft crust, with a tender denser crumb.
You will want to try all of our farmhouse sourdough bread recipes:
- Sourdough French Baguette
- Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
- Sourdough Focaccia
- Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls
- Sourdough Boule
- Sourdough Pizza Dough
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