If you have already made my sourdough sandwich bread (link to that recipe here) then you are going to love this one because here is a little secrets,  it is the exact same dough. Same ingredients, same process, same love. The only difference is what you do with it after the first rise. Instead of shaping it into a loaf you are cutting it into soft, pillowy, pull apart dinner rolls that are honestly one of my favorite things to put on a dinner table.

These rolls are the kind that make people ask for the recipe before they have even finished eating. Warm, fluffy, slightly tangy from the sourdough, with that perfect soft pull apart texture that makes it impossible to eat just one. Bring these to a holiday dinner, a Sunday family meal, or just a regular Tuesday night pasta and watch them disappear in minutes. I am not exaggerating even a little bit.

The sourdough starter gives these rolls something a store bought roll just cannot compete with. That subtle depth of flavor, that gorgeous soft crumb, that beautiful golden top,  it all comes from taking a little extra time and using real ingredients. And once you make homemade rolls from scratch you are going to have a very hard time going back to the bag.

Let’s Make It

Start by mixing your sugar, warm water, yeast, and sourdough starter or discard together.

Then add your bread flour and mix until combined. Let it sit for 30 minutes,  the dough is going to look shaggy and rough and that is completely normal. Just let it rest and trust the process.

After the 30 minutes add your room temperature butter and salt. Mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl down as you go, the butter loves to hide on the edges. Mix for 6 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and comes together beautifully

Cover with a damp towel and let it rise until doubled in size. Be patient here. Good rolls cannot be rushed and the wait is absolutely worth it. Now here is where the magic happens and where we part ways from the sandwich bread. Once your dough has doubled, it is time to make rolls.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, about 79g each if you want to be precise, and I do recommend using a kitchen scale here to get them nice and even. Consistent sizing means they all bake at the same rate and come out perfectly uniform.  To shape each roll, take a piece of dough and fold it into itself, tucking the edges underneath and rotating it in your hand until you have a smooth tight ball on top.

Place each ball smooth side up into a greased 9×13. As they rise and bake they will push against each other and create that beautiful soft pull apart side that makes a dinner roll a dinner roll.

Cover the pan and let them rise again until puffy and full.

Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes until deeply golden on top.

Tips From My Kitchen to Yours

Use a kitchen scale to portion them. 79g per roll gives you 12 perfectly even rolls that all bake at the same time. Eyeballing works too but the scale makes it so much easier and more consistent.

Learn the fold and tuck shaping technique. It sounds fancier than it is,  just fold the dough into itself from the outside edges toward the center, flip it over, and roll it gently against the counter in a circular motion to create a smooth tight ball. A smooth top means a beautiful roll.

Don’t over proof. Just like with the sandwich bread, once they have doubled and look beautifully puffy get them in the oven. Over proofed rolls can deflate and go flat and nobody wants that after all that patient waiting.

These freeze beautifully. 

Make a double batch and freeze half. Pull them out the night before you need them and let them thaw at room temperature or warm them in the oven for a few minutes. They taste just as fresh as the day you made them.

Brush with butter straight out of the oven. This is optional but highly recommended. A little melted butter brushed over the top the second they come out of the oven gives them a gorgeous shine and an extra layer of richness that takes them completely over the top. 

One dough, endless possibilities. That is the beauty of having a great sourdough base recipe in your back pocket. Master that dough and you can make sandwich bread, cinnamon raisin bread, and now these incredible dinner rolls. Your kitchen is about to become everyone’s favorite place to be. 

…and that’s all we did today. 

Cyndi

Item’s Used

• Weck Jars
• 1 Liter Weck Jars
• Kitchen Wid Mixer
• Pullman Loaf Pan
• Rolling Pin
• Mixing Bowl
• Scale
• Rubber Spatula
• Bowl Scraper
• Wisk
• Sourdough Wisk
• 9×13 Glass Baking Pan

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

What You'll Need

• 20 g sugar
• 250 g warm water
• 7 g yeast
• 100 g sourdough starter or discard
• 500 g bread flour
• 60 g room temperature butter
• 10 g salt

Method

 

1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, warm water, yeast, and sourdough starter or discard.
2. Add bread flour and mix until combined.
3. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
4. Add softened butter and salt.
5. Mix for 6–10 minutes until smooth.
6. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
7. Divide dough into 12 equal portions.
8. Shape each piece into a smooth ball.
9. Place rolls into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
10. Cover and let rise again until puffy.
11. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Brush tops with melted butter if desired.

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