Sourdough Rolls

This recipe for Sourdough Rolls results in the softest and fluffiest dinner rolls you will ever have. They can be used in many different ways. Your family is going to love them!

Easy Sourdough Roll Recipe

Even if you didn’t jump in on the homemade sourdough craze, making these delicious sourdough rolls is not difficult! We are a bread-loving family and love sourdough recipes. So any chance we get to enjoy garlic bread or rolls, we take it. I promise that these sourdough bread rolls are worth all of the effort. Don’t let the amount of time it takes to make this recipe scare you, it’s mostly inactive time! That’s what makes these rolls perfect – they can be prepped ahead of time.

What is a Sourdough Starter?

You only need two ingredients for a sourdough starter; flour and water. After giving it a good amount of time, the ingredients will become fermented by the wild yeast and bacteria in the air that make baked goods rise. It’s a natural leavening agent used to make sourdough bread. The longer you let the sourdough start ferment, the more carbon dioxide bubbles it produces, and the better it will make the bread taste!

A phrase you will hear often is “feeding your starter.” This simply means adding more flour and water to it.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The sourdough starter is a key ingredient for these rolls. You can’t make them without it! All of the other ingredients are pantry staples.

• Sourdough Starter: Your sourdough starter must be fed before use. 
• Warm Water
• Sugar
• Dry Active Yeast
• Butter: This will need to be melted. I use unsalted butter in these rolls.
• Salt
• Flour: I recommend all-purpose flour.
• Gluten

How to Make Sourdough Dinner Rolls

This may seem like a lengthy process but as long as you follow these step-by-step instructions, you will get to enjoy the most delicious sourdough bread rolls ever.

• Step 1. Make sure you feed your sourdough starter the night before you make this recipe.
• Step 2. Add ½ cup of the sourdough starter and warm water to the bowl using a stand mixer. The water should be around 100 degrees F. You can use the dough hook attachment or the whisk to speed up the process. Mix until combined.
• Step 3. Whisk the sugar and dry active yeast into the mixture until just combined. (You can adjust the yeast to ½ tsp if you are letting the dough rest overnight. If your starter was not fed the night before, add 2-2 1.4 tsp of dry active yeast).
• Step 4. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes.

• Step 5. Melt the butter. Make sure it is not too hot before adding to the mixing bowl.
• Step 6. Once the melted butter has cooled, add it and the salt to the mixture and whisk to combine.
• Step 7. Whisk in 1 cup of the flour and the gluten until combined. The mixture will still be very wet and lumpy but don’t worry!

• Step 8. Using the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer, incorporate ½ cup of the remaining flour into the dough mixture at a time. Keep doing this until the dough releases from the sides of the bowl. It will still be sticky. This should take about 3 cups of flour.

Kneading

• Step 9. Next, it’s time to knead the dough. Increase the speed of the stand mixer to medium-high for about 5 minutes. You will know that it’s ready when it becomes soft and shiny.
• Step 10. Transfer the kneaded dough to a floured surface to grease the inside of the bowl. After that step, place the dough back into the bowl so it can rise. This should take about 3 hours or whenever the dough has doubled in size.
• Step 11. After the sourdough has risen, transfer it to a floured surface and cut it into 8 equal portions. Roll those portions into balls.

• Step 12. Grease and line a 9×13 pan with parchment. Place the dough balls in the pan.
• Step 13. Cover the rolls with a dish towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F after 20 minutes.
• Step 14. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before brushing the tops with melted butter. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks For Soft Sourdough Dinner Rolls

• If you did not feed the sourdough starter, use 1 packet of dry active yeast.
• You should see bubbles in the sourdough starter. That means it’s ready to use.
• Instead of dry active yeast, you may use instant yeast. Use the same amount.
• The gluten added to the sourdough rolls is soft and pillowy.
• I use unsalted butter in this recipe but you may use salted butter if you prefer. If you do, reduce the amount of salt by half.

Storing and Serving:

• Storing: Leftover sourdough dinner rolls last up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature. 
• Serving: We love to eat this rolls as a side dish to any meal. We always make them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. These go perfectly with soups or stews

More Bread Recipes

• Mashed Potato Rolls
• Homemade Crescent Rolls
• Homemade Whole Wheat Rolls
• Jalapeno Cheddar Bread
• French Bread Recipe