Soft Sourdough Dinner Rolls

These soft sourdough dinner rolls are light, fluffy and slightly sweet, with a buttery golden top and pillowy pull-apart centre. They’re naturally leavened with active sourdough starter, no commercial yeast and no eggs required. They are just as perfect for a weeknight dinner as they are for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

You can make them on an overnight schedule or adjust the timing to suit your day, making them an easy way to put warm homemade sourdough rolls on the table without spending the whole day in the kitchen.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe!

• Soft + Fluffy – These naturally leavened dinner rolls have a pillowy, pull-apart centre with a soft golden crust. They’re slightly sweet but still versatile enough to serve with almost any meal.
• Choose Your Size – You can choose to make these sourdough dinner rolls whatever size you’d like. I find that this recipe makes around 12 rolls at 80 g (I use a scale to ensure all the dough balls are all the same size). Alternatively, you could make 18 rolls at 50 g.
• No Eggs – unlike many sourdough dinner roll recipes, this recipe doesn’t use eggs in the dough or as an egg wash on the top of the rolls. This is great if you have egg allergies.
• Flexible Schedule – Make the dough overnight, or adjust the timing to suit when you want the rolls on the table.

Ingredients

• Whole Milk – I’ve tested this recipe with whole milk and 2% and it works equally as well. You can also substitute buttermilk if you prefer.
• Water – room temperature water is best, but using warm water will get the wild yeast in your starter activated more quickly. Just be careful not to make it too warm or you’ll end up with soupy dough.
• Sugar – You can reduce the sugar if you want to but it will change the composition and flavor of the rolls. They are meant to have a slight sweetness to them. 
• Salt
• All Purpose Flour – You can use bread flour for this recipe, but all purpose is better. You’ll get a softer roll as the protein content is generally lower. They will still be soft if you use bread flour, but will have a slight chew to the bite. If you want to use whole wheat flour, I recommend using this recipe for whole wheat sourdough dinner rolls.
• Sourdough Starter – You’ll need active sourdough starter to make this recipe. Feed your starter well before you plan to make these so that it’s bubbly and at peak, ready to rise your dough!
• Butter – I’ve used salted butter, melted and cooled, but as always you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.

How To Make Sourdough Dinner Rolls

I’ve used a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment to create soft and fluffy dinner rolls, but you can absolutely knead this by hand if you prefer. These soft sourdough dinner rolls have been created using parts of my sourdough sandwich bread – it’s another soft sourdough recipe you might enjoy.

To start the recipe, you’ll need to add all of the ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer (I do like to dissolve the sugar into the milk and butter first). Knead with a dough hook until the dough is silky, slightly tacky, and pulls away from the bowl. This usually takes about 3 to 8 minutes depending on your mixer. I recommend not adding extra flour, just keep kneading until it comes together. Extra flour will alter the texture of the cooked rolls.

Once the dough has been sufficiently kneaded, cover it and let it rise at room temperature. Because this is an enriched dough containing milk, butter and sugar, it will ferment more slowly than a lean sourdough bread dough. Look for the dough to increase by around 75–100%, feel aerated and slightly domed, and jiggle gently when you move the bowl.

When you’re ready to shape the sourdough rolls, you’ll need to divide it into 12 equal pieces (a kitchen scale helps here for consistency), and gently shape into balls. I’ve chosen to make 12 rolls at 80 grams each. The smaller you make the rolls, the more you’ll get out of each batch of dough.

Create surface tension on each of the dough balls by rolling them in a circular motion on the counter top and using a cupping motion to pull the dough towards you. This surface tension helps to ensure they rise properly and helps them to maintain their shape through the proofing and baking process. Arrange them in a parchment-lined baking pan or greased dish. 

For a flatter, wider roll, space them a little apart in a 9 x 13-inch baking pan (like you can see in the photo below). For taller, pull-apart rolls, use a smaller baking dish and ensure they are touching before you allow them to proof.

Once they’re shaped, it’s time to cover and set them aside for the second rise (this can take quite a while given that it’s an enriched dough). The shaped rolls should be noticeably larger, touching one another and feel light, soft and puffy. Gently press one with a fingertip. The indentation should slowly spring back rather than bouncing back immediately.

When you’re ready to bake the rolls, spray them with water, then bake at 180°C (350°F) for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. For a soft, shiny finish, brush with melted butter while still warm, then let cool slightly before serving.

You might also like to try these sourdough buttered knot rolls, sourdough discard rolls or these sourdough skillet rolls with honey thyme butter. If you prefer a burger bun, try these sourdough discard hamburger rolls.

Baking Timelines

This recipe has 100 grams of active sourdough starter – you can reduce the amount of starter if you wish to ferment the rolls overnight. The dough is an enriched dough so it will take longer to ferment than a lean dough. It’s perfectly safe to ferment them at room temperature overnight with milk in the dough. Read more about creating a sourdough baking timeline.

I’ve created 2 baking timelines for you – one for a same day bake and another for an overnight schedule. Remember the role of temperature here. You’ll need to keep the dough quite warm for the same day bake.

Overnight Timeline

TIME	PROCESS
1 pm	Feed your sourdough starter with a 1:1:1 ratio for a faster rise.
8 pm	Mix and knead the dough.
9 pm	Bulk ferment the dough at room temperature overnight (remember this is enriched dough so it will take a while to bulk ferment).
	The Next Morning
7 am	Shape the rolls and allow them to proof for a few hours before you bake them. Remember you want them to be light and puffy.
1 pm	Bake the rolls.

Same Day Timeline

TIME	PROCESS
	The Night Before
7 pm	Feed your sourdough starter a 1:5:5 ratio so that it peaks the next morning.
	The Next Morning
7 am	Mix and knead the dough.
3 pm	Shape the rolls and allow them to proof somewhere warm. You want the rolls to be light and puffy before you bake them.
5.30 pm	Bake ready for dinner.

These timelines are a guide only. Your dough may ferment faster or slower depending on the strength of your starter and the temperature of your kitchen.

Serving Suggestions

These tender sourdough dinner rolls are perfect just on their own – seriously try not to eat them all at once! They will be the stars of your Thanksgiving table, alongside some of these other sourdough Thanksgiving recipes!

But just in case you need some inspiration, these are some of the ways that we use them in our home:

• Instead of plain butter, brush them with whipped herb butter after baking and serve with your fave Italian dish.
• Fill them with leftover Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham and a generous dollop of tomato chutney.
• Perfect accompaniment to your favorite soup.
• Serve instead of sourdough tortillas or taco shells next time you make pulled pork.

When serving them at the table, I like to place a linen cloth or tea towel into a basket, pop the buns in it and then cover them with the cloth to keep them warm. You could even place a wheat pack that’s been heated in the microwave in the bottom of the basket before placing the cloth on top. This will keep the rolls soft and warm.

How To Store + Freeze

Room Temperature – Store these sourdough dinner rolls in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. They won’t be super fresh after the first 24 hours but you can warm them a little in the microwave to freshen them up.

Freezing – These sourdough dinner rolls freeze really well. Place the cooled rolls into a ziplock bag (I prefer not to pull them apart if I’m going to freeze them). Seal the bag and place into the freezer.

When you’re ready to use the rolls, allow them to thaw on the counter in the resealable plastic bag. If you want to serve them warm, wrap the thawed rolls in aluminum foil and place into a warm oven for around 20 minutes. You can brush with melted butter just before you serve if you want to. Once warm, pull them apart.

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