The Best Soft Sourdough Rolls – Fluffy Pull-Apart Roll Recipe

These soft sourdough rolls are enriched with egg and butter. They’re fluffy, tender, flavorful, and delicious in so many ways! Soft Sourdough pull-apart rolls are so good that they disappear as fast as they get to the dinner table! It’s so funny but my family (especially teenage boys) feel loved when I make a batch of these rolls for dinner!

I use this soft sourdough recipe and adapt it for so many different great rolls! As dinner rolls, they disappear before you can get seconds, but I also use this recipe for delicious cinnamon rolls, and I add cocoa powder and chocolate chips for triple chocolate rolls!

The best part of these sourdough rolls could be the depth of flavor that you just can’t get anywhere else! But… the butter gives such a good flavor and keeps them moist at room temperature and the egg adds structure and satisfaction to your end product!

Tools You Will Need for Soft Sourdough Roll Recipe

You only need a few tools to make these soft sourdough rolls including:

• A large mixing bowl. (Or the bowl of a stand mixer.)
• Measuring cups
• A towel to cover the dough as it rises. (You can also use plastic wrap but I much prefer a clean towel)
• A warm rising spot.
• 9×13 baking dish (or a 9×9 for half the recipe). You can also use a cast iron skillet, or baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Ingredients

One of the best things about sourdough is how simple the ingredients are… This dough includes the traditional sourdough starter flour and salt of traditional sourdough bread, with a few extras to enrich the roll!

• 2 cups active sourdough starter (This takes the place of commercial yeast or instant yeast)
• 1 cup warm water (unchlorinated if possible)
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (You could make this with other flour but will need to adjust the amount) I do not use bread flour.
• 1/3 cup sugar – I’m using white sugar, but you can use any dry flour here.
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (or 1 cube) of butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil.

How to make soft sourdough rolls!

First, I add all the dry ingredients to my large mixing bowl but hold back a half cup of the flour for kneading.

Make a hole (a nest) in the middle of your flour mixture.

Pour into that hole (or nest) 2 cups sourdough starter, warm water (you can substitute milk here), 1 large egg, and 1/2 cup soft butter.

Using your hands, mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture till everything is well incorporated together.

Then, dust your countertop with about 1/4 a cup of flour and dump your wet dough onto the floured surface.

Knead your dough till smooth adding a bit of extra flour (the last 1/4 cup) as needed to make the dough easy to handle (not too sticky to knead.) If you are using a stand mixer, use the low speed setting with your dough hook attachment.)

Then form into a big ball.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into your large bowl, and place your dough ball inside, turning once to cover the top with oil.

Bulk Fermentation

Cover your dough inside the mixing bowl with a clean washcloth and set it in a warm spot for the first rise till doubled (this is your bulk fermentation.)

Punch down dough.

Butter baking pans.

Divide rolls into equal pieces.

Shape into individual rolls, and place them into the prepared baking dish.

Second Rise

Cover shaped rolls in a baking dish and let rise till doubled or nice and puffy. (You can put your rolls into the fridge at this point to bake the next day.)

Bake at 350 degrees F in a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or till golden on top!

Remove from the oven.

*Optional, gently (do not push down) spread a little melted butter over the top of the hot rolls.

And enjoy!

Rising Time – Room Temperature

The room temperature of your kitchen, or your rising space, makes all the difference in how long it takes to make sourdough rolls! In a cold kitchen (or rising spot) your dough will take all day to proof. I let my dough rise in a warm oven. My oven has a pilot light which keeps it nice and warm, but not hot, at 93 degrees F. If you do not have a pilot light, preheat your oven to 180 degrees for about 5 minutes then turn it off. A great way to test the temperature of your oven is with an instant-read meat thermometer.

Let your dough rise in this warm oven. Take your dough out and repeat the preheat and shut off process to keep your oven warm, placing the dough inside after turning it off, to keep it warm till your dough doubles in size.

Do not let your oven get hot, just about 80-93 degrees F. To make these rolls fast (in about 2.5 hours) I place them in my warm oven (which is about 93 degrees F all the time) for both the bulk fermentation and the second rise.

Dough Temperature

The speed at which sourdough dough rises depends on its temperature. For best results your sourdough ferments between the temperatures of  80–90°F (27–32°C). That temperature is optimal for the home bakers sourdough to rise. However, you can also get a faster rise with warmer temperatures, and of course, a slower rise in the fridge overnight with cooler temps.

My pilot light keeps my oven at 93 degrees all the time. At 93 degrees F, I can rise my sourdough dough in 1.5 hours to double. Then I shape rolls and let them rise in that warm oven for another 30 minutes before baking.

Soft Sourdough Rolls Recipe Card

Soft Sourdough Dinner Rolls Variations

• Egg wash! Beat 1 egg with 2 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, spread over the top of the rolls (that is top of the dough rolls) right before baking for a beautiful deep brown finish!
• Bread Machine – I have not tried making this in a bread machine, but I’m sure it would work just as well. Let me know in the comments below if you do this and how it goes!
• You can make this recipe with whole wheat flour as long as it is all-purpose whole wheat. If you grind fresh flour, you will need to adjust the amount of flour.
• This recipe can also be shaped into a loaf for sourdough sandwich bread! Just increase the baking time to 40-55 minutes, till golden brown on top.

Cinnamon Variation

This sourdough discard rolls recipe also makes great cinnamon rolls… I like to use this recipe to make half (about 9 regular sourdough rolls, for dinner) and half (about 6) cinnamon rolls for dessert! (The dough is slightly sweeter than other dinner roll recipes, so it’s perfect for cinnamon rolls too!) If you’d like to do this too, you will also need:

• A sharp knife or string to cut cinnamon rolls
• And a rolling Pin

For cinnamon roll variation you will also need:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• and 1 tablespoon water
• For Glaze
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon milk

Follow the steps through the bulk fermentation above (first proof). The roll dough out into a rectangle shape about 1/4 inch thick. Mix your cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle your rolled-out dough with water, then evenly spread cinnamon sugar over the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll up the triangle into one large roll, and pinch the ends to keep the dough from unrolling when finished.

Cut into 1-inch cinnamon rolls and place into a baking dish.

Let cinnamon roll dough rest or rise a second time till puffy (about 30 minutes in a 93 degrees F oven).

Bakleat 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes till golden.

Make glaze and pour over finished rolls.

Enjoy!

You May Also Enjoy These Great Recipes

Thank you so much for stopping by our farmhouse. I hope you love this soft sourdough roll recipe! You may also enjoy these simple sourdough recipes:

• How to make a sourdough starter from scratch. Learn to make your own sourdough starter!
• Sourdough Bread for Beginners…A simple no knead sourdough artisan bread.
• Sourdough cheddar biscuits. – Quick recipe for a last-minute side dish that everyone loves!
• Sourdough Pumpkin Bread – Perfectly spiced pumpkin bread with all the benefits of sourdough. A great snack or breakfast!
• Sourdough Pancakes – Super fast and easy breakfast that kids will LOVE!
• Sourdough English Muffins – Super simple English muffin recipe for egg sandwiches for toast!
• Sourdough Streusel Pumpkin Coffeecake – A treat for your morning!
• My favorite sourdough carrot cake… A moist rich carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I love making this for Easter!

How to Store Leftovers

If you are lucky enough to have leftover rolls, store them in an air-tight container on your counter! Keeping these rolls on the counter (instead of the fridge) keeps them soft! If you put them in the fridge they get firm. They make great sandwich bread for the next day if they make it that long!