Soft Sourdough Rolls with Butter & Egg With Video!

Soft Sourdough dinner rolls kissed with butter and as fluffy as clouds. This dough has butter and milk in it that add extra softness and flavor so delicious they practically vanish when served.

Soft Sourdough rolls are so good that they disappear as fast as they get to the dinner table! They go perfect with a bowl of creamy potato sausage soup, and they round out a rump roast beef dinner like no other! It’s so funny, but my teenage boys actually feel loved when I make a batch of these rolls for dinner!

Sourdough Rolls

Some sourdough rolls are crusty on the outside… And those are delicious too… But this recipe makes a different kind of sourdough roll… They’re irresistibly soft sourdough rolls your family will adore… These golden brown sourdough rolls burst with sourdough flavor and a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Soft sourdough rolls have a buttered soft crust, soft pillowy centers and that sourdough tang we all love… Butter and eggs add flavor, structure, and satisfaction too! 

I use this sourdough roll recipe and adapt it for so many different great rolls… I also use it for decadent cinnamon rolls, or add cocoa powder and chocolate chips for chocolate rolls! I like to split the dough in half… Half for dinner rolls and half for cinnamon;)

Key Ingredients

One of the best things about sourdough is how simple the ingredients are… This soft dough includes the traditional sourdough starter, flour and salt like traditional sourdough bread, with a few extras for added flavor!

• Active sourdough starter, instead of commercial yeast (get my homemade sourdough starter recipe here.)
• Flour. I use all purpose in the pictures here… But I also love to use fresh ground Einkorn flour to make soft rolls with! You just have to measure different with fresh ground. Use grams instead of cups to get the the amount!
• Granulated sugar – I’m using white sugar, but you can use any sugar, or honey, here.
• Egg & Butter: These two ingredients are KEY to making this dough dreamy soft, with the finished rolls cloudy puffy… No crusty rolls here! 😉

Tools I Use

• A large mixing bowl. (Or the bowl of a stand mixer.)
• Measuring cups – No scale needed;)
• 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.

My tips and tricks.

Use warm water in the dough instead of cold water… This helps your dough ferment and rise faster! Use room temperature or softened butter in the dough! Cold butter doesn’t mix into the dough easily.

Bulk Fermentation

• Cover your dough in the bowl with a clean towel, or plastic wrap, and set it in a warm spot for the first rise till doubled (this is your bulk fermentation rise time.)
• Punch down dough.
• Butter baking pans.
• Divide rolls into 12-15 equal pieces. 
• Shape into individual rolls, and place them into a prepared baking dish.

Second Rise

• Cover shaped rolls in a baking pan 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.)

Cook Time

• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, till golden on top!
• Remove from the oven.
• Spread melted butter over the top of hot rolls.

Rising Time & Room Temperature

Room temperature plays a huge role in the rise time of sourdough rolls. In a chilly kitchen, your dough might take all day to proof, but your oven can really help you speed things up!

Whether you have a gas oven with a pilot light, or an electric model, you can create the perfect temperature for your dough to rise quickly. Here’s how:

• Gas oven with pilot light: Check the internal temperature of your oven with an instant-read thermometer… It should be around 80-90°F (34°C) for a faster rise.
• Electric oven: Preheat your oven to 180°F (82°C) for 5 minutes, then turn it off. You can use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature, and turn it back on at 180 for a few minutes as needed to keep it warm. (Take your dough out if you need to turn the oven on again, till you turn it back off.)
• Place your dough in the warmed oven till it double in size.
• You can maintain this cozy temperature with brief preheat cycles as needed, just remove the dough first.
• Keep the oven below 80-93°F (27-34°C) to avoid overheating the dough.

I love using my oven, which is always about 90°F for both the bulk fermentation and the second rise of soft sourdough rolls. It cuts the rise time down to just 2.5 hours total, for fluffy, soft rolls in a fraction of the time!

Dough Temperature

These sourdough rolls ferment between the internal temperatures of  80–90°F (27–32°C). (You’ll get a faster rise with warmer temperatures, and of course, a slower rise with cooler temps in the fridge for an overnight rise.

Soft Sourdough Roll Variations

• Soft Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls! 
• Apply an egg wash on top of the rolls right before baking for a beautiful deep brown finish!
• Bread Machine – I’ve not tried making this dough in a bread machine, but I’m sure it would work just as well. 
• 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. I recommend using 1/2 whole wheat and half all purpose flour for a better rise.
• This recipe can be used as bread dough and shaped into a loaf for sourdough sandwich bread! Just increase the baking time to 40-55 minutes, till golden brown on top.

How to Store Soft Sourdough Rolls

If you 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! They make a great snacks and sandwich base the next day!

More Sourdough 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 flavors of sourdough. A great snack or breakfast!

Recipe Card

If you try this recipe, I’d love if you give it a review on the recipe card, and let me know how it turned out in the comments or review! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouse_harvest with your delicious creation!

Let me know what you think!

Share your cooking tips and feedback in the comments below. Did you add any twists to these recipes? I’d love to hear!

Soft Sourdough Rolls with Butter & Egg

Soft sourdough rolls enriched with egg and butter are fluffy, tender, flavorful, and delicious! These pull-apart rolls are so good that they disappear as fast as they get to the dinner table!

4.95 from 40 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Sourdough

Cuisine: Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 15

Calories: 193kcal

Author: Juliea Huffaker

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Ingredients

• 2 cups active sourdough starter This takes the place of commercial yeast or instant yeast. See notes below for hydration.
• 1 cup warm water unchlorinated if possible, you can also replace half of this with warm milk for an even richer dough.
• 5 cups all-purpose flour You could make this with other flour but will need to adjust the amount I do not use bread flour. (5 – 5/12 cups flour)
• 1/3 cup sugar – I’m using white sugar but you can use any dry sugar here.
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup butter 1 cube softened
• 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Instructions

• Activate your starter: Combine equal parts water and flour (1.4 cups of each) with 2 tablespoons tablespoons sourdough discard in a jar. Let it bubble up on the counter.
• Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 5 cups flour, 1.5 tsp salt, and 1/3 cup sugar. Reserve ½ cup flour for kneading.
• Form the well: Press a deep well in the flour mixture for the wet ingredients.
• Combine wet ingredients: Pour into your flour well 2 cups bubbly sourdough starter, 1 cup warm water (or milk for a richer flavor), 1 large egg, and 1/2 cup softened butter. Using your hands (or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) mix well until everything is smoothly incorporated.
• Knead the dough: Dust your countertop with about 1/4 cup flour. Transfer the wet dough onto the floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, only as needed, to achieve a soft and slightly tacky dough that's not sticky to handle. (If using a stand mixer, knead on low speed with the dough hook for 3-5 minutes.)
• Shape and oil: Shape the dough into a smooth ball. Coat a large bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and gently place the dough ball inside, turning once to coat it evenly.
• 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 or line 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, if desired.)
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or till golden on top!
• Remove from the oven.
• Spread melted butter over the top of the hot rolls. Enjoy 😉

Video

Notes

Levain or Starter Hydration for these rolls – The night or day before baking sourdough rolls: Feed 1 tablespoon of active starter with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour for about 2 cups of starter.

 

Rise Time: This recipe goes by the amount your dough has risen instead of a specific rise time… That’s because all kitchens are a different temperature and so they will take different times to rise. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 277mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g