The Best Sourdough Dinner Rolls Recipe (Easy To Make!)

The Best Sourdough Dinner Rolls – Easier & Faster Recipe

These buttery and soft sourdough rolls are super easy to make and they’re the perfect side dish for any meal! Sourdough adds a depth of flavor to rolls that you just can’t get any other way! This recipe is simple and does not require the use of special tools or a kitchen scale. I love to serve these rolls with a roast or hot bowl of soup on a cold day! Printable Recipe Card Below!

The first thing your need for sourdough rolls is a sourdough starter. I use a sourdough starter that is half water and half flour in all my recipes. If you want to make your own homemade sourdough starter, I show you how here!

Bring active Sourdough Starter to room temperature. After your active starter is warmed (if it was in the refrigerator) grab a large bowl of a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl, and add 2 cups sourdough starter, 1 cup warm water or warm milk, 4 cups of flour, and 1.5 teaspoons salt

Can I use my sourdough starter straight from the fridge? Yes! When you need to use your starter straight from the fridge it will add time to your dough rising time.

Flours for Sourdough Bread

• I use both unbleached flour and fresh ground whole wheat flour. You can also use any combination of
• White bread flour
• Rye flour
• Buckwheat flour
• Whole wheat (wholemeal) flour
• All-purpose flour
• Einkorn flour
• Emmer flour
• Spelt flour

Mix all ingredients till well incorporated using a mixer with a dough hook, or a large wooden spoon. Mix till dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. After the dough is brought together, knead till smooth. (Sourdough bread dough feels a bit stickier than yeast dough.) If your dough does not pull away from the sides of the bowl, add 1/4 cup of flour and mix till it pulls away.

You can repeat the last step till the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl… But be careful not to use too much flour, because that will make your rolls dense!

Let Sourdough Rise – First Rise

Cover the dough in the bowl with a clean dish towel, or plastic wrap, and place in a warm place till doubled. I like to heat my oven up to 115 degrees and then turn it off. I place my covered dough bowl into the warm oven and let it rise for 2 hours or until doubled. Rising time will differ depending on the temperature! (Sourdough takes much longer to rise in cold environments than doughs made with commercial yeast!)

Generously butter a 7×11″ or 9×13″ baking pan, Or Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a floured work surface, cut dough into 12 or 15 equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a dough ball adding a small pat of cold butter to the center of each roll.

Place rolls in rows of three into your buttered baking dish, or prepared baking sheet.

Second Rise

Cover rolls with a clean dish towel, and place into a warm spot, or warmed oven again. (Heat your oven to about 115 degrees, and make sure you turn your oven off before placing rolls in it!)

After rolls have doubled in size, remove them from the oven.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl whisk together 1 egg, 2 tablespoons water, and a dash of salt.

Use a pastry brush to spread egg wash on top of the dough.

Place rolls onto the CENTER rack of the preheated oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes till golden brown.

Remove rolls from the oven and generously melt butter over the tops of the rolls! BUttering hot rolls make these soft sourdough dinner rolls!

And Enjoy!

TOOLS You’ll Use For Sourdough Rolls

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KitchenAid Mixer

Large Mixing Bowl

Measuring Cups

11×7 Baking Dish

Dish Towels

Sourdough Bennifits

A benefit from maintaining a sourdough is a ready leavening that will yield bread and baked goods with high-quality characteristics and nutrition. The sourdough fermentation process transforms grain flour, developing a more readily digestible protein or gluten, decreasing starch content, improving vitamin and mineral availability, and making it taste better!.

How long does sourdough bread last?

If stored properly, traditional sourdough bread (the proper stuff that is, that’s been fermented slowly and is full of natural acidity) can last 4 – 5 days.

Is Sourdough the Healthiest Bread?

No… Sourdough bread is healthier than white or whole wheat bread. The nutrition profiles are comparable, but it has lower phytate levels making it more digestible and nutritious. Sourdough also contains prebiotics that helps to keep your gut bacteria happy! Sourdough is also lower in gluten than other types of bread.

Can you freeze sourdough bread?

Yes, you can freeze sourdough rolls and bread. Wrap rolls tightly with plastic freezer wrap, and then place them in a heavy-duty freezer bag and freeze.

Sourdough Roll Recipe Tips:

A contaminated starter should be discarded. Sourdough starter that shows any sign of mold (colored and/or fuzzy) should NOT be used, and the container should be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed before starting over. Sourdough starter may develop a liquid layer that smells of alcohol, and this is fine. The liquid is a by-product of the fermenting yeast and can either be poured off or stirred in. A sourdough starter that is kept in the refrigerator and not fed regularly may develop whitish clumps on the surface of the liquid layer that are safe yeasts, but not mold.

High altitude adjustments. Make note that low humidity and low pressure at higher altitude has an effect on food preparation. Follow recipes either adjusted for altitude or make adjustments using High Altitude Food Preparation information from Colorado State University Extension.

Variations –

Amish Friendship Bread: Although rare, there have been incidents of foodborne illness associated with friendship-style bread, which differs from traditional sourdough by addition of milk and sugar, and thus provides an environment that could support growth of harmful microorganisms. To limit introductions of harmful bacteria in friendship bread starter, use pasteurized milk or cultured (soured) dairy and ferment in a refrigerator, not at room temperature.

https://foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu/food-safety/safe-preparation-handling-and-storage/sourdough-starter-best-practices/

Monitor factors that influence sourdough starter growth:

Time: Creating a starter or rehydrating a dried starter will take several days of regular feeding. It will bubble and rise, and develop a pleasantly sour smell when ready to use.

Temperature: The fermenting microorganisms are more viable at temperatures that feel comfortable for you, a warm room temperature (around 70°F). Fermentation will slow at colder temperatures, and occur too rapidly or even stop when too hot for your own comfort.

Moisture: Water combined with the flour will provide the environment needed to cultivate the wild yeast and bacteria. Keep starter loosely covered to discourage mold development.

Acidity: Beneficial lactic acid bacteria (LAB) will produce lactic acid, which will increase the acidity, dropping the pH safely below 4.6. This rapid acidification of the sourdough starter will help limit the growth of harmful microorganisms, including mold.

Nutrients: Regularly spaced feeding intervals are necessary. Removal of some starter with each new addition of flour and water assists with nutrient access for optimal microbial growth. Flour type will also have an impact on the microbial development and final product.

Oxygen: Fermenting sourdough starters will produce carbon dioxide. The starter should be loosely covered in order to safely release the gas, but the culture does not require oxygen.

https://foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu/food-safety/safe-preparation-handling-and-storage/sourdough-starter-best-practices/

Care for Your Sourdough

Sourdough rolls and bread are safely made at home following ancient practices that cultivate a healthy sourdough starter. To maintain a healthy sourdough starter you must manage feed and care for the microscopic yeast and bacteria that keep it active.

How long does sourdough starter last in the fridge?

You can leave the sourdough starter in the refrigerator for 3-4 days between feedings for best results. Remember to you’ll feed sourdough starter the night before you use it.

The fermenting microorganisms in sourdough starters need to be fed fresh flour and water regularly to survive and grow. Regular removal of some starters is an important step when feeding, to stabilize the volume of microorganisms and ensure nourishment for metabolic processes. Refrigeration can be used to prolong the time between feedings in an active starter but is not needed if feeding regularly. Sourdough starter can also be dried for long-term storage.

Sourdough bread is made using a traditional fermentation process, which relies on bacteria and yeasts to produce a compositional change from the initial ingredients into a living leavening.

A vibrant sourdough culture will limit the growth of harmful microbes and baking will ensure a safe final product.

Fermenting sourdough starter simply using flour and water takes practice and patience!

https://foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu/food-safety/safe-preparation-handling-and-storage/sourdough-starter-best-practices/