These Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls are soft and fluffy and such a great way to use up that sourdough discard. No holiday is complete without a few baskets of these. I promise you they will be the first thing to disappear so be sure to make at least a double batch!
Recipe Background and Details
Just starting out on your sourdough journey? Check out my How to Make a Sourdough Starter post for my sourdough story and lots of useful info!
I love sharing sourdough discard recipes and this soft sourdough discard dinner roll recipe is one I've had up my sleeve for a while. It is a sped-up version of my Sourdough Dinner Rolls. I'm finally sharing it just in time for the holiday season which is when homemade dinner rolls get a lot of action in our home. We once polled our kids when most of them were still teenagers and they all said the rolls were their favorite part of a holiday meal. Of course it made me laugh since I come from a long line of amazing cooks and I'm not too shabby myself. But you know, I can't blame them - there really is something so enticing and comforting about that basket full of soft, warm, homemade rolls.
And I can't talk about the holidays without thinking of my Pull Apart Lobster Sliders - made with these homemade rolls of course!
If you are looking for a long-fermented version of these rolls that does not use any commercial yeast, head over to my Sourdough Dinner Roll post.
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Ingredients
You just need a few pantry staples to make this recipe. A few of these ingredients can be swapped - I'll give options next to each.
- milk: I use whole milk or buttermilk powder but you can use an alternative milk or even water with good results.
- yeast: I prefer active dry yeast but instant will work as well - just make sure it's alive!
- honey: Or your natural sweetener of choice.
- egg: I like the bit of extra richness and sturdiness the egg gives, but you can leave it out if you are egg-free.
- sourdough discard: This recipe is written specifically for unfed starter. If you want a true sourdough recipe, check out my Sourdough Dinner Roll Recipe.
- flour: all purpose or white bread flour both work.
- salt: I test all of my recipes with Diamond Crystal Kosher salt.
- butter: I almost always use salted butter, but you can use unsalted or use an oil or fat that you prefer. Make sure it is at soft room temperature or melted and cooled.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
I use a mixer to bring this dough together which makes this very hands-off like most of my sourdough recipes. See recipe notes for how to make without a mixer.
Stir milk, honey, and yeast in a mixing bowl and let sit 5 minutes until foamy.
Add discard and egg and mix to combine.
Add flour, salt, and butter.
Knead with dough hook until a soft dough forms.
Rise until doubled in size.
Transfer to work surface.
Divide dough into equal portions. I like 15.
Shape each portion of dough into a ball.
Roll ball on work surface to create tension and form a tight dough ball.
Place dough balls in greased 9x13 baking dish.
Cover and let rise until light, puffy, and doubled in size.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown.
Hint: This dough can be a little sticky to roll into balls - don't use flour! It just makes things slippery. I have found that either damp or lightly oiled hands work the best to keep this dough from sticking to your hands and/or the work surface while you roll the dough balls.
Can I Make These Rolls Without a Mixer?
Yes! To make this recipe by hand, simply mix all dough ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until a sticky dough forms. Then, dump onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the first rise.
Storage
Once cooled, these rolls will keep well at room temperature for about 3 days if stored in an airtight container or bag.
Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls also freeze really well. I have a freezer FULL of these and my Sourdough Dinner Rolls after developing and testing the recipes. I plan to make my Sourdough Stuffing and Pull Apart Lobster Rolls with them for the holidays. To freeze the baked and cooled rolls, just wrap them really well with plastic or foil and store them in a freezer bag to prevent freezer-burn and/or drying out.
sourdough and sourdough discard recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake
- Sourdough Peach Cobbler
- Triple Lemon Sourdough Scones
- Sourdough Discard Waffles
Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls Recipe
These Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls are soft and fluffy and such a great way to use up that sourdough discard. No holiday is complete without a few baskets of these. I promise you they will be the first thing to disappear so be sure to make at least a double batch!
- Total Time: about 2 hours
- Yield: 15 dinner rolls
Ingredients
187 grams milk (¾ cup), warmed to 100-110 degrees F
7 grams (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
50 grams (2 tablespoons) honey
140 grams Sourdough Discard (about ½ cup)
1 egg
390 grams bread flour (3 ¼ cups)
3-5 grams kosher salt* (1 teaspoon)
56 grams soft butter (4 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Whisk warm milk, yeast, and honey in bowl of stand mixer and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
- Next add sourdough discard and egg and whisk once more.
- Add flour, salt, and butter and knead with dough hook for 7-10 minutes on speed 2.
- Scrape down sides, cover, and allow to rise for about 1 hour until doubled.
- Dump dough onto work surface, divide into 15 portions.
- Roll each portion of dough into a tight ball.
- Place balls into greased 9x13 baking dish (line with parchment too if you want to easily remove all of the rolls in one piece).
- Cover and allow to rise until puffy and doubled which should take about 60-90 minutes.
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and brush with butter if desired.
Notes
After about 15 minutes I like to tent the rolls with parchment or foil to prevent over-browning.
To make this recipe by hand, simply mix all dough ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until a sticky dough forms. Then, dump onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the first rise.
A note on salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt which weighs 3 grams per teaspoon. Different brands have different weights. This salt conversion chart is a good tool if you are using a different type of salt. A little more or less will not hurt these rolls, but a lot more will. So just double check.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: sourdough, breads, yeast breads
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Charlene Smith says
Love Love these rolls, can I double the recipe? Or do I need to make them in batches? Would love to stock my freezer with these delicious rolls
Samantha says
Hi! I would like to make these for Thanksgiving. I want to make them early and freeze them. How would you recommend reheating them?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Samantha! The best way to reheat frozen rolls is to loosely wrap with foil so they don't dry out and place in a warm oven (300-325 F). Let them warm up for about 20 minutes or until heated through.
Or, if you want to make the dough ahead: After you shape the rolls and before the second rise, freeze them in a single layer - not touching each other. Once frozen solid, you can transfer them to freezer bags. The night before you want to bake, arrange the frozen dough balls in your baking pan, cover, and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning pull the pan out of the refrigerator and let the rolls rise until puffy before baking. Since they will be cold, make sure you give yourself plenty of time for that second rise. If you want to do a test, you can pull out just a roll or two and try this method out before the big day just so you will know how long that second rise will take.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Emily says
Do you think these rolls would turn out good if I used buttermilk in place of milk?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Emily! Yes that should work just fine.