Sourdough Dinner Rolls

5 from 105 votes

Enjoy the freshness of homemade sourdough dinner rolls with my tried and tested recipe. These sourdough bread rolls feature a soft crust, a tender and light interior, and a distinct tanginess from the sourdough starter.

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Fermentation Time1

Total Time1 1 30

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: All

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: dinner rolls

Calories: 158kcal

Author: Shilpa Kerur

Equipment

Ingredients

450 grams sourdough starter active
700 grams all-purpose flour
480 mL whole milk
¼ cup butter unsalted
3 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Make the initial dough:

Make sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly.
Combine milk and butter in a saucepan and warm it up. The milk should be just lukewarm, around 90-100 F, which is sufficient to melt the butter. Don’t overheat the milk.
To the warm milk, add the active sourdough starter, salt, and sugar.
Slowly add the flour and combine well making sure there are no dry flour bits. Knead it gently for 4-5 minutes. Add 1-2 tablespoon flour if needed.
Let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Bulk fermentation:

Perform 3-4 sets of stretch and fold at an interval of 30 minutes. With wet hands, grab a portion of the dough and slowly stretch it taking care not to break it, and fold it towards the center over the dough. Keep turning the bowl and repeat the process until all parts of the dough is covered. Carefully flip the dough and round it up. This completes one set of stretch and fold.
Repeat this process 3-4 times at an interval of 30 minutes. The dough should develop strength and structure at the end of the stretch and fold cycle.
Let the dough sit for bulk fermentation until it is almost double and has bubbles on the top. This may take 3-4 hours depending on the ambient temperature.

Shaping and second proof:

Once the bulk fermentation is done, shape the dough.
Pinch out a lemon-sized ball of dough, roll it into smooth balls, and place it in the baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Place the dough in the refrigerator overnight. At this stage, you can choose to bake directly without placing the dough in the fridge.
If you are planning to bake the rolls on the same day, let them sit in a warm spot for second proofing.

Bake sourdough dinner rolls:

Next morning, remove the shaped dough from the fridge and let it sit in a warm spot for 1-2 hours (until it comes to room temperature).
Preheat the oven to 360 F (180 C) for 15 minutes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden
Cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to let them cool down slightly before serving.

Notes

Make sure the milk is just lukewarm - not cold and definitely not hot. If the milk is too hot, it will kill the yeast in the starter.

Do not skip the second proofing. It is important and cannot be skipped even if you choose to bake the dinner rolls on the same day. The best way to second-proof is to shape the dough and refrigerate it overnight. If you prefer not to do this, let the dough rest in a warm spot for 1-2 hours.

When shaping the rolls, aim to create proper surface tension by rolling them with your hands or against the work surface. This tension helps the rolls maintain their shape and rise evenly during baking.

Nutrition