These sourdough dinner rolls are so soft and fluffy! Make them quick and easy with discard or active starter. Their buttery texture will melt in your mouth and satisfy every taste bud. They pair perfectly with a good from-scratch dinner!
Dinner Roll Goals
I have been trying to master the dinner roll since I was a teenager! I’ve been close but never as close as these. I’ve made some good rolls but they always lacked.
I think it’s because my expectations were all set off of one roll- the Queen of the Southern Dinner Table. If you know you know!! Sister Schubert dinner rolls are the top five of the must haves for every southern dinner party, thanksgiving dinner, and church supper.
When I think of a good dinner roll my mind immediately goes there. I remember always fighting for the last one at super. There was just something addictive about those rolls!
If you are shopping the grocery aisles today, you also know that a bag of ten rolls now costs around $5. Worth it? Probably! However, the ingredients are what concerned me most. Some not-so great things including soybean oil, sugar, and other nasty things somehow got packed into the best tasting rolls on the shelf.
For a family trying to limit usage of processed foods and non-real food ingredients I couldn’t overlook this. I also decided that if we are going to eat the carbs anyways they might as well be sourdough! (Since that’s healthy, right!?)
Needless to say, these sourdough dinner rolls have turned out the closest I’ve ever gotten to Sister Schubert and I’m so excited to share!
Sourdough Dinner Rolls vs Yeast Dinner Rolls
So what’s the difference? Taste wise, I feel like they are pretty close (let me know in the comments after you try the recipe!). The biggest difference is in time and healthiness.
• Time
The time factor is a big deal. Yeast is of course faster in most cases with slower rise time and no fermentation process. I began these sourdough dinner rolls around 9am and they were ready by dinner time around 6pm.
This might seem like forever but the amount of time they actually consume is fairly small. The majority is rise time and fermentation. They can easily be walked away from which makes the process more convenient.
• Healthiness
Sourdough is always the better option when it comes to sourdough vs yeast. The fermentation process of sourdough helps to break down the glutens in what you are baking. This makes it easier to digest, especially for those with a gluten sensitivity.
Starter is also packed full of probiotics. This is better for gut as it encourages the growth of healthy bacteria and helps maintain balance in the microbiome.
Ingredients for Sourdough Dinner Rolls
These rolls are made with simple ingredients! My favorite place to source natural ingredients I can trust is Thrive Market. Thrive is my one stop grocery stop for quality, organic products for my pantry and beyond at affordable prices!
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Sourdough starter. You will want an active (recently fed and at peak rise), bubbly starter for best results. Less active (not peak rise but recently fed) starter can be used with similar results.
Water. Warm water is best!
Butter. You will need one stick (1/2 cup) melted butter for making your sourdough dinner rolls and a bit more to top them- measure with your heart. Use salted for best results or a 1/2 tsp extra in rolls.
Baking powder. This makes your rolls soft and fluffy.
Honey. Honey or other sweetener gives these dinner rolls a slightly sweet taste. To make them sweeter (like a Hawaiian roll) add more honey or whatever sweetener you prefer.
Salt. As main ingredient and a little to sprinkle on top.
All-purpose flour. As always, I prefer unbleached all-purpose flour.
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Tips
These rolls are probably among the most simple sourdough recipes here on the blog! There are not many tricks or techniques you need to know. They are basically fool proof! However, here are just few things that might help you make the best sourdough dinner rolls on your first try…
Dough Texture. The dough texture should be pretty thick and not very sticky (some stick is okay). You are looking for a step below a play dough like texture. It is okay for your dough to look a bit “rough” or not smooth during the fermentation process.
Temperature. The amount of time it takes for a good rise all depends on temperature. If you find that things are taking a very long time to rise, you live in a cooler climate, or you keep your home temp pretty low try heating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 minutes. Turn the oven off and give it around 10 minutes to cool down a bit. Place your pan of rolls in the oven to rise. Another idea would be to place your rolls on the warm stovetop while your oven is heated to 350.
Shaping the rolls. You don’t want to overwork the dough during the shaping process. For this reason I did not stress about uniformity or design. I simply cut them and added them to the pan, helping the ones that needed a bit of shape. If you are wanting more uniformity I recommend using the 1/3 fold system to shape as this does not overwork them as much.
*1/3 fold system: simply lay the dough flat and fold into 1/3rds and into 1/3rds again.
Click here to get a recipe for sourdough discard breadsticks!
Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter active and bubbly for best results
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 stick melted butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 ½ tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Mix starter, water, butter, honey, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer.
- Add two cups of flour then add 1/4 cup of flour at a time until dough is soft and pliable. Some stickiness is okay. You are looking for a play dough like texture just a bit stickier. Shagginess or roughness is completely fine, just not overly sticky.
- Allow dough to ferment on the countertop or in the refrigerator for about six hours.
- Place dough on a floured countertop and shape into a ball. Using a butterknife or a dough cutter cut dough ball into ½ slices then into ¼. Cut the ¼ pieces in ½ down the middle. This should give you 16 rolls all together.
- Place rolls into a greased 9×13 pan. Cover and allow to rise for about 2-3 hours or until doubled in size.
- Bake at 350℉ for about 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
- While still warm top rolls generously with butter and sprinkle with salt.
