Soft sourdough dinner rolls are simply perfect! These fluffy sourdough pull-apart dinner rolls are super easy to make, too. They come together from start to finish in less than 3 hours or ferment overnight for a 'true' sourdough dinner roll recipe. Pick your timing and let these pull apart dinner rolls fit with your busy (or relaxed!) schedule!
Jump to:
- Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Top Tip
- Note 1 (Ultra Fast Rolls)
- Note 2 (Long Cold Ferment Rolls)
- Helpful Equipment
- Tips and Troubleshooting
- How to Make Honey Butter
- Storage
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Recipe
- NOTE 1 (ULTRA FAST ROLLS)
- NOTE 2 (LONG COLD FERMENT ROLLS)
- More Popular Sourdough Recipes
- Serve dinner rolls with...
- Comments
Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Sourdough Pull Apart Dinner Rolls simply delish for any holiday occasion, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter dinners. Let's be honest. The kids are going to fill up on them before the 'fancy' meal ever gets rolling!
I also love that I can mix and shape the rolls the day before, and then keep them proofing in the refrigerator to bake fresh the next day. Talk about meal prep made EASY!
I use my Instant Pot Pulled Pork recipe to make my BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders with these buns. I've also made these rolls as 8 large hamburger buns for Venison Burgers. Served with a big oven roasted turkey or large Christmas dinner lasagna, these delicious rolls complete the meal.
If you are looking for other sourdough recipes, check out my Sourdough Archives. I've got everything from How to Make a Sourdough Starter to the tastiest Sourdough Bagels, English Muffins, Cheesy Crackers and much more!
Ingredients
This recipe can be made in 3 hours or 24-48 hours. Please read notes 1 & 2 (below) and make this recipe timeline fit your schedule!
- Active sourdough starter: The starter should be freshly risen with large air bubbles and pass the water float test.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Powdered milk: This is a dough conditioner that makes breads soft and fluffy. It can be omitted if you do not have it. Do not substitute liquid milk.
- Honey
- Salt
- Water
- Unsalted butter
- (OPTIONAL) Instant yeast: This is optional if you are wanting to make the fast version of this recipe. See Note 1 below for adjusted rise times.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, and add all of the dough ingredients. See Note 1 before adding yeast.
Knead on a low speed for 8-10 minutes until it forms a smooth, supple, and not overly sticky dough.
The dough will cling to the dough hook and the sides of the bowl will be mostly clean. You might need to add ½ cup of flour.
2. Transfer the kneaded sourdough bread dough into a lightly greased large bowl. Cover the bowl for the first rise of 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
I like to use a square sided plastic container with lid or a large glass mixing bowl. Prepare a 9x13 baking pan by greasing the bottom and all the sides of the pan or laying a sheet of parchment paper in it.
3. On a lightly floured surface separate the dough into 16 equal pieces.
Use you hands to pull the dough ball edges to the bottom. This will result in a smooth round topped surface on each piece of dough.
When rolls are shaped place them into the prepared baking pan.
4. Cover the shaped rolls with a damp towel. Let the shaped rolls go through a second rise of a 1 to 2 hour rest time. Do this step for both the long and fast version.
If you did not add the yeast and are making a true long-fermented sourdough dinner roll, cover with plastic wrap and place the rolls in the refrigerator overnight. You will take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking the next day.
Bake
Towards the end of the final rise time, preheat the oven to 375°F.
5. Bake the soft sourdough rolls for 40-50 minutes. The tops will be golden brown. If the rolls are getting too brown but need to continue cooking, cover the top of the pan loosely with a piece of tin foil. The internal temperature should be about 195°F.
6. I highly recommend brushing the tops with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven!
If you are not serving right away, remove the rolls and place them onto a wire cooling rack and let it cool completely before pulling apart or cutting to prevent soggy bottoms.
Top Tip
I like to bake my rolls an hour before dinner is served so that they can cools lightly but still be warm.
Note 1 (Ultra Fast Rolls)
- During step 1, add 2 teaspoons of instant yeast when combining the ingredients in the stand mixer.
- Once the dough is kneaded for 8 minutes, place it in a greased bowl to rise for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size.
- Divide the dough into 16 pieces and shape rolls. Place the rolls in a greased 9X13 baking dish and let rise for 1 hour. Rising time will vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- Bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes and continue with step 5.
If your dough doesn't seem to be rising a quickly as it should, it could be due to your yeast being bad. I would recommend doing a yeast proofing test by taking a cup of 100°F water and 2 teaspoon of yeast, mixing it together and see if it beings to bubble and rise after 5-10 minutes.
Note 2 (Long Cold Ferment Rolls)
For truly sourdough dinner rolls, do not add the yeast. Follow the instructions as written and let the dough proof in the refrigerator overnight. Your active sourdough starter will have enough oomph to make these rolls soft and fluffy all by itself!
For tips on making sure your starter is at peak activity, refer to my post How to Make a Sourdough Starter.
You can also choose if you would like to bake your rolls the next day or let the dough ferment in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. My kids prefer the taste and texture at one day vs. the signature sourdough tang that gets stronger over time.
Helpful Equipment
Don't stress over the sourdough! There are only a few basics you need.
A big mixing bowl, a wide-mouthed jar for your ripe starter, and a kitchen scale... everything else is just a bonus!
- Dutch whisk: This tool makes stirring flour and water together so much easier than just by using a spatula or wooden spoon.
- Square sided 4 quart plastic container: The benefit of this container is that it is easy to measure how much the dough has risen during proofing. They are large enough to mix big batches of dough and they are perfect for storing sliced fruit in your refrigerator.
Tips and Troubleshooting
- Your bulk fermentation time may vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen. If you kitchen is a little chillier, it will take a little longer for the dough to double in size. If your kitchen is a warm place, it will take a little less time.
- Some sourdough recipes, like this one, can add commercial yeast in the recipe to help speed up the rising process. The longer the rising process takes the more fermentation will occur.
How to Make Honey Butter
You can make copy-cat Texas Roadhouse cinnamon rolls by whipping together the butter mixture and spreading it on the inside of the rolls. The recipe is as follows.
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoon powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon bourbon vanilla extra
Storage
- If you planning to eat the rolls within the 1 or 2 days, the completely cooled rolls can be stored on the counter in an airtight container.
- If you would like to be able to enjoy the rolls throughout the week, the completely cooled rolls can be store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Storing the rolls for long term use is only done by freezing them. Place rolls in an airtight container then the freezer. They will last up to 3 months in the freezer.
- To thaw the frozen rolls place them on the counter until they come to room temperature. If you want to serve them warm you can preheat the oven to 350°F and bake them for 5 to 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You will combine the ingredients in a large bowl and knead by hand for 8-10 minutes.
Rolls are ready when the center is at 195°F. If you do not have a thermometer, you can visually assess the rolls. The tops of the rolls should be golden brown and the rolls along the sides of the pan should be stiff to touch.
I bake my rolls on the bottom rack of the oven. If you notice the tops are getting too brown, cover the pan loosely with tin foil.
Yes. Bread flour has higher protein content and will make a chewier bread. You may need to increase or decrease the amount of flour.
If you make these homemade sourdough dinner rolls, leave me a comment and tell me how you liked it! Be sure to pin one of these pictures to your Pinterest so you can easily find this recipe later!
Happy baking!
-Meg
Recipe
Soft Sourdough Dinner Rolls (Pull Apart)
Equipment
- stand mixer
- 9X13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 300 grams Sourdough starter active
- 630 grams All-purpose flour
- 340 grams Water warm
- 42 grams Powdered milk
- 50 grams Honey
- 15 grams Salt
- 6 grams Yeast SEE NOTE 1 (optional)
- 4 tablespoons butter room temperature, 57 grams
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, and add all of the dough ingredients. Knead on a low speed (on my Kitchen Aide I use speed 2) for about 8 minutes until it forms a smooth, supple, and not overly sticky dough.
- Transfer the kneaded sourdough bread dough in a lightly greased large bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours for a first rise, or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has doubled, it is ready to be shaped! Lightly grease a surface and separate the dough into 16 equal pieces. Shape the rolls and place them in a greased 9X13 baking dish.
- Cover the shaped rolls with a damp towel. Then let the shaped rolls go through a second rise of a 1 to 2 hour rest time. Do this for both the long and fast version.
- If you did not add the yeast and are making a true long-fermented sourdough dinner roll, cover with plastic wrap and place the rolls in the refrigerator overnight. You will take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking the next day.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls for 40-50 minutes. The tops will be golden brown. If the rolls are getting too brown but need to continue cooking, cover the top of the pan loosely with a piece of tin foil. The internal temperature should be about 195°F.
- I highly recommend brushing the tops with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven!If you are not serving right away, remove the rolls and place them onto a wire cooling rack and let it cool completely before pulling apart or cutting to prevent soggy bottoms.
Notes
NOTE 1 (ULTRA FAST ROLLS)
- During step 1, add 2 teaspoons of instant yeast when combining the ingredients in the stand mixer.
- Once the dough is kneaded for 8 minutes, place it in a greased bowl to rise for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size.
- Divide the dough into 16 pieces and shape rolls. Place the rolls in a greased 9X13 baking dish and let rise for 1 hour.
- Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes and continue with step 5.
NOTE 2 (LONG COLD FERMENT ROLLS)
For truly sourdough dinner rolls, do not add the yeast. Follow the instructions as written. Your active sourdough starter will have enough oomph to make these rolls soft and fluffy all by itself! For tips on making sure your starter is at peak activity, refer to my post How to Make a Sourdough Starter. You can also choose if you would like to bake your rolls the next day or let the dough ferment in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. My family prefers the taste and texture at one day.Nutrition
More Popular Sourdough Recipes
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Serve dinner rolls with...
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Pull Apart Sourdough Dinner Rolls:
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