Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls Recipe

By McKenna Pulda

Yield: dinner rolls

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 18

Rise Time: 1 30

Total Time: 1 58

Quick Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls with rich, homemade flavor. Mix the dough, let it rise, and bake in just 2 hours.

5 from 7 votes

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Equipment

Ingredients

220 grams milk, warm 3/4 cup + 3 Tablespoons
100 grams sourdough discard, room temperature 1/3 cup
1 egg room temperature
57 grams unsalted butter, melted 4 Tablespoons
24 grams sugar 2 Tablespoons
450 grams bread flour 3 cups + 3 Tablespoons
7 grams instant yeast 2 teaspoons
9 grams salt 1 ½ teaspoon

Instructions

Mix Dough

To a bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm milk, room temperature sourdough discard, egg, melted butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until smooth.
Reminder: The temperature of the warm milk and melted butter was 110 degrees F. Any hotter can kill the instant yeast. You use sourdough discard straight from the fridge, but this can slow down the rise time.
This dough can also be kneaded by hand. I would increase the kneading to 10-15 minutes.
220 grams milk, warm, 57 grams unsalted butter, melted, 100 grams sourdough discard, room temperature, 1 egg, 24 grams sugar
To the wet ingredients, add the flour, instant yeast and salt. With the hook attachment, mix again on low speed. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the dry ingredients and then continue to mix on medium speed for 6-8 minutes.
You’ll know the dough has been kneaded completely when it is smooth and elastic. The dough will completely pull away from the sides of the bowl when it is being kneaded and it will pass the windowpane test.
7 grams instant yeast, 450 grams bread flour, 9 grams salt
Remove the dough and place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover

BULK RISE:

Place the dough in a warm place in your kitchen and allow the dough to double in size.
In my 70 degree F proofing box, this took about 1 hour. The bulk rise greatly depends on the temperature of your dough and kitchen. If you have a colder kitchen, the rise time will take longer. If your kitchen runs warm, the first rise will take less time.
*See notes for Make-Ahead Options*

SHAPE:

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the top of the dough to remove all the air bubbles. Then, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface.
With a bench scraper, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces (about 55 grams each).
Pull the corners of the dough towards the center, flip, and then roll each piece of dough into a round, tight ball. Place them in a greased 9x13 metal baking dish. Repeat until all the rolls are shaped.

Second Rise

Once shaped, cover the baking dish with this plastic wrap and let the dough rest for its second rise. The final proof is complete when the rolls have grown and look puffy. This took about 30-45 minutes.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the buns are beautifully golden brown and the internal temperature is 190 - 200 degrees F. If the buns are starting to brown too quickly, cover them with aluminum foil and continue to bake.
Remove the Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls from the oven and brush the top of each roll with melted butter. Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

MAKE-AHEAD Option

If you are looking to prepare these Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls in advance – here are some options and tips!

Freeze & Bake

Option 1: Prepare the dough and once it has doubled in size, cover the bowl and chill the dough in the fridge overnight. The following morning, shape the dinner rolls and allow them to rise and get fluffy in a warm place before baking as normal.

Option 2: Prepare the dough and shape the dinner rolls the night before, then pop the covered baking dish into the fridge overnight. Pull out the unbaked rolls 1-2 hours before baking to allow them to rise and get fluffy in a warm place.

Option 3: Prepare the dough and shape the dinner rolls, then pop the covered baking dish into the freezer. Once frozen solid, about an hour or so, place the sourdough dinner rolls into a freezer-safe bag and store for 2-3 weeks for the best results. When ready to bake, place the frozen rolls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover and place them in the refrigerator the night before. The following day, take them out of the fridge and allow them to rise in a warm place, about 1.5-2 hours, or until fluffy. Bake as normal.

Bake, Freeze & Reheat

Otherwise, you can bake the dinner rolls as normal, then allow them to cool to room temperature. Cover the rolls tightly with plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe bag. When ready to enjoy, allow the rolls to thaw on the counter top at room temperature. Once thawed, reheat them in a 350 degree F oven for about 8-10 minutes or until warmed through.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Milk – Use warm milk and melted butter, but make sure the mixture isn’t hotter than 110°F. Too much heat can kill the instant yeast and discard and prevent your dough from rising properly. I used whole milk in this easy homemade dinner roll recipe, but non-dairy options like almond milk works just fine.
Sourdough discard – I use fresh, room temperature sourdough discard that’s no older than 1-2 days. You can use older discard, but it will bring a more tangy flavor to the rolls. If using discard straight from the fridge, it’ll slow down the rise time. By the way, you can swap in the same amount of active starter (grams).
Sugar – If you’d prefer a natural sweetener, you can use the same amount of honey by weight.
Flour– You can use all-purpose flour for these rolls, but I recommend bread flour. Its higher protein content results in softer, fluffier dinner rolls.
Instant yeast – I used instant commercial yeast for this recipe, not active dry yeast. Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in liquid to activate and takes longer to rise dough. Instant yeast, in contrast , can be added directly to dry ingredients, and it works much faster.

Nutrition

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