Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Soft and comforting sourdough discard dinner rolls, but make them quick and easy. There’s something deeply comforting about pulling a fresh pan of hot dinner rolls right from the oven. If you’re like me, you always have a jar of sourdough discard in the fridge just waiting to be turned into something delicious. These sourdough discard dinner rolls are one of my favorite ways to use my discard up and they’re perfect to go with dinner or be the star of a perfect sandwich at lunch time.
Made with simple pantry staples, these sourdough discard dinner rolls have just a hint of that signature sourdough flavor, without the long fermentation time of traditional sourdough bread. They bake up soft and buttery, with a tender crumb and I just know you are going to love them!
What is Sourdough Discard?
If you’re new to sourdough, the term “discard” can sound a little confusing-and even a bit wasteful. Sourdough discard is simply the portion of starter you remove before feeding it to keep it healthy and balanced. As your starter grows, it needs regular feedings, and removing some of it prevents it from becoming too large. If it gets too large it can overflow your jar and your feedings will need to increase to keep up with the feed. So we take some out before we feed it most of the time to keep the amount of starter controlled. If you are baking bread with it regularly, this will naturally happen. If you are feeding it and not baking bread regularly, then you can just remove about 1/3 cup before a feed or however much you need for a “discard” recipe. Using this portion of “sourdough discard” is a great way to not waste the starter your remove and it can make so many delicious things!
The best part about discard is that it is not being used to make your bake rise, so you don’t need it to be active and bubbly. It is used to add moisture and flavor to your recipe, so you can scoop it out at anytime. The further from a feed you scoop it, the more runny and tangy it will be adding some good flavor to your recipe.
If you need to make a starter, learn how to make a sourdough starter from scratch here!
To understand the stages of your starter, check out this video here:
Now let’s get into making these delicious rolls!
Ingredients
sourdough discard
warm water
tbsp honey
active yeast
butter
salt
all purpose flour (my favorite heritage all purpose flour!)
How to Make Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls
In the bottom of a bowl mix the warm water, honey, and yeast. If you are using a stand mixer, which is recommended, you can do this in the mixer bowl directly.
Let sit for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is bubbly and activate
Next, add in the sourdough discard, butter, salt and flour.
With the dough hook of your mixer (or by hand), knead the dough for 10-12 minutes, or until the dough has good stretch to it without breaking (you can add more flour, a little at at time if the dough is too sticky and not pulling away from the bowl during kneading).
After kneading, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter until it has doubled in size. Depending on the temperature, this will take around 1- 1 ½ hours.
After the dough has risen, pull out the Dough onto a floured surface and cut evenly into 12 pieces. If you want them exact, you can weigh them. I just estimate and you will see that do vary slightly in size, but that’s okay!
Flatten and fold each piece into a ball, building tension on the top. Do this by tucking the sides underneath and pinching the bottom together like in the photos below.
Place the dough balls, seem side down, evenly spaced in an oiled 9×13 inch baking dish.
Cover with a towel and let rise on the counter until noticably puffy, about 30 minutes (this time can vary depending on the temperature of your home).
/
Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
Right when you take them out of the oven, butter the tops generously. The tops will be hard and hollow sounding, but will soften as they cool with the butter on top.
Serve warm! Enjoy!
Tips for soft, fluffy rolls
-Let your dough balls rise after you shape them until they are nice and puffy. If you gently poke one with your finger, it should be slow to bounce back when they are ready.
-Do not over-bake, stick to the timeline, and pull out before the bottom gets too brown. Over cooked rolls will tend to be tough on the bottom and seem to dry.
Storage
Let cool COMPLETELY and store in an airtight bag. I like to use a gallon ziplock bag for mine.
FAQs
Q. Can I use active starter for this recipe?
A. Yes, you can use active starter or discard.
Q. Do these work without yeast?
A. No, these rolls are meant to be made with yeast, making them much quicker of an option than rolls that are rising from an active starter.
Q. Can I use Fresh milled flour?
A. Yes you can! My favorite is to do 1/3 of the flour (so 1 cup) fresh milled so they still are fluffy with a good rise, but get the delicious flavor, texture, and health benefit of the fresh milled!
If you are new to sourdough, check out my instructions for making your own starter from scratch without a scale!
Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sourdough discard
- 1 cup warm water
- 1-2 tbsp honey
- 2 ¼ tsp active yeast
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- Extra butter for the top
Instructions
- In the bottom of a bowl mix the warm water, honey, and yeast. If you are using a stand mixer, which is recommended, you can do this in the mixer bowl directly.
- Let sit for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is bubbly and activated.
- Next, add in the sourdough discard, butter, salt and flour.
- With the dough hook of your mixer (or by hand), knead the dough for 10-12 minutes, or until the dough has good stretch to it without breaking (you can add more flour, a little at at time if the dough is too sticky and not pulling away from the bowl during kneading).
- After kneading, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter until it has doubled in size. Depending on the temperature, this will take around 1- 1 ½ hours.
- Pull out the Dough onto a floured surface and cut evenly into 12 pieces.
- Flatten and fold each piece into a ball, building tension on the top. Do this by tucking the sides underneath and pinching the bottom together.
- Place the dough balls, evenly spaced in an oiled 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Cover with a towel and let rise on the counter until noticably puffy, about 30 minutes.
- Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
- Right when you take them out of the oven, butter the tops generously. The tops will be hard and hollow sounding, but will soften as they cool with the butter on top.
- Serve warm! Enjoy!
