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–+ servings

Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls (3 Ways!)

Homestead Lady Tessa Zundel
Make these easy sourdough discard dinner rolls plain or with our suggested inclusions and toppings to make them special for holidays or any day! Long fermented for health and refrigerated if needed to be baked when you're ready!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Ferment Time 6 hours
Course Bread
Servings 9 Rolls

Ingredients
  

Sourdough Discard Dinner Roll

  • 3 Cups Organic White Flour
  • 1 tsp. Sea Salt
  • 2 - 4 Tbsp. Fresh Herbs, Diced
  • 1/2 Cup Mashed Potato or Mayonnaise or Sour Cream
  • 1 Cup Water or Whole Milk or Whey
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil or Melted Butter or Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 Cup Sourdough Discard

Optional Egg Wash

  • 1 Fresh Egg, Beaten

Optional Honey Butter Spread

  • 2 Tbsp. Melted Butter
  • 2 Tbsp. Honey

Optional Add-Ins

  • 4 Tbsp. Fresh* Rosemary Leaves, Chopped or any Fresh Herb
  • 1/2 Cup Chunky Cranberry Sauce
  • 1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree, Drained or any Winter Squash Puree

Instructions
 

Initial Mix

  • In a medium sized bowl, mix 3 cups of organic white flour and 1 tsp. of sea salt. Mix in diced, fresh herbs (2-4 Tbsp.), if using.
  • In another bowl, mash a previous baked or boiled potato until completely pulverized, if using.
  • In another bowl, mix 1 cup of water or milk, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and 1/2 cup of mashed potato (or mayonnaise or full fat sour cream). Add 1/2 cup of starter and mix everything together until mostly smooth.
  • Add the wet ingredients (including potato, if using) to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Knead for 8-10 minutes; cover and set aside for 6 hours. If performing stretch and folds, omit kneading, cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
  • If performing stretch and folds, do so every half hour over the next hour and a half. See the post to learn more about stretching and folding your dough in place of kneading.

Shape, Rise, & Bake

  • Remove the dough from the bowl and perform one final stretch and fold. Roll the dough into a log and cut the dough into 9-12 equal portions. Roll them a bit in our hand to create a uniform shape. Place the rolls onto a parchment lined baking sheet at least an inch apart.
  • Cover with parchment paper and a towel and allow to rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size. If your starter was less active or your house is cold, this might take longer than 2 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F/176C and use a pastry brush to cover the rolls with the egg wash, if using.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. An inserted thermometer should read 190F/88C when the rolls are done. Remove from the oven and place on a bakers rack to cool or serve immediately.

Honey Butter Spread

  • Mix equal parts room temperature butter to honey until completely incorporated. May also use a hand mixer to whip the honey butter for more volume and "fluff".

Notes

This recipe is very versatile, so don't let all the options confuse you. Here are some ideas for you:
  • Make a plain roll with no herbs and no add-ins.
  • Or add one herb to the basic recipe.
  • Or add one puree to the basic recipe.
After you've made the basic recipe several times, you can start experimenting with your own ideas. These rolls are simple and delicious - you've got this!
*If using dried herbs, reduce the amounts to 2 tsp.
The egg wash will give the rolls golden tops when baked, but it is optional. You can similarly wash them with cream.
You can also cover the rolls in butter when they come out of the oven to give their tops a delicious texture.
  • The honey butter recipe pairs particularly well with pumpkin rolls, FYI.
If you need to whip these up the night before,  shape the rolls and place them on parchment paper in a container with a lid. Put this container into the fridge to ferment overnight. I like flat baker's carriers for this!
The cold will slow down the ferment a bit so that you can pull them out in the morning to come to room temperature. You may want to let them rise a bit more, too.
  • If the rolls have increased in size and maybe even have small blisters forming on the surface, they're ready to bake.
Note: Add-ins, especially wet ones like pumpkin and cranberry sauce, will weigh down your dough no matter how long it rises. The trade-off is that they're amazingly delicious! Just be sure that you don't over-proof your rolls waiting for them to get super big and fluffy.
This is also true if you have used whole wheat flour or an ancient grain like Einkorn. The rolls will bake up beautifully and taste divine, but whole wheat flours are heavier than any white, bran-free flour.
  • Over-proofed dough will usually have lots of blisters or wrinkles where blisters have collapsed.
  • It will also start to look loose and flabby - not able to hold its structure well.
  • It may also have a strong alcohol/yeasty smell.
Keyword dinner rolls, long ferment, sourdough
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