Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Rolls

Everyone needs a delicious honey whole wheat sourdough roll recipe in their back pocket. Whole wheat rolls that are soft and fluffy and made with some whole wheat flour can be hard to come by, but these whole wheat sourdough rolls are exceptionally delicious. I use a combination of bread flour and whole wheat flour in this dough (you can make them 100% whole wheat if you want as detailed in the recipe notes) which gives delicious flavor and a fluffy texture. If you are just starting to add whole grains to your baking, this is a perfect beginner recipe to start with!

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Why You’ll Love Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Rolls

• Soft and Fluffy: You’ll love the soft and fluffy texture of these honey whole wheat sourdough rolls.
• Beginner Recipe: This is the perfect easy recipe for whole wheat beginners, plus it’s a recipe that everyone will love. This honey whole wheat roll recipe is great for starting out with sourdough rolls and whole wheat baking.
• Flavor: The combination of sweet honey and hearty grains is delicious with a fluffy texture. And if you want a sourdough loaf with great flavor – this Einkorn Sourdough made ancient grains is equally delicious!

Sourdough Baker’s Timeline

A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. Sourdough takes much longer to rise than commercial yeast bread. This schedule helps me plan my bake. A note: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 78-80°F throughout the process.

Important Ingredients

• Sourdough Starter – I use 100% hydration sourdough starter to mix the levain.
• Whole Wheat Flour – I use a hard spring whole wheat flour or hard spring whole wheat berries that I mill myself. I like the white whole wheat, but hard red works well too. Both options have the higher protein content needed for breads. These whole wheat sourdough rolls rely heavily on the flavor of the whole wheat, so choose a wheat you like the flavor of.
• Bread Flour – A combination of whole wheat flour and bread flour keeps the rolls chewy and gives a good rise. If you want to substitute all-purpose flour instead, add a little vital wheat gluten for best results.
• Salt – Salt enhances flavor. Don’t forget to add it!
• Honey – Honey gives sweetness and a delicious flavor to this bread. Since there are only a few ingredients, honey plays an important role. If you substitute sugar in place of honey, you’ll want to add a little more water to the dough to help compensate.
• Unsalted Butter – Melted and cooled unsalted butter allows you to control the salt content in the dough and gives these rolls a rich flavor.
• Honey Butter Topping– This is optional, but gives an extra delicious honey butter flavor to the rolls after they are baked. Use honey, unsalted butter and a pinch of salt.

How to Make Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Rolls

Mix the Levain and Autolyse Whole Wheat Flour and Water

Mix Levain: Mix together ripe, active sourdough starter with bread, flour and water until completely incorporated. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, bubbly and peaked. If you prefer a different ratio of levain, change it up to work for your schedule – learn how here.

Do you have to use a levain in this recipe? No. I prefer it, but if you have a well-maintained and frequently refreshed starter that is large enough, you can substitute that in place of the levain in the recipe.

Autolyse: In order to soften the bran and germ of the whole wheat, I use an autolyse. It’s a fancy word for mixing together flour and water and letting it rest. This allows gluten strands to form and specifically for whole wheat, softens the flour and gives it time to absorb the water. For this recipe I just mix together 250 grams whole wheat flour and 250 grams water. Mix together, cover and set aside for 3-4 hours.

Do you have to autolyse the whole wheat? No. I prefer it and it gives the rolls a very soft texture, but if you have a finely milled flour, you can skip this step and just mix all the dough ingredients together. You can find more tips in my guide to baking with whole wheat flour and sourdough.

Mixing the Dough and Bulk Fermentation

After the whole wheat dough has autolysed, it will feel more cohesive and strong. Break it up a little bit with your fingers (so it’s not just one cohesive chunk) and and add it to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the ripe levain, honey, melted butter, salt and bread flour to the mixer. Knead the dough in the stand mixer for about 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and all the ingredients are well incorporated. Note: If you don’t have a stand mixer, dough can also be kneaded by hand for 10-12 minutes until smooth and cohesive.

Let the dough rise at 78-80ºF for about 4 hours. Take the temperature of the dough as needed to make sure it stays right around 78-80ºF. This temperature is optimal for fermentation. If your dough temperature is cooler than 78-80ºF, it will need to ferment longer than 4 hours. The dough will not double in size and will look puffed up and aerated during this time.

Shaping Dinner Rolls

After your dough has risen for 4 hours at 78-80ºF, Dump the dough out onto a (clean) countertop. Cut the dough into 12 equal-sized pieces. Take each piece of dough and pull/pinch up the sides until it forms a ball. Roll the ball on the counter using your hand in a cupping shape (see my video showing how to shape sourdough rolls) to seal the balls and create tension for the roll to rise.

Proofing Whole Wheat Sourdough Dough

Place rolls close together in a parchment-lined 10-inch skillet or a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Cover the pan and let the rolls rise again for about 3-4 hours. During this time, I like to keep the rolls around 80ºF to encourage a rise in time for dinner. If your temperature is warmer than this, the fermentation will go FASTER. If the temperature is colder than 78ºF, the fermentation will go SLOWER. You can use a bread proofer to keep the temperature consistent.