Soft White Rolls with Sourdough Discard
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for another delicious dinner roll recipe. And I am always looking for creative ways to use up my extra sourdough discard (check out a few of my other favorite discard recipes, here, here and here). It’s one of the “hazards” of baking with sourdough I guess…always being on the lookout for somewhere to use that extra! . These soft white rolls with sourdough discard started out as a recipe to reduce waste and now…they are a reason I want to keep my starter fed. Just so I can have discard to make these rolls
Ingredients in Soft White Rolls with Sourdough Discard
- Sourdough Discard: A lot of sourdough discard is used in this recipe. I use discard where the starter has been fed equal weights of flour and water (100% hydration). The older the discard, the more sour tang will be prevalent in these rolls. If you don’t want any sour flavor, use a fresher discard.
- Milk: 2% or whole milk makes these rolls rich and tender
- Instant yeast: This recipe uses instant yeast to raise the dough
- Sugar: Just a little bit of sugar is added to these rolls to enhance the flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: Melted and cooled unsalted butter allows you to control the salt content in the dough and gives these rolls a rich flavor.
- Salt: Just a little bit of salt tempers the fermentation and brings out the flavor in the rolls. Don’t leave it out.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is an unusual ingredient in dinner rolls, but I’ve found it helps give the rolls a super-soft texture.
- Flour: This recipe can be made with all-purpose or bread flour. I prefer bread flour for more chewy rolls and a better rise. But all-purpose works well too.
Why you’ll love soft white rolls with sourdough discard
Super soft, tender, light and a slight tang for the sourdough discard, this recipe for soft white rolls with sourdough discard are sure to be a hit in your family as well. My kids were all begging for seconds when I pulled these out of the oven and popped them on our dinner table a few weeks ago. And I couldn’t blame them. I may have sneaked another one as I was putting the leftovers in a ziplock bag and sticking them in the freezer. I love freezing my bread because it keeps it fresh and I don’t have to see it staring me in the face, begging me to just have one more pinch!
A Few Recipe Tips
The dough for these sourdough discard rolls is very smooth and light. It may take a little longer to rise because it is often made with cold sourdough discard directly from the fridge, but don’t let that stop you from trying out this recipe. Once they are baked, these rolls are slathered with melted butter. I like to take my cold stick of butter and gently run it over the top of the hot rolls. This saves me from having to wash my pastry brush and an extra bowl (can you tell I’m all about saving on the dishes around here?!).
However you choose to eat these rolls: with your dinner, for breakfast with some jam and butter spread on top or as a mini turkey sandwich for lunch, you will love them. I hope you give them a try!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Once the rolls have cooled completely, store in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw and warm if desired to serve.
Cornstarch make these rolls extra tender and light. You could substitute potato flakes or just leave them out.
Yes. Make sure the milk is warmed to counteract the cold and allow a little extra time for the dough to rise. Cold dough takes longer to rise, even with commercial yeast.
Yes. You can substitute sourdough starter instead of discard. If you want to make a 100% sourdough version of these rolls, check out my recipe for sourdough dinner rolls here.
Soft White Rolls with Sourdough Discard
Ingredients
- 165 grams milk lightly warmed, 2/3 cup
- 6 grams instant yeast 2 teaspoons
- 30 grams granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons
- 55 grams unsalted butter melted and cooled, 4 Tablespoons
- 14 grams salt 2 teaspoons
- 225 grams sourdough discard 100% hydration, 1 cup
- 20 grams cornstarch 2 Tablespoons
- 350 grams all purpose or bread flour 2 1/2 cups, see recipe notes
Instructions
- To a stand mixer (or a bowl if you are kneading by hand), mix together the yeast, sugar and warm milk. Let it sit for a minute and use your nose to see if the yeast is working (It will smell very "yeasty" once the sugar and warm milk are mixed in. Technically using instant yeast you can omit this "proofing" step and throw the yeast in the with the flour, but I like to double check that my yeast is working so I do it anyway).
- Add the room temperature melted butter. Make sure it is not too hot so it doesn’t kill the yeast.
- Add the sourdough discard, salt and cornstarch. Begin mixing with your dough hook as you add in the flour a cup at a time. Reserve the half cup of flour to mix in toward the end as you look for readiness of the dough. If the dough is pulling away from the sides, you may not need to add more flour. If the dough is still very sticky, add a little more flour until it is tacky, pulls away from the sides and rolls up into a ball in your fingers (a little stickiness is okay!). This post may help you to check for readiness of dough.
- Knead the dough for about 5 minutes in the stand mixer or 7-10 minutes by hand. I like to set a timer and let the dough hook or mixer do the work for 5 minutes or so.
- Add a drop of oil to a bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and place into the bowl. Roll the ball around until it is completely covered in the oil. (The oil keeps the dough moist as it rises and makes it easier to handle once risen). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size. If your sourdough discard is cold, it may take longer for the dough to rise. You may want to turn your oven light on and let the dough rise covered in the oven (just make sure not to turn the actual oven on during this process).
- Cover the bottom of two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Alternatively, prepare a half sheet pan (affiliate link for my favorite pans) with parchment paper.
- After the first rise, turn the dough out onto the counter and punch it down. Using a bench scraper or a knife, separate the dough into 16 equally-sized pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball and place eight dough balls into each pan, for a total of 16 rolls. If you are baking on a half sheet pan, place all the rolls on the same pan. Cover and let rise again in a warm place for about an hour until just about doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Bake for about 22-25 minutes until lightly browned on top. Cover the tops with melted butter (I take a stick of cold butter and lightly touch it on the tops of all the rolls). Enjoy warm or freeze for later!
I have a question. I would like to get back into baking bread but since the last time I made it, many years ago, I have become lactose intolerant. Can I substitute Almond or Coconut milk in the recipes or should I use a full fat coconut milk?
I have subbed almond milk really well in yeast breads. I think it also depends on the recipe. If you are making an enriched dough (usually has butter, egg, full fat milk), you may try using the coconut milk. But I think almond milk would work. You can also sub water for many recipes (it may not be as “rich” tasting) but should work in a pinch.
What method do you do for freezing the rolls after baking/ thawing for serving? I just made this recipe for the first time and it is amazing! I want to make them for thanksgiving, but would like to make them ahead of time and freeze them.
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! If you want to make them ahead of time, I would freeze them in a ziplock and then pull them out a few hours before serving to thaw. You can warm them in a 350 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes until warm and brush with melted butter again. Alternatively you can make the dough the night before and shape the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge. Then pull them out of the fridge a few hours before baking to come to room temperature and puff up a bit and then bake. Either should work fine.
Can these be prepared the day before with a final proof in the fridge? Also, thoughts on coconut oil instead of butter or vegan butter?
I think those substitutions would work well. And yes you can make them the night before, proof in the fridge and then pull them out a few hours before baking to come to room temperature, puff up a bit and then bake.
I really liked these, but they didn’t come out super soft like yours look in the picture. They were a bit more airy inside (still good). I followed the recipe exactly and kneaded by hand. Do you have any idea what could make that happen? I’d like to try again. Thanks!
How long did you knead for? I use a stand mixer to knead the dough. This can help the gluten develop and makes a light, soft roll. If you knead by hand you will want to knead for at least 10 minutes to develop all the gluten and get a soft inside. That would be my recommendation without having seen the rolls myself. Hope that helps!
I absolutely LOVE these rolls! They have turned out amazing every time. I just can’t seem to roll out the balls of dough so smoothly to get that perfect round shape like yours. What do you do?
I’m so glad you love them! Here’s a video I posted awhile ago on how I shape my rolls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgXh6FimQ8
Hope it helps!
There is just my husband and I at home so 16 rolls are a lot to make. Is it possible to cut this recipe in half?
You can half the recipe. These rolls also freeze really well once baked, so you could bake the whole batch and freeze the extras. Just pull out, thaw or even warm for a few minutes in a 350 degree oven (or microwave) to enjoy.
Question: I made this recipe as directed and they turned out beautiful… BUT, very little flavor. What could have I done to have more flavor?
Are you looking for more sourdough flavor? To increase the sourdough flavor you can use older discard (maybe week or two old stored in fridge). If you are looking for more flavor in general you can increase the salt by half a teaspoon to a teaspoon in the recipe.
These were easy and delicious! This is a recipe I will use again and again! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the comment! So glad you loved them 🙂
I had a little trouble. The dough wasn’t very elastic when kneading and were a little dense. Any tips?
I would guess that the dough had a little too much flour. The ratio of flour to water in your sourdough starter can affect the amount of flour that needs to be added to the dough. The way flour is scooped can also affect the amount of flour in the dough. I always start on the lower end of flour-range in a recipe and work my way up when adding flour. If you can pinch off a piece, roll it into a ball in your fingers with just a little bit of sticky residue, that’s right about where you can stop adding flour. You can also try adding a tiny bit of water to the dough if you’ve over-floured it and sometimes that can help bring it back a bit too.
Hi Amy, So I did make these and the taste was spot on! They were soft, however quite dense. What do I need to do to make them super fluffy?
What flour did you use? I find bread flour helps give fluffier bread. Also kneading for 8 minutes helps. Make sure that they rise enough too and get almost doubled in size and puffy before baking them. Sometimes with cold discard (from the fridge) the rise takes a little longer. You could also try adding a teaspoon more yeast to the dough. Those would be my main tips.