Soft Sourdough Potato Rolls

A skillet filled with soft sourdough potato dinner rolls and one roll lying on its side.

4.88 from 8 votes

Soft Sourdough Potato Rolls

Super soft, 100% sourdough potato rolls, these easy rolls are perfect for your family dinner table. Serve them warm with some soft butter and homemade jam for a real delicious treat.

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Fermentation Time20

Total Time20 55

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: rolls

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

10 inch skillet or 9 by 13-inch pan
mixer
parchment paper

Ingredients

Levain (1:10:10, ready in 10-12 hours at 78-80ºF)

6 grams ripe, active sourdough starter about 1 teaspoon
60 grams all-purpose or bread flour scant 1/2 cup
60 grams water about 1/4 cup

Soft Sourdough Potato Roll Dough

120 grams levain about 1/2 cup
200 grams water 3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon
100 grams whole milk 1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon
40 grams potato flakes about 7 Tablespoons
45 grams unsalted butter, melted 3 Tablespoons
25 grams granulated sugar 2 Tablespoons
10 grams salt 1.5 teaspoons
500 grams bread flour about 3.5 cups

Egg Wash

1 egg reserved for egg wash
5 grams water a teaspoon, reserved for egg wash
butter for topping the warm rolls

Instructions

Levain (1:10:10 ready in 10-12 hours at 78-80ºF)

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.

Soft Sourdough Potato Rolls

Mix the Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the ripe levain, water, milk, potato flakes, melted butter, sugar, salt and bread flour. Turn on the mixer and knead for about 5-7 minutes until the dough is smooth and all the ingredients are well incorporated - note that this will at first look pretty sticky and messy but as it kneads, it will incorporate together and form a smooth dough. The dough will feel tacky, not overly sticky. If you don't have a stand mixer, dough can also be kneaded by hand for 10-12 minutes until smooth and cohesive.
Note: Different brands of potato flakes (or even boiled or mashed potatoes if you use the substitution in the recipe notes) can absorb different amounts of liquid. Add a little more flour if needed during the mixing process so the dough feels tacky to the touch, not sticky.
Bulk Fermentation: Set the dough in a warm, 78-80ºF place for 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.
Shape Rolls: 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 video here) to seal the balls and create tension for the roll to rise.
Proof: Nestle rolls 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. I use a bread proofer to keep the temperature consistent.
Bake: Once the rolls have risen, doubled in size, are touching each other and soft, fluffy and airy, preheat oven to 400ºF. Whisk together an egg with a splash of water and brush egg wash on top of the risen rolls. Bake the rolls in the pre-heated oven for about 25-30 minutes until baked all the way through. The internal temperature of the rolls should register 200ºF.
Top warm rolls with melty butter by rubbing a stick of butter over the top of the hot rolls. Enjoy warm!

Notes

Potato Flakes: I like using the Bob's Red Mill brand potato flakes with no extra added ingredients. If you don't have potato flakes, you can substitute 150 grams of boiled or mashed potato in this recipe. You may need to add a little extra flour as the amount of liquid in boiled and mashed potatoes can vary.

Sourdough Starter: I like using a levain in this recipe, but if you have a well-maintained and frequently refreshed sourdough starter, you can substitute it in place of the levain in the recipe.

Nutrition