Soft Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Soft sourdough dinner rolls so simple and great for a holiday dinner feast! Brushed with butter and lightly browned they are tasty all by themselves or with honey or jam. They pull apart easily and have just enough sourdough tang to make them flavorful without being overpowering.
For this recipe I use sourdough starter that is only lightly fed the night before and slightly thinner than pancake batter. The dough comes together in minutes and shaping the clover leaf style rolls is just about as easy as it gets.
I add all of the dry ingredients to a stand mixer and then add butter, honey and the sourdough starter all at once before starting the mixer fitted with a dough hook on low. Slowly add the water or whey until the dough comes together and then continue to mix for another 6 minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixer and roll it into a ball. Put it in a bowl that has been sprayed with spray oil and turn it around to coat it completely finally covering it with plastic wrap to proof for about 90 minutes in a warm place. You can see illustrations on how to form the dough in my recipe for Soft Sourdough Burger Buns.
After about 90 minutes the dough should rise to nearly double it's original size. Take the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured surface. Knead it a few times by folding it back onto itself then turning it halfway around and folding it back on itself again. Repeat this 2 or 3 times.
Cut the dough into 36 equal parts. I use a scale to weigh the entire batch then divide that weight by 36 and cut the dough into balls of that size. There are many methods for doing this. If you don't have a scale you might pat the dough into a square and cut it into equal squares. I know my grandma just eyeballed it and did just fine.
What you really want is have the three balls for one roll be the same size. That way you get small and larger rolls but you don't have lopsided rolls. Personally, I think it's rather nice to have some of the rolls be larger and others smaller. I know I really want a smaller roll than my husband does and if you have small children it helps with portion control as well. Didn't we all just want to fill up on bread when we were little?
Place three balls of dough into each cup in a 12 cup muffin pan that has been sprayed with spray oil.
Aren't they pretty! Now cover them up with a thin towel and set them someplace warm to rise.
Start heating the oven to 375 degrees and melt some butter to brush the tops of the rolls. You definitely want to make sure the oven has had plenty of time to fully heat so give it at the very least 30 minutes to preheat.
After about 45 minutes to 1 hour the rolls will have risen and should look like this.
Now it's time to brush the rolls all over with the melted butter. Use a gentle hand so you don't deflate your beautiful creations. I prefer to use a silicone basting brush for this because it's so gentle across the top of the dough.
After giving the rolls a thorough coat of butter, pop them into the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes turning the pan half way through baking to ensure even baking. I like to take them out at about 20 minutes for the light colored rolls you see pictured here because I'm baking these for a later dinner and will be reheating them just before serving. That will brown them up some and under baking just a touch will ensure that they don't get over done.
These rolls are my go to rolls for any holiday meal. They are just the thing to go with cranberry sauce, ham, turkey or prime rib. Who doesn't like a pull apart roll with so many facets to cover with yummy condiments!
Happy Feasting!
~Melisa
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups All purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup sourdough starter (thin and fed the night before)
1 to 1 1/4 cup warm water or whey (about 110 degrees)
Method
Add all of the dry ingredients to a stand mixer and then add the butter, honey and the sourdough starter all at once before starting the mixer fitted with a dough hook on low. Slowly add the water or whey until the dough comes together and then continue to mix for another 6 minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixer and roll it into a ball. Put it in a bowl that has been sprayed with spray oil and turn it around to coat it completely finally covering it with plastic wrap to proof for about 90 minutes in a warm place.
After about 90 minutes the dough should rise to nearly double it's original size. Take the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured surface. Knead it a few times by folding it back onto itself then turning it halfway around and folding it back on itself again. Repeat this 2 or 3 times, then cut the dough into 36 equal pieces. I have a postage mailing scale that works very well as a kitchen scale so I weigh mine to check them. Without a scale, it's probably easiest to cut them evenly if the dough is shaped into a rectangle or square and then cut into 36 equal squares.
Form three balls for each roll by squeezing them gently through an opening between your thumb and index finger with one hand while pinching the bottom together with your other hand working to get a smooth and tight surface. Do this about 3 times for each one. See illustrations on how to form the smooth balls for rolls on my recipe for Sourdough Burger Buns.
Place the dough balls 3 per cup in a 12 cup muffin pan and cover with a thin kitchen towel. Set in a warm place to proof once more for about an hour.
Start preheating the oven to 375 degrees so that it will be ready when the buns are.
When the buns are ready and the oven is hot, brush the tops with a little bit of butter.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes turning the muffin pan halfway through.
Brush them with butter once again when they are done baking.
