These sourdough pull-apart dinner rolls are soft, fluffy and super easy to make! They're the perfect addition to any Thanksgiving spread! These are brushed with a tiny bit of honey butter on top, but you can also add garlic, cheese, or whatever you're craving!
I make these sourdough rolls over the course of 2 days and store the dough in the fridge overnight for maximum flexibility!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a handful of simple ingredients to make these fluffy sourdough rolls!
- Sourdough Starter - I love making everything with sourdough starter and these rolls are no exception! It adds just the right amount of tangy flavor to the dough! Don’t have a sourdough starter? Never fear! Just check out my Sourdough Guide for all my tips and tricks!
- Bread Flour - I use bread flour to help the rolls have the best structure and texture, but you can easily substitute all purpose flour. You just made need 2-3 extra tablespoons of flour.
- Flaky sea salt - I always had flaky sea salt to the tops of these rolls for both flavor and looks! I love using Maldon Flaky Sea Salt because it has the best flavor and texture.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Making the Dough
Since sourdough breads require more rising time that those using commercial yeast, I like to make the dough for these sourdough dinner rolls a day in advance so that you have the most flexibility around when to actually bake the rolls!
Day One
The dough needs to rise in the fridge overnight (12-18 hours) so I always start making the dough at about 5 pm the day before.
Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of stand mixer and knead with the dough hook on low until it's fully combined. Turn the mixer off and allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes.
After the rest, continue to knead the dough on medium speed until the dough comes together into a smooth, cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (5-10 minutes).
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
Move the bowl to the fridge to finish rising overnight.
Day Two
Remove the dough from the fridge divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (roughly 34 grams each) and shape into tight rounds. You want to make them a bit smaller than you think, because they will rise. I shape the rolls the same way I shape a sourdough boule (check out my sourdough guide for shaping tips).
Place the dough balls into a lightly greased 9x13 pan, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until the rolls have puffed up and almost doubled in size. Right before baking, brush with a small amount of melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Note: The baking dish pictured is a 10x7 which is why it only fits 12 rolls. A normal 9x13 pan will easily fit all 24!
Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Make sure you check on the rolls frequently and if the tops start getting too brown, loosely tent with foil for the remainder of the baking time.
As soon as the sourdough dinner rolls come out of the oven, brush with the melted honey butter. This is technically optional but omg does it make them taste extra good!
Optional Flavors
You can add almost any flavoring to these rolls to add some extra pizazz! Just throw in the extra ingredients towards the end of kneading the dough.
- Sweet Honey Dinner Rolls – The base recipe calls for a tiny bit of sugar but if you want sweeter rolls, add an extra 2 tablespoons of honey to the dough.
- Cheesy Dinner Rolls – 1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese (parmesan is also delicious).
- Garlic & Thyme Dinner Rolls – 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme and 2 cloves of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder).
- Everything Dinner Rolls -- 2 teaspoons of everything bagel seasoning (plus more for on top).
Sourdough Tips & Tricks
If you've never baked with sourdough before, it can be a little tricky. But don't worry, I have a full Sourdough Guide all about making and maintaining a sourdough starter! I also have a full guide on different types of flour you can use to make sourdough. Below are a few quick tips and key terms you need to know.
- Sourdough Starter - A culture of wild yeast and bacteria that leavens and flavors sourdough bread. I use what's called a "liquid starter" versus a stiff starter. This means the starter is made with equal parts flour and water and should be a consistency similar to cake batter.
- Sourdough Discard - The portion of your starter that is discarded when feeding your starter (can be used in tons of recipes like sourdough discard blueberry muffins or sourdough pancakes).
- Ripe Starter - A starter that's ready to be used in baking. Your starter is ripe roughly 6 hours after feeding and will have doubled in size, have lots of visible bubbles, and a fresh acidic aroma.
Weigh your ingredients! For all my sourdough recipes, I measure the ingredients in grams because it's much more accurate! I highly recommend getting a kitchen scale if you don't already have one! However, I have included alternate US customary measurements for your convenience.
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all breads and baked goods! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Easy sourdough recipes for beginners! If you've never made sourdough bread before, I recommend starting with some simple, no-fuss recipes like my sourdough naan or sourdough bagels! But if you're already a pro, I have a ton of fun sourdough recipes you can try!
Recipe FAQ's
For all my sourdough recipes, I measure the ingredients in grams because it's more accurate! I highly recommend getting a kitchen scale if you don't already have one!! However, I have included alternate US customary measurements for your convenience.
Yes! Shape the rolls and place in the greased baking dish. Them immediately cover and place in the fridge for up to 36 hours. When ready to bake, let them rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until puffy.
Yes! If you only need 12 rolls, this recipe is super easy to cut in half! Since the recipe calls for 1 egg. Simply scramble the egg, weigh it (or measure) and then add just half to the dough!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Sourdough Recipes
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Recipe Card
Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 227 grams ripe sourdough starter
- 121 grams whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 318 grams bread flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 30 grams granulated sugar, or honey
- 6 grams kosher salt
- 56 grams unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into small pieces
Top with
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
Day One
- Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of stand mixer and knead with the dough hook on low until it's fully combined. Turn the mixer off and allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes.
- After the rest, continue to knead the dough on medium speed until the dough comes together into a smooth, cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (5-10 minutes).
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
- Move the bowl to the fridge to finish rising overnight.
Day Two
- Remove the dough from the fridge divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (roughly 34 grams each) and shape into tight rounds. You want to make them a bit smaller than you think, because they will rise.
- Place the dough balls into a lightly greased 9x13 pan, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until the rolls have puffed up and almost doubled in size. Brush with a small amount of butter and sprinkle with sea salt before baking.
- About 30 minutes before you bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Make sure you check on the rolls frequently and if the tops start getting too brown, loosely tent with foil for the remainder of the baking time.
- When the rolls are almost finished baking, add the unsalted butter and honey to a small microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
- As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, brush with the melted honey butter. This is technically optional but omg does it make them taste extra good!
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Mel says
This is my far, my favorite low intensity sourdough recipe! I’ve used this recipe a several times and realized that I never left a review. Seriously, these dinner rolls are exceptional, thank you for the recipe
Kyleigh Sage says
reviews like this make my day!! So glad you like them!
Jean says
love sourdough! great alternative to regular breads
Audrey says
Everyone loved these rolls- I will be making them again for the holidays!
Mark says
good