I’m a sucker for super soft rolls.

Before I knew how to bake, I’d buy a bunch of Rhodes Rolls to keep in my freezer and make those whenever I had a classic chicken dinner planned. They were soft, they were easy, and they went well with just about anything.

But now, I have a recipe that I love to make more than Rhodes Rolls. These super soft sourdough discard rolls are flavorful, simple, and fast. Top them with melted butter or jam, and you have the perfect side for a variety of meals.

Freeze These Rolls Ahead of Time

Quite a few people have asked about preparing these soft sourdough discard rolls ahead of time for big events like Thanksgiving or Christmas. And you absolutely can!

After you’ve finished shaping your rolls, place them on a large, parchment-lined cookie sheet. Put the entire sheet in the freezer for 3 to 4 hours until the balls have hardened. Then, remove the frozen rolls from the pan and place in a freezer friendly Ziploc bag. When frozen correctly, these rolls stay well for up to a month.

Once you’re ready to bake, treat these rolls in the same way you’d treat store-bought ready-made frozen rolls. Remove them from the freezer, place on a lightly greased pan and cover with lightly greased plastic to minimize sticking. Let the rolls thaw and rise until puffy, then bake as per usual.

Don’t Have Starter?

This recipe also works well if you don’t have any sourdough starter on hand or if you don’t like that telltale tang of sourdough. Simply replace the sourdough starter with equal amounts flour and water (so 113 grams of each), and you’re good to go.

If you want to make your own sourdough starter, I have a step-by-step guide for a wild yeast starter at my bread blog, BreadbytheHour.com.

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Soft Sourdough Discard Rolls

These soft rolls are an easy way to use up your sourdough starter discard. Perfect as a dinner side or a snack.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Sourdough, Sourdough Discard, Sourdough Discard Rolls
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 24 Rolls
Calories 187kcal

Ingredients

  • 600 Grams Warm Water (2 1/2 cups)
  • 18.6 Grams Dry Active Yeast (2 Tablespoons)
  • 226 Grams Sourdough Starter Discard (1 Cup)
  • 1020 Grams All-Purpose Flour (8 1/2 Cups)
  • 50.25 Grams White Granulated Sugar (1/4 Cup)
  • 12 Grams Salt (2 Teaspoons)
  • 54.5 Grams Vegetable Oil (1/4 Cup)

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the warm water and the yeast. Stir and then let the yeast sit for 10 minutes to proof.
  • Add the sourdough starter and stir until well incorporated.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
  • Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and the vegetable oil to the standing mixer bowl.
  • On a low setting, use the dough hook of the standing mixer to knead everything together. Continue to mix until the dough pulls away from and cleans the sides of the bowl.
  • Turn out the dough onto a lightly greased surface and shape into a round.
  • Place round in a lightly greased container with a lid. Let dough rest until double in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on kitchen temperature.
  • Turn dough out onto lightly greased surface and punch down. Divide the dough into 24 pieces and shape into balls. Each ball should weigh about 80 grams.
  • Place dough balls onto a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rest for 30 to 45 minutes until double.
  • Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit (204° Celsius) and bake for 16 to 18 minutes.
  • Brush with melted butter and serve warm.

Notes

Keep in mind that you may need more or less flour depending on the consistency of your sourdough starter. I feed my starter a 1:1 ratio of whole wheat flour and water, and I needed more flour than when fed my starter 1:1 of all-purpose flour and water. 
If you have an all-purpose starter, I suggest starting with just 6 cups of flour and then slowly adding the remaining 2 1/2 cups until you achieve the consistency you want. You might not need all the flour. 

Did You Try It?

I love these super soft bread rolls, and I love how easy they are to make for my family. But what did you think of the recipe? Did you like it? Did you adjust it to make it better?

Share your baking experience in the comment section below! I appreciate all your helpful feedback and suggestions. Thank you for all your kind words.

Jennibee

View Comments

  • Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Just did it yesterday and I appreciated how simple it was and the delicious taste + texture of the rolls — also how versatile they are. For example, last night we ate them as dinner rolls but today we’re using them as hamburger buns. Have you ever shaped them into other forms than rolls, like loaves?

    • I haven't tried making them into loaves but that's a fantastic idea! I'll have to play around with it and see what happens. I have made them into buns and they were excellent :) I'm so glad you tried them and liked them.

      • Love this recipe. I make my balls a little smaller so I get about 30. I have added rosemary and garlic powder sometimes because we love the flavor too.

        • Oh those are fun flavors to add in! I'll definitely have to try those next time because that sounds delicious. Thank you for your helpful suggestions :)

          • Can you make these right up to the "ready for the over stage"and then put in fridge to slow them down? Id like to pause until ready to bake so I can serve them hot at a friend's dinner.

          • I'm not entirely sure? You could give it a try, but I worry they might over proof in the fridge. I guess it depends on how long you keep them chilling before your friend's dinner. Maybe keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get too puffy.

    • Thank you for sharing your recipe. I'm just beginning my sourdough journey and decided I wanted to make dinner rolls for my family's Christmas Dinner so in my search for recipes I found yours and I'm so glad I did, so is my family. These rolls were a hit, I know they'll be requesting them all the time now. Absolutely Delicious! The recipe is simple enough for beginners yet taste like I've been baking bread for years. The only thing I changed was the size of the rolls, I made them a little smaller, other than that I made as the recipe stated. Oh & your note about the flour, thank you for that, my starter is also a 1:1 ratio so I needed a little extra flour as well. I'm looking forward to trying more of your recipes.

      • Thank you so much for your kind words Brenda. It really made my day. I wish you the best of luck in your sourdough journey.

  • Hi there! Can I use organic unbleached bread flour (I have King Arthur brand) instead of all purpose flour? Thanks!

    • Sure! Bread flour should work just fine. In fact, it might have even better texture than all purpose. Happy baking!

    • Just trying this today for the first time and though I'm not finished I have to say I have never had anything rise as well as this did. I'm using a gluten free flour so even more suprised by the quickness of doubling. Can't wait to sink my teeth into one!

      • Oh wow! I never would have thought about gluten-free flour. I'm so glad that they're rising well for you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do :)

      • I hope you see this!
        I am trying my hand at gluten free baking, sourdough currently (I've got cookies and cakes about down to decent, lol) but I'm having the hardest time with breads, any tips, tricks etc for gluten free?

      • Lisa, do you mind telling me what type of gluten free flour you used? Thinking of making these for my dad at thanksgiving and he cannot do wheat at all.

    • I bet I could! Oh my goodness - I will definitely have to try and share what happens. Thank you for the suggestion.

  • These were AMAZING. My fridge was completely bare (yet here I am making bread - says something about my life!) and so I especially appreciated how this recipe didn't call for eggs or milk. 10/10 would make again in a heartbeat.

    • Hello! I used about 1 cup less flour than the recipe called for. Is that normal? Also should I add more salt and sugar when this happens since it is premixed with the flour?

      • That is normal if you have a stiff starter! Since it's only about a cup, you don't need to add more salt or sugar unless you want to adjust the flavor and make the dough more savory or more sweet. Just keep in mind that salt slows the rise time and sugar can speed it in small amounts so you'll want to keep an eye on your dough.

    • I have been making these weekly for the past year and they're brilliant, occasionally have to add more flour if my start is extra hydrated, thanks for the recipe, it's a favorite!

      • Woohoo! Thank you for sharing. You've made my day - I'm so happy these rolls have been a favorite for you!

  • So good- I only had a half hour to let them rise and they still turned out tasty and fluffy.
    A keeper for sure!

  • DELICIOUS! I made these last night to freeze for Thanksgiving. My husband and I ate 2 each so I'm working on another half batch to make sure there is enough. I'm sure we'll have to test this batch too.

    • I'm so glad! I make these for thanksgiving every year, too. It's become a family tradition. Thank you for your positive feedback. :)

      • I was also going to ask about making these for the holidays! The recipe looks delicious! I’m hoping to fully bake them and then freeze them. Is that a thing? Lol I wouldn’t be able to get family members to let me bring “something different” if it had to finish baking on the actual holiday. My best bet is to have them done and then re-warm in the oven.
        Have you ever tried that? Do you have any temp or time suggestions?

        • I haven't frozen these rolls after baking specifically - but I have frozen similar bread recipes! Here's my approach. After baking, make sure they completely cool (you don't want any extra moisture leftover from the steam). Wrap them tightly in aluminum foil, place in a freezer friendly bag, and then freeze. If you have time, let thaw at room temperature overnight. Then re-warm (in their loose foil packing but not in the freezer bag) for about 10 minutes in a 300°F oven. If you're rushed for time, heat the oven to 300°F. Place the loosely-wrapped frozen rolls directly on an oven rack and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until everything is warm all the way through. When I follow this technique, though, bread tends to dry out pretty fast afterward so make sure to serve them warm.

    • That is an excellent question. This recipe has a lot of yeast, so the dough rises quickly. I have not made these in advance because it's a fairly quick recipe. If I were to take a guess, however, I'd say put the rolls in the refrigerator overnight right after shaping. If they haven't risen fully, let them sit on the counter for a bit until puffy. Otherwise, bake them as usual.

  • I love this recipe, it's simple and a great way to use up sourdough discard. I was wondering if you have any tips on freezing the dough balls so I only have to make the recipe once, but then we can enjoy them throughout the month.

    • Hey Anna - thanks for the feedback. I have not tried freezing this recipe because we tend to eat our rolls pretty fast at my house. However, if I were to take a best guess about how to go about freezing them, I would try this: after shaping, put the rolls on a large, parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Then, transfer the frozen rolls to a zip-top freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to one month. When ready to bake, place the frozen dough balls on a lightly greased pan and cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Let thaw and rise until puffy, and then bake as per usual.

      • This is exactly what I do! I make some larger for buns and some the normal 80g for rolls and then I can just take out and let rise before baking and I always have fresh as needed. Works GREAT!

        • Oh wonderful! I'm so glad this works great for you :) Thank you so much for your feedback.

        • I’m new in the baking sourdough world. I cut the recipe half and made smaller rolls. I like the ideas of making buns and rolls and maybe a couple of hoagies too. I’m sure to work at the lil kinks in the next batch. ???? Thank You.

          • I wish you all the luck in your baking journey! I hope you have a lot of fun experimenting with sourdough :)

        • Hey Ashley, the thawing process could take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours depending on room temperature.

  • These rolls are to die for! wow! so fluffy and soft. My old/other discard recipe makes hard biscuits like one would imagine cowboys on the trail choking down with beans and coffee. Jennibee's recipe is life-changing to this old boy scout. bravo!

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Jennibee

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