Easy Sourdough Discard Rolls (Freezer friendly)

How about a roll that’s pillowy and soft on the inside, without flattening into nothing with the first bite? Can it have a lightly crisp, golden outside – but still be tender? And can it please use up some of the sourdough discard lingering in the fridge? Oh, yes. I give you, Easy Sourdough Discard Rolls.

Kevin was commenting on how we seem to be making more recipes with sourdough discard than we do actual sourdough-leavened recipes.

He’s not wrong. I love sourdough bread, but I haven’t made more than a few batches. It’s not hard or anything, it’s just that I have a hard time timing things right to do all the stretches and folds before bed. It will come.

But for now, I’m swimming in discard.

And I don’t want to throw it away, so it goes in a jar in the fridge for two weeks, at which point I…..I……..I throw it away.

Tell me I’m not alone.

Anyhow, these easy sourdough discard rolls are a dream. I’ve made them at least three times now, and each time they turn out perfect.

It seemed that soft and substantial couldn’t coexist in dinner roll form, but now they do. These puff balls are light and airy, but they don’t mush down to nothing when you cut them open. They have a delicate chewiness and pleasant tang. The whole wheat flour gives them a slight nutty flavor, a perfect pair for your melty spread of choice.

And the crust on these rolls… I never thought rolls had a crust, or should have one. But the crispy crunch on the bottoms play very nicely with the fluffy, yet sturdy interior.

Aside from enjoying a warm roll with a generous swipe of butter, I love these with salad for a summer meal, and they would be great paired with a cozy soup in the fall. They also make great burger buns.

Maybe you’re sold on the rolls but don’t have a sourdough starter. Ask around at work or in your social circle. There’s a very good chance someone would willingly share their discard with you. And if you want to get in on the sourdough game for yourself, I recommend checking out The Perfect Loaf (resource for getting a starter going from scratch) and Acts of Sourdough (dehydrated starter you can buy, and lots of yummy recipes).

The recipe makes 24 rolls, and if you aren’t looking for that much dough, you can freeze the rest for next time. Just form the rolls and place them on a lined baking sheet. Pop them into the freezer for several hours, then transfer them to a freezer bag when they are frozen. To bake them, thaw them in a greased baking pan for 8-10 hours, or until they’ve thawed and doubled in size. Bake as usual and you have fresh rolls without the work.

Ingredients

• Sourdough discard – This gives the rolls a lovely little punch of flavor. When you see sourdough discard in a recipe, it is typically being used for flavor rather than to do any “heavy lifting.” This recipe uses yeast to make the dough rise.
• Water – Hydrates the dough. Tap water is just great.
• Sugar – Some quick energy for the yeast to get it all excited. Sugar also aids in flavor and browning of baked goods, and keeps them from drying out.
• Yeast – Our leaven of choice.
• Whole wheat flour – This recipe can be made with only all-purpose flour, but I like the 50% whole wheat ones best.
• All purpose flour – Nothing fancy here.
• Olive oil – This goes in the dough, to make it tender and tasty. I also drizzle some over the rolls after they come out of the oven.
• Salt – Bread won’t rise correctly or taste right without some salt. Table salt does the trick here.

Equipment

• Kitchen scale – The ingredients for this recipe are listed in grams, so you’ll need a kitchen scale to weigh out the ingredients. It saves a lot of dishes; just tare between each ingredient you add to the bowl. Ours is pretty basic and we’ve had it for years. If I was going to upgrade, I would probably go for this one.
• Stand mixer – We are KitchenAid devotees when it comes to stand mixers, but any mixer that handles dough well will work.
• Bench scraper – This works well for dividing the dough, but you can also break it apart by hand.
• Large cutting board – A good work surface if you choose to cut the dough apart, but not necessary if you divide the dough with your hands (which I usually do).
• Flour sack towels – These are great for covering dough as it rises.
• Baking pans/ skillet – The whole batch of rolls can be baked in two 9×13″ pans. They can also be baked in muffin pans, and 7-8 rolls will fit in a cast iron skillet.
• Silicone mats and baking sheets (if freezing) – We usually freeze part of the batch so we can have fresh rolls later on. The silicone mats we have work great to keep the little dough balls from sticking to the baking sheet.

How to make

1. Start by placing the mixer bowl on the kitchen scale and taring out the weight of the bowl.
2. Add 200 grams of sourdough discard, 500 grams of water, 40 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of active dry yeast to the bowl. Whisk it together using a whisk or fork.
3. Add 500 grams of whole wheat flour and 500 grams of all-purpose flour to the bowl.
4. Attach bowl to mixer and mix for about 2 minutes to combine. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. Return bowl to kitchen scale and tare out the weight. Add 120 grams of olive oil and 18 grams of table salt.
6. Return bowl to mixer and mix on speed 2 for 6 minutes.
7. Cover dough and let rest for 1 hour, or until doubled.
8. Admire the beautiful domed bowl of dough, then punch down and form into 24 rolls. Divide the dough in half, then half again, then again to form 8 dough balls. Split each of these dough balls into thirds (3 x 8 = 24).
9. Form each dough ball into a roll. These can be smooth and pretty if you pull the edges of the dough toward the bottom of the roll and pinch them together. Or you can go more of a rustic route and skip the smoothing – your choice.
10. Place the rolls in a baking dish of your choosing, then cover with a light towel and let rise again until doubled.
11. While rolls are proofing, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
12. When rolls have doubled and oven is preheated, bake rolls for 30 minutes. When rolls come out of the oven, drizzle the tops with some olive oil.
13. Cool slightly and serve.

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