These Crusty Sourdough Dinner Rolls are amazing. They are perfectly crusty without being tough, and the crumb is soft and fluffy. Best of all, they are no-knead! Tear one apart to dunk into soup or stew, or use it to cradle a veggie burger. Or just slather on some vegan butter and take a bite. A vegan, soy-free and nut-free recipe.
My sourdough starter had been sitting for a while in the refrigerator because it's been crazy-busy at work these past few weeks, and I have had no time to bake bread. So when I pulled the starter out to take a look at it this week I was a little worried. It was rather dry, but otherwise looked okay.
Warm weather is a good time to get anything yeasted going, and once I'd poured some distilled water into the dry starter and gotten it back to workable consistency, I was pretty confident that the unfed starter would make some great, crusty sourdough dinner rolls.
These sourdough dinner rolls are incredibly simple: you need three ingredients, really -- salt, sourdough, and flour. And since sourdough is just flour and water, make that two ingredients. There is an overnight rise involved, so that you get amazingly flavorful rolls, but other than that you don't need to do much work or any heavy-duty kneading. Mix your ingredients, punch down the dough and shape after the first rise, and bake after the second rise. Easy peasy.
There is no need to add any yeast to this recipe. The yeast in the sourdough is quite enough, thank you. Be careful when you score the rolls after the second rise-- this is the only part of this recipe that requires some care, or you could deflate your rolls. I use a serrated knife and I've seen others use razor blades. Whatever you use, make sure it is sharp.
On to the Crusty Sourdough Dinner Rolls now. If you make them, be sure to let me know.
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Looking for more vegan sourdough recipes made with a sourdough starter?
The Best Sourdough Sandwich Bread, no yeast
Vegan Sourdough English Muffins
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Crusty Sourdough Dinner Rolls, No Knead, No Added Yeast
Crusty Sourdough Dinner Rolls, no-knead and no added yeast
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 ¼ cups warm, filtered or distilled water
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup sourdough starter (made using my recipe-- link below. If using sourdough with a different hydration, you will need to adjust the amount of water)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until a consistent dough forms.
- Cover with cling wrap or a tight lid and let it stand overnight on the countertop, if warm, or in a cold oven with the light on.
- In the morning, punch down the dough and shape the dough into 12 equal-sized balls. Use flour on your palms to roll, if the dough feels sticky. Place the rolls 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle some flour on top of the rolls, cover with a kitchen towel, and set aside to rise for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- When the rolls have risen, score the top of each roll using a sharp knife. Make the cut fast, to prevent the roll from deflating. Scoring gives the gases that form in the bread escape while baking and helps the rolls rise.
- Place the rolls in the hot oven and bake 25-28 minutes or until the rolls are a light golden-brown. Remove from the oven and continue cooling on a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Your web site is just one of my top features for useful tips. Thanks for sharing
Thanks so much!
Can these be frozen after shaping and before baking? I bake sourdough loaves at least twice a week, and sourdough biscuits that I make from discard. I mix, cut , and freeze them airtight and bake when wanted. They always turn out great, can I do that with these?
Yes, certainly.
Should I freeze the small balls of dough before or after the second rise?
I have made these twice now. Very easy and they come out great. I added dill to the second batch and oatmeal for a different texture.
Hi there. My rolls didn't brown very much. A bit pale, but they are done, anymore and they would be rocks. What would cause them not to brown enough? I assume the denseness is not enough hydration? Can you post a video of what the dough should look like?
I've made these weekly now for a few weeks and they're delicious and super forgiving. I'm new to sour dough baking and living in the south with 90 to 100 degree temperatures, I couldn't commit to the duration of oven time for a sour dough loaf of bread...will try that in the cooler weather this fall. I use a 12 ct muffin tin to bake these in with a 12 ct muffin tin below it with hot water to provide some steam.
Can I use AP flour instead of bread flour?
Yes!
They came out great!! Very simple recipe, but lets the flavor of your starter shine
Like Rochelle, my rolls spread kind of wide when they were rising, but once I popped them in the oven they poofed right up.
I only cooked my for about 25 minutes then let them cool completely- the one I ate right of the oven was pretty tasty though.
Admittedly I gave mine an egg wash (I'm a non-vegan) which gave them a beautiful golden brown glow. I believe there are other vegan alternatives that will give the same effect (read soy powder and water?)
I have a starter that takes 10 hours to peak. My dough doubled overnight but when I shaped the rolls and let them proof for 3 hours they spread wider instead of rising. Is this because of my starter or something to do with hydration?
My anniversary was tonight and I couldn’t do an overnight...but since it’s SO HOT out and I was in a pickle, I went for it! Used fed starter, super bubbly, but same quantity. I only let it rise for a few hours, and I did some cool folds periodically...then I formed the rolls. Super sticky, but I Floured my hands and made 12 and formed them almost like little loaves (smooth tight top, pinched bottom together - I put chopped up jalapeños in half of them). I Placed them in an olive-oiled muffin tin let them rise again 2 hours, and then I split the tops, out olive oil and everything bagel seasoning on the non-jalapeño ones...baked at 425 for 25 minutes IN THE TIN and the rose and browned beautifully. They were amazing. I’m thrilled! Next time I’ll put in fridge overnight, but they were super flavorful and popular. Wish I could add a pic!!
So great to hear, Stephanie! Happy they turned out great for you.
Honestly I do t leave reviews often but I just got starting using a starter and these were my first shot at Rolls. I am on batch 3 and they are fantastic. I make a few modifications
First I tried the two temp recommendation and found the regular 425 for 25-30 min to be spot on with a pan of water underneath
This is what I changed
For me the rolls were way too sticky and hard to handle so I add 520 G of flour. I use 3% (15.6 g) salt as I felt like they were missing some flavor.
I also make these at night. Prove in the fridge and then before I go to work I get the dough out of the fridge so they are ready to rise and bake when I get home. Find the schedule that’s right for you. 8hrs on the counter is great and 2-3 on the baking sheet is perfect. I also found a razor blade the way to go on scoring them.
Thank you very much for this recipe it truly is awesome
can i put the daugh over night in fridge?
Yes!
I just baked these this morning after proofing overnight and I am sooooooo pleased with how they came out! I made 8 rolls rather than the 12 because I'm using some for meatball sandwiches tonight. I took another commenter's suggestion to turn the oven temp down to 375° halfway through baking. 10 mins at 425° then another ~11 mins at 375°. I could have probably baked for another 1-2 minutes but I was afraid of the crust getting too hard. I also had a pan of water in the oven on the lower rack. I got a tiny bit of splitting on the bottoms of my rolls but I think this was due to my scoring not being deep enough on top. 10/10 will bake these again!
Also, for reference I used AP flour and a 100% hydration starter and didn't need to adjust the original recipe. Only added a very small dusting of flour when shaping the rolls.
I also made 8, using the same method, but found they weren't big enough to make full-sized sandwiches. Still tasty, though!
I bake alot and also can't find bread flour anymore, but I did find a huge bag of vital gluten at a reasonable price on Amazon. You can add a tbs of that for every 2-3 cups of AP flour and make your own bread flour. If you end up with a 4lb bag like me, you can also try your hand at making seitan from the gluten.
Started these last night and baked this morning. When I 'formed' the rolls this morning and I was really worried because the dough was very sticky - I had to really flour my hands well to make the rolls. Followed comments about placing pan in oven and adding water for steam, lowered the oven temperature to 375 after 15 minutes because I thought they were browning to quickly.
They are beautiful and delicious! Thank you for this recipe! I wanted to add a photo but don't see how 🙂
I use a 100% hydration starter and can see from your page link that you do not. I am new enough to bread baking that the idea of adjusting how much water or flour to your recipe in order to achieve the same result is daunting, Plus, I suck at math. I’d really appreciate your helping me with the adjustments. I did see on a bread forum that someone with a 100% hydration starter consistently uses your exact recipe, but I’d like to give myself the best chance at success and ask for help directly. We use my starter discard often, the starter itself less often in an effort to bake a variety of breads, so a roll recipe that isn’t a yeasted, enriched dough would be great. Thank you. Stay safe.
I am wondering. Is there any sweetener in this recipe? Or did you forget to add it? Thanks
No.
Can you use all purpose flour instead of bread flour?
what is the purpse of sugar in your reciepes ? And what would happen if you left it our or used less.
I am enjoying you web-site and all the sourdough receipes.. .
Thanks
Hi there, can I use wholemeal flour? And my starter was with different recipe, how do I workout what sort of adjustments to make? My starter is 50gm rye 50gm wholemeal wheat flour and 50gm steerer with 100gm of water.. I'm turning to figure out what adjustments should I make to enjoy these yummy buns.. Thx ?
Can they be frozen? If so, from freezer to oven for hot rolls to serve.
After mixing the ingredients, how long can the first rise last. Is 8 hours best or can it go for 12? Just trying to find the best option. My starter has been cooking a few weeks and I want to give this a try!
Eight is best. For longer rises refrigerate.
These looks great! How large are they? Are they big enough to slice in half and use for a hamburger bun?
They aren't as big as hamburger buns. You can try this soft sourdough rolls recipe for that: https://holycowvegan.net/soft-sourdough-rolls/
Hi its not my first time doing it and it is delicious we all love it!!!! Can I freeze it after baked??
Hi! I’ve made your no knead sourdough bread and it is so yummy! I want to make these rolls and wondered if I could freeze the dough after the overnight rise and do the 2 hour rise when thawed and ready to bake at a later date?
Thank you!
Yes, that's fine!
Thanks Lorrie I will try these buns
Hi! I'm a newbie to bake with starter. Thanks for sharing your recipes, my question is if I can use all purpose flour instead of bread flour (since I can't find at stores yet) thanks!
Yes!
Thank you so much for replying!! I'll go ahead and give it a try.?
I bake alot and also can't find bread flour anymore, but I did find a huge bag of vital gluten at a reasonable price on Amazon. You can add a tbs of that for every 2-3 cups of AP flour and make your own bread flour. If you end up with a 4lb bag like me, you can also try your hand at making seitan from the gluten.
Hi! I'm a newbie to bake with starter. Thanks for sharing your recipes, my question is if I can use all purpose flour instead of bread flour (since I can't find at stores yet) thanks!
Yes, absolutely.
My rolls are a little dense. Wondering if the starter should have been used right after feeding, or if it should have been the discarded portion? I did the discard, assuming that was standard, and it’s still dense.
You need a well fed starter for this one--discard won't have the strength needed to give the rolls a good rise.
Hello! I was hoping to do a cold proof for the 2nd rising (you offer 2 hours as sufficient). How long would a cold proof need to be for that rising?
About eight hours.
Greetings from NZ. I made these yesterday and although the centers are perfectly acceptable, my ‘crusty’ crust was hard. Someone mentioned in an earlier comment (that I now can’t find ?) about their crust being hard and the bottoms split. Bingo, that’s my experience. I didn’t knead the dough much at the beginning (maybe not enough but I am new to sourdough and I have read a lot about ‘light’ handling). Thank you.
Did you slash the rolls on top. That should prevent the bottoms from splitting. The gases in the sourdough need an outlet when they are in the oven.
Do they freeze well?
Yes!
Thanks for this recipe. They turn out great. For those that may feel that they burn the bread easily I put another pan underneath with water to allow for steam and keep moisture. Worked great. FYI I did leave that water pan as I heated the oven to give an initial steam.
Great feedback, thanks!
My starter is consistent of half a cup of water, and a little over 3/4 cup of flour... how do I adjust the recipe (amount of water) to match my starter?
Great recipe! Made a few minor adjustments. Added more flour until the dough wasn't sticky anymore. Made 8 buns and baked in 2 batches for 20 minutes each. Thanks!
Great to hear it worked for you! Do keep in mind that if you add too much flour your rolls could turn out dense--you need more hydration for an airier roll.
Can this be done in a cooker. I don't have an oven. Can we add little sugar to thus. Thank you.
So delicious, no problem with them rising nor being too gooey HOWEVER... Both batches I have made burn on the bottom... I moved the oven rack up to see if that helped but it didn't... Any tips or thoughts?
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!.
Hi Ashley, ovens are temperamental and it's possible yours is heating too much. Always bake the bread in the middle rack. You could try reducing the oven temp to 375 for the last 10 minutes.
What do you consider a hot oven. I did not see a bake at temperature
It's in step 5--425 degrees F
A few other tips you could try:
1) place an additional oven rack in the slot directly underneath the rack you are cooking your rolls on; then place a baking pan (or two together) on that rack to deflect some of that heat from underneath you baking pan.
2) use multiple layers of parchment paper and/or coat that bottom of the pan with coarse cornmeal — if you don’t want that rolls to have the cornmeal baked in (put it under a layer of parchment)
Try putting corn meal on the bottom of pan then a piece of parchment paper put your rolls on that and give it a try. Get a thermometer for your oven to make sure it’s heating to the right temperature. If not and depends on your oven you might need to calibrate it to the right temp .
I made these for Easter dinner. I think my starter hydration is higher, as the dough was very wet and needed more structure. Although they came out a little flat, I will make again and adjust the flour, as they were delicious!!
Mine came out amazingly with my starter, but as above were a bit flat. The crust and texture is astounding, thanks!
I love finding no knead recipes!
I proofed mine in the IP, which is 4 hours on the yogurt setting. So I started around 8:30 am, and they were ready for 3 pm Easter dinner. Followed the rest as stated, and delicious! Loved the crust.
What proofing temperatures would you advise?
my overnight dough resembles slime- what went wrong?!!
Your starter could have had too much hydration or you didn't knead long enough.
I had a similar problem, it was probably a combination of higher hydration and not enough mixing/kneading. If you could edit the recipe to have a little more detail on what a "consistent dough" looks and feels like that would be super helpful to know whether flour amount needs to be adjusted. Thanks!
Most likely it's over-proofed. Depending on the temperature in your house, overnight may be too long if it sits out on the counter.
I did these in the evening about 6pm. By 9 the dough had over doubled so I punched it down again. By 12 it had done so again, so I did again, but it didnt fully puff up after that. I got up early to make the rolls (sticky) but am afraid the dough over proofed. Is there something I can do to avoid in the future?
Sounds like you punched it down twice and let it rise three times. This bread needs two rises. Please follow instructions closely or you won't get the correct results.
I'm so excited to stumble upon your page and cant wait to try this out. Question, do u reckon this will work in an airfryer? No Oven during quarantine. If airfryer friendly, Reckon what temp and duration for airfryer pls?
These are now a household staple! A crispy crust and a soft sourdough center, they’re perfect for family barbecues!
So great to know!
Do these freeze well after they’ve been baked?
I want to bake sour dough rolls today. What must I do so that I can have homemade rolls tonight?
Can this recipe be used to make a single loaf? If so, how long would it bake? My dough is resting overnight in the oven with the light on. Came together nicely using my Kitchenaid with dough hook.
This was the first recipe I ever made with my new sourdough starter and they turned out perfectly! I will be coming back to this recipe again and again.
Awesome!
Can I make these with all purpose flour? That's what I have and trying to avoid stores.
Yes, you can use all purpose!
I am in the same boat, I only have AP flour and it is impossible to find bread flour nowadays due to all the baking going on. My starter is on Day 3 so I have several days before I can test it. Due to social distancing, I will be making and eating these alone and would like to halve the recipe, partly to reduce the amount of bread and partly because I don't want to have wasted flour if my starter fails me and I end up with little rocks. Will halving the recipe still work ok?
I don’t see why not!!
I freeze my bread/rolls, they come out great! It’s an excellent way to preserve homemade bread/rolls
Thanks for another excellent sourdough recipe, Vaishali! I was hoping to avoid going to the store during the pandemic madness, and knew you'd have a good recipe for rolls on here. This one was so easy, and is another great use for all that starter discard. It literally took less than 15 minutes of prep time, including mixing the dough the night before and forming the rolls the next morning.
This is a great recipe. I've been making sourdough loafs for a while and wanted to try making rolls. It worked perfectly first time. Thanks.
Baked those today - they are wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.
Just made your sourdough dinner rolls. What a surprise ,went into the oven quite flat but soon sprung up. I rested my dough overnight in the fridge. Took it out at 7,30am and folded dough a couple of times then shaped them after resting for 3hrs baked them and wow. Only thing i will do next time i will make 8 instead of 12 so we can have them for lunch.wish i could post a pic.
Do you stretch and roll like the sourdough bread - each roll individually.
Going to try baking rolls for first time.
Thanks for the tip! I’m making these tomorrow but I too, want them for lunch rolls. I’ll make 8 instead.
Unbelievably good !
Weird question..
Above, it offers to convert from US Standard to Metric. But, it's a change from volumetric to gravimetric, and I was wondering which way the recipe was created? Just used to baker's percentages by grams and while they're baking beautifully as we speak, i was wondering how it originated so I can adapt it going forward.
Cheers!
RBG
Could you use gluten free flour?
Hello!
Newbie sourdough baker here with a question: in an earlier comment, someone asked about using unfed starter for these, and you said it would work. Does that mean sourdough discard would also work if it's relatively recent discard?
Thanks in advance for your answer. These rolls sound delicious, and I'm excited to try making them to go with our Christmas dinner.
-Sarah
Hi Sarah, sourdough discard when you are just beginning your sourdough starter will not work because it's not yet strong enough.
Ok. Thanks! Just thought I'd ask.
Wonderful!! Wish I could post a pic, they came out perfect. Thank you!
Do these freeze well? Has anyone tried that?
Can these rolls be made in a dutch oven?
Yes, if you can fit them.
I made these this morning! I never thought I would be able to bake sourdough in a home oven, not using a Dutch oven! I only needed to add a bit more water. I did 3 stretches, formed, then into the fridge overnight. Took out about 6:00 a.m. and was having my first roll for breakfast couple of hrs later! I really liked these rolls and so did my office? Thank you for sharing.
I'm making these a second time in the run up to Thanksgiving in hopes of being confident in my ability to serve them then. First batch, rose beautifully but was super sticky as another user noted. (I'm a bread novice, so please judge my lack of skills and not the recipe based on this).
I ended up adding an extra 1.5c flour, bit the rolls turned out dense (probably from over mixing).
I have the second batch going, and I used the stand mixer only to incorporate the ingredients and hand kneaded as another commenter suggested. This looks more like dough and less like batter and I am hopeful this batch will be an improvement.
Comments I can make about the recipe despite my shortcomings as a baker:
The rolls have a beautiful sourdough flavor and just the right amount of crunch to the outside and moisture on the inside. I'm looking forward to making these often.
Turned out beautiful....I made 12 of them this morning and we have 4 left for tomorrow - we couldn't resist them - are then between meals....highly recommend!!!thank you Vaishali!!!
These rolls turned out great. Very easy. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
How much time is your "overnight"? Can the first rise ever be too long?
8-10 hours.
I made this a few days ago, it was great! What I did differently was adding some walnuts luxury!
I did reduce the temp. to 200 degree without longer baking time to make it softer and less chewy. .
Could you let the first rise go longer? Say until afternoon?
This recipe is great. Everybody in the family gathers around when the buns come out. Thank you. I've been making these almost every day since I discover this recipe.
How much should I work the dough when forming into balls? MIne came out tough on the outside. Maybe I worked the dough too much.
I made these twice over the holidays and they came out great both times. Wonderful sourdough flavor and texture. They rose beautifully (I used fed starter from the night before). This will be my go to quick and easy rolls for the future. Thank you, Xenia
Is the dough supposed to be incredibly wet and sticky? After letting it rise overnight, the consistency is almost like batter... 1 and 1/4 c water seems like a lot.
It shouldn't be that wet. Is it possible your sourdough could have been too runny?
It’s my personal call that maybe the dough could use a little kneading. It’s a quick way to know if the dough is oversaturated and also will help with the “density” issue described by another baker.
How did you recover? Mine seems very wet as well.
Hi Vaishali,
Made these last week. They tasted really good but they split at the base instead of the top where I scored so I have to solve this problem. They also didn’t spring in the oven which means they were quite dense. Didn’t share these with the neighbours!!! I will try again soon. Today I am making the herby garlicky focacia, I will let you know how it goes.. Thank you for the recipes.
Hello! I recently found your blog when looking for a vegan sourdough sandwich bread. I've made it twice and so love it!
For this recipe are you using unfed starter? I usually feed my starter the night before I plan on baking, allowing it to sit out overnight and grow in size. Should I skip that step for this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Colleen, Yes, unfed starter is fine here -- no need to feed it the night before.
Can I make this in a table top oven?
Hi Shobhana, I would think so, especially if you have one that distributes heat evenly.