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.
Looking for more vegan sourdough recipes made with a sourdough starter?
- No-knead Sourdough Bread
- The Best Sourdough Sandwich Bread, no yeast
- Vegan Sourdough Biscuits
- Vegan Sourdough English Muffins
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 teaspoon 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.
Recipe notes
Love these crusty sourdough rolls? Check out more vegan sourdough bread recipes on Holy Cow!
Abra
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?
Vaishali
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.
Shobana Segran
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?
Emily Leishman
These are now a household staple! A crispy crust and a soft sourdough center, they’re perfect for family barbecues!
Vaishali
So great to know!
Samantha
Do these freeze well after they’ve been baked?
Linda A Mckaskle
I want to bake sour dough rolls today. What must I do so that I can have homemade rolls tonight?
Laurie Furry
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.
Natasha
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.
Vaishali
Awesome!
Audry
Can I make these with all purpose flour? That's what I have and trying to avoid stores.
Vaishali
Yes, you can use all purpose!
Courtney
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?
Maria
I don’t see why not!!
Cara
I freeze my bread/rolls, they come out great! It’s an excellent way to preserve homemade bread/rolls
sean
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.
Paul B
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.
Anonymous
Baked those today - they are wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.
Mary
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.
Margaret
Do you stretch and roll like the sourdough bread - each roll individually.
Going to try baking rolls for first time.
Cara
Thanks for the tip! I’m making these tomorrow but I too, want them for lunch rolls. I’ll make 8 instead.
Kathy
Unbelievably good !
RBG
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
Amy Wahl
Could you use gluten free flour?
Sarah P
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
Vaishali
Hi Sarah, sourdough discard when you are just beginning your sourdough starter will not work because it's not yet strong enough.
Sarah Pennington
Ok. Thanks! Just thought I'd ask.
Robin kouri
Wonderful!! Wish I could post a pic, they came out perfect. Thank you!