Ready to try your hand at making homemade sourdough rolls? This is the simple same-day sourdough recipe you need to get started! These sourdough rolls are soft and wholesome, a perfect side dish to accompany a meal.

Sourdough rolls are super easy to make especially if you already know how to make a basic sourdough loaf or even a sourdough sandwich bread. All it really takes is taking a basic sourdough bread recipe and shaping it into smaller portions. 

If you want to make some rolls, but feel daunted or overwhelmed at the thought of trying a new recipe, start with a bread recipe you already have mastered then continue on with the instructions in this recipe for shaping and baking.

Adding sourdough into your life doesn’t have to be as complicated as most people make it out to be. You don’t need the perfect baking schedule or to even start it super early in the morning in order to bake it that same day. If you want to do that kind of sourdough, by all means, go for it, but if you are super busy, be encouraged that sourdough can be as simple as it needs to be for you and your life.

Recently, I start making my sourdough roll recipe (or any other sourdough recipe, for that matter) around 9 or 10 in the morning because that’s the most convenient time for me to do it. I let it sit for a couple of hours to rise, and then I shape it after lunch. It’s usually ready to bake by 4ish. This is perfect because then it is cooled down at supper time.

If you’d like to know more about how I do sourdough, I have a free sourdough ebook that you can find here.

NOTE: The sourdough rolls in the pictures are made with fresh milled hard red wheat. They are so dark due to the red wheat. Any wheat flour will work however. I used store bought white flour for the longest time before I switched to fresh milled flour.

Tips for making sourdough rolls

• If you are milling your own flour for this recipe, mill an extra 100g or 3/4c of flour so that you have plenty to feed your sourdough starter.
• You can use sourdough starter straight from the fridge. It doesn’t have to be freshly fermented as long as you allowed it to ferment for a couple of hours at room temperature after you feed it.
• You will need a little extra flour or oil if you prefer that in order to coat your hands to shape the dough.

What you need…

Here’s the list of the things you will need in order to make these simple sourdough rolls.

• Kitchen scale – Cup measurements are included if you prefer that over using a scale.
• Mixer – I use my bread machine.
• Spoon – For mixing the sourdough starter
• Fed sourdough starter 
• Baking dish – A casserole dish works well, but a cake pan would work in a jiffy or even a cast iron skillet.
• Basting brush, small bowl and fork – for the egg wash

Ingredients

• 100g (3/4c) Sourdough Starter
• 450g (3 3/4c) Flour – I used fresh milled hard red wheat which is why these sourdough rolls are a bit darker. I have used store bought pre-milled flour many times as well.
• 300g (2 1/3c) Water
• 3T Fat – I prefer single sourced olive oil, but butter or coconut oil are also delicious options. You can use whatever you have on hand.
• 2t Salt
• 1 egg – Optional. This is for the egg wash which will give your rolls a nice brown top, but it isn’t necessary.

Directions

1. Measure out all your ingredients.
2. Feed your sourdough starter the remainder of the flour as well as an equal part of water and stir it well. Leave it out to ferment for 3-4 hours before putting it back into the fridge. Refrigerating it will slow down the fermenting process so that you don’t have to keep feeding your sourdough starter on days that you don’t need it.
3. Mix well. For a stand mixer, mix for 10-15 minutes. For a bread machine, use the kneading option twice. For the stretch and fold method, stretch and fold your dough at least 3x every 30 minutes to 1 hour at least 4x in every stretch and fold session.
4. Cover with something that seals it like a lid or cling wrap.  If you don’t seal it in, it will harden on top from exposure to the air. Allow it to rise for at least 2-3 hours if not longer. The dough isn’t super picky so time the next step to when it is convenient for you.
5. Coat your hands with oil or flour and divide the dough into 8 portions for large rolls or 16 for smaller ones. 
6. Shape them into rolls by tucking the underside in so that the top stays smooth. Place them into a greased baking dish.
7. Cover and let it rise until it doubles. This usually takes about 2 hours on warmer days, but perhaps longer on cooler days so just check it every once in a while.
8. When you are ready to bake it, scramble up an egg in a bowl with a fork and brush it all over the tops of the sourdough rolls to give it that nice brown finish.
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Prick it with a knife or baking thermometer to see if it comes out clean.
10. Let it cool at least for 30 minutes before enjoying.