I have made these rolls every week of my life for fifteen years. We use them for everything. They are not authentic, artisan style sourdough. But they are delicious, beautiful and foolproof. Yes, when I make these, I use a pinch of instant yeast. You can leave it out and just extend the rising times.
There is a time and a place for recipes involving many tools with French names. This is not it. This recipe is for when you just want some really good rolls. They have a crisp crust, soft interior, and good flavor. There is a slight sourdough tang, but it is totally undetectable by my kids. More of just a depth of flavor. They’re the perfect sandwich roll! It only took me a million different tries to get this recipe right. I really hope you like them.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need
I’ve made these every which way…with the yeast, without it, with all-purpose flour, etc. I recommend that you make them exactly as written, but I’ve included notes about what substitutions you can make.
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Main Ingredients:
- 7 ounces active sourdough starter (1 ¼ cups / 200 grams) should be bubbly and pancake batter consistency
- 13 ounces bread flour (2 ½ to 3 cups / 370 grams) bread flour is important to get the a crusty, chewy texture. If you are using all purpose flour, the texture won’t be quite the same, and you’ll need to use a little more flour.
- 6.5 oz water (¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon / 185 grams)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon yeast – yes, even though it’s sourdough! This helps with consistent rise and texture
For Assembly:
- Cornmeal for dusting
- Extra flour for dusting tops of rolls
As written, this recipe makes 8 large sandwich rolls or 12 smaller dinner rolls.
It doubles quite well, but you’ll likely need to bake in batches because you need one rack for the steam and one for the rolls.
If you’d like to double (or triple!) the amounts, use the 2x or 3x button on the recipe card at the very bottom of this post.
Instructions
Let’s do this! It’s easy!
Mixing the dough
Weigh out your ingredients with a digital scale and add everything except the yeast and salt to a bowl.
Stir with a spoon to form a rough, slightly dry looking dough. If you are used to baking artisan sourdough, the dough will probably seem very dry to you. Since we are forming it into rolls, it needs to keep its shape. So the texture is more like a traditional bread dough.
Allow it to rest, covered, at room temperature, for 20-40 minutes, then come back and knead in the salt and yeast.
Kneading Options
Knead the dough by hand, bread machine, or stand mixer with dough hook until smooth and slightly sticky. The dough is done kneading when it passes the windowpane test. All you need to do is take a golf ball-sized piece of dough and stretch it out. Look for translucent “windows” in the dough. If the dough tears instead of stretching thin, it’s not ready yet.
By hand: fold the dough in half, then punch it down. Stretch it out again, fold, and punch. Repeat this process for at least five minutes, until the dough is stretchy and smooth. You should be able to pull it flat without tearing it.
With a mixer: Place the dough in your mixer bowl with the dough hook and let it run on low for five to ten minutes.
Bread machine: Simply add everything to the bucket and select the dough cycle. When the machine beeps, you’ll have a risen dough that’s ready to shape. I use this method the most.
After a few minutes of kneading, the dough may be a little sticky, but it should not be wet or impossible to handle. Add more flour, a tablespoon or two at a time, until it forms a workable dough.
The first rise
Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour in a warm place, such as a slightly warmed but turned-off oven, until doubled in size.
Shaping and rising again
Then divide and shape into 8 rolls, placing them on a parchment- lined baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
Cover with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise for 45- 60 minutes at room temperature. Halfway through the rising time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Put an empty, rimmed baking sheet on a lower rack.
When the rising time is up, the rolls should be puffy.
Baking With Steam
Pour 1 cup of water on the empty baking sheet to create steam.
Bake for 17-21 minutes until browned. The baking time varies widely with this recipe because of the steam. The steam lowers the oven temperature and depending on how quickly your oven gets back up to temperature, some ovens will bake much faster than other.
Cool on a wire rack.
Storage Instructions
These freeze very well. After cooled to room temperature, pack them up in a freezer bag and they will keep fine for at least a month.
To reheat rolls without drying them out, defrost for a minute or so in the microwave at the defrost setting. Then wrap them in foil and place them in a warm (not hot!) oven for 5-10 minutes.
Customizing this recipe
This is a reader favorite and you all have made it many different ways!
Garlic-herb version: add a full tablespoon of dried herbs (any blend equaling one tablespoon), then half a teaspoon of garlic powder to the dough and knead it all together.
Seeded sourdough rolls: add seeds the dough and press some on top.
Italian sourdough rolls: slightly less water for even more chew and sesame seeds on top!
Questions and Troubleshooting
Yes! Cover the dough or the shaped, unbaked rolls very tightly with greased plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge. Then pick up the process when you’e ready.
Yes, divide the dough into 6 portions for big sandwiches or 12 for smaller dinner rolls. Adjust the baking time ups or down a few minutes.
It’s okay :). Just use the cup measurements, but start with less flour and add more if the dough feels too wet. The dough should clear the bowl sides but still feel slightly tacky.
They should sound hollow when you tap the bottom and be golden brown all over. If they’re pale, give them another few minutes.
You probably used all-purpose flour or measured it differently. Add some more flour. You’ll be okay.
Printable Recipe
Crusty Sourdough Rolls
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups active sourdough starter 7 ounces
- 2½-3 cups bread flour 13 ounces
- ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon water 6½ ounces
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon yeast
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except salt and yeast. Combine the starter, flour, water, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir well, using your hands if needed to incorporate all ingredients. The mixture may look dry but will feel slightly sticky to the touch. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for thirty minutes.
- Knead in the salt and yeast. Add the salt and yeast on top of the dough, and knead until smooth, stretchy, and elastic. (If using a bread machine, set it on the dough cycle. For a stand mixer, set it on low about 5 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead for about 10 minutes.) Check the consistency of the dough after a few minutes of kneading. It may seem sticky, but should clear the sides of the bowl and should not be too difficult to work with. If it seems very wet, add more flour a few tablespoons at a time.
- The first rise. When the dough is kneaded, cover it and put in in a warm place to rise between 60-90 minutes, until nearly doubled in size.
- Shape the rolls. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or a cutting board. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or oil and flour. Dust the top of the parchment with cornmeal. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, either by dividing into half, then quarters, then eighths, or by. using a kitchen scale. Shape the pieces into rolls by pinching the bottoms. Place on the cornmeal dusted parchment. Rub the tops with flour. Slash, if desired, using a lame or sharp knife.
- The second rise. Cover the rolls with heavily greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, until puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place one rack in the center, and one in the lower middle area. Place an empty baking sheet on the lower rack to get hot while the oven preheats.
- Bake with steam. When the oven has heated and the rolls have risen, pour one cup of water on the hot baking sheet to create steam. (It may buckle, this is ok.). Place the rolls inside and bake for 17-21 minutes, until browned outside. Cool rolls on wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Love,
If using active dry yeast, when would I add it since I need to use water with it? I’m confused!
hey candice, just throw it in there. promise!!! https://heartscontentfarmhouse.com/activating-yeast/
Great recipe. My 1st good sourdough recipe that came out as a new baker to sourdough.
Hi Katie! Still making this recipe and loving it! Has it ever been tried to make this recipe into a loaf? I wonder if it would work out?
hey kat! I think it would work! it will be a crusty top. I have a recipe for white bread with a similar crusty top, try following the shaping/ baling instructions here: https://heartscontentfarmhouse.com/farmhouse-white-bread/ let me know!
This is a terrific recipe for sourdough rolls. If you are a bit uncertain about the liveliness of your starter, that little bit of yeast helps to achieve a good rise. Although I am very confident of my vigorous starter, this recipe is my go-to for everyday rolls that are great for lunches or snacks, and come together very quickly. I use the dough cycle of the bread maker, and do a few stretch and folds before shaping. These rolls keep well for up to 5 days, and have a good sour tang and robust flavour. I score my risen rolls just before putting them in the oven for a bit of a pronounced ear. The steam step is so easy and ensures a blistered and crispy crust every time.
Is it possible to double this recipe?
yes! use the slider on the recipe card to double the number of servings and it will adjust the ingredients.
These were so yummy!! Thank you! Has it been tried to double or triple the recipe?
I made these rolls and they came out exactly how they said they would come out. soft in the inside and crusty on the outside. Perfect!!!!
Thank you for the recipe! May I use a Dutch oven instead steaming the oven? I never do it the right way.
Thank you!
yes, if the rolls will fit, that will work! 🙂
Easy, as advertised, and delicious!
happy thanksgiving kathy! thanks for the comment 🙂
I was looking for a crusty roll recipe for Thanksgiving and kept seeing a lot of soft rolls and finally stumbled upon this one. I made it for the first time yesterday and they were perfect! Family approved. Thank you for the very easy to follow instructions.
hi sarah! So happy to hear this! happy thanksgiving 🙂
Would I be able to make the dough the day/ night before and refrigerate to bake in the morning? Thanks!
Yep! Just cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Super tightly! :). Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi! I would love to print this recipe out and use it but the print button does not work! Can you add a printable recipe?
hi lynn it is working on my end. try refreshing and giving it a second to load. it opens in another window so if your browser blocks pop ups sometimes that will cause trouble.
I used these to make sourdough pizza dough and it worked like a charm! It was a little more dense than standard pizza dough but my family loved it!
great idea samantha! 🙂
Nice recipe.
I can not find Active Sourdough Starter – Can you recommend a brand of Active Sourdough Starter to use in your recipe?
hey tom, look on etsy for a san francisco starter. king arthur flour has a nice one as well. you’ll need to feed it 1-2 times and you’ll be up and running 🙂
So easy, and amazingly delicious. Perfect balance of sourdough and yeast roll! New go to!
thanks so much for letting me know dawn! glad you enjoyed it.
Great flavor and perfect crumb every time!
Made these tonight and they turned out fabulous! What a quick easy way to get that sourdough flavor without all the fuss and time! Great directions, easy to follow, thank you!
hi carol! thank you so much for letting me know! enjoy your rolls 🙂
Do you bake these on a preheated pizza stone or on a cookie sheet?
Thank you in advance.
A cookie sheet
I can’t stand your site because of the intrusive google ads! And I don’t even use google as my search engine. I give up.
welcome to the internet. the only way to avoid that is to use cookbooks or paid resources for your recipes.
Love this recipe! I make them weekly. 😉 My dad is the baker of the fam and he is so picky. I had him try these. He ate half the batch in less then 24 hours. His approval is tough to get. He told me he won’t be able to button his pants if I keep baking them for him.
lol andrea that’s so cute! glad he approves! 😊