Soft, fluffy, and ultra-tall sourdough discard dinner rolls that can be on the table in 2 hours! I love these because they're as quick as sourdough rolls can possibly be, and there's no mixer required.
Why 2 hours?? Because it simply cannot be done well in 1.
I really, really tried to make this a 1-hour recipe. But I found that even using an excessive amount of commercial yeast, the dough did not have enough time to rise.
I timed myself every time, and while I could get rolls on the table in just under an hour, they were dense, dry, slightly underbaked, underproofed, and just overall underwhelming.
So can rolls be ready in an hour? Yes, it's possible. Will they be rolls people will be excited about eating and you'll be proud of making? Not really.
(And I'm not about to call rolls 1-hour unless they can actually be on the table in 1 hour.)
So give it an extra hour, for results that are *sublime*.
Made with discard!
The timing
Here's about how the two hours will go:
- Mixing + kneading the dough (10 minutes)
- First rise (40 minutes)
- Shaping into rolls (5 minutes)
- Second rise (20 minutes)
- Baking (40 minutes)
- Buttering the tops, sprinkling with salt, and putting them on the table (5 minutes)
Making rolls quickly
Mixing the dough
You'll start off this dough by melting butter in a pot with a lid (the lid will come into play later!) Once it's melted, take it off the heat and stir in the water and milk. This is one of my go-to tricks for getting a liquid mixture that's just the right temperature - the warm pan will heat up the milk, and the cold ingredients will cool off the butter.
What makes this recipe even faster though, is you'll mix everything right in the pan, and let the dough do its first rise in there too. It will still be semi-warm to give your rise a bit of a boost!
After you've made sure the butter/milk/water isn't too hot, add in the discard, egg, yeast, and sugar and whisk until smooth.
Then stir in 3 cups of flour and the salt. Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead - adding up to ½ cup of additional flour as needed - until smooth. This will take about 3-4 minutes.
Then, place the ball back in the pot and cover. Let it rise for 40 minutes.
Shaping the rolls
After the first rise, divide the dough into 15 or 16 pieces (depending on what size baking pan you're using - see below!) and shape into rolls. There are many ways to do this, but my favorite is to roll it up tightly, tuck the ends under, and roll against my work surface.
Baking pan options
I bake these in a 10-inch round pan and they are PACKED in there.
This results in rolls that grow up rather than out - which is good if you want really tall rolls!
If you prefer an all-around robust roll, divide your dough into 15 pieces rather than 16, and arrange in a 5 x 3 grid in a buttered 9 by 13-inch pan, and start checking for doneness at the 30-minute mark.
Most definitely I recommend using the best flakey salt on these, and an instant-read thermometer to make sure they're baked through.
PS - If you're all about dinner rolls, be sure to try these dinner rolls leavened with just a sourdough starter. They take much longer, but are even more flavorful!
2-Hour Sourdough Discard Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast (2 (¼ ounce) packets)
- 3 - 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- For topping: 2 tablespoons melted butter, flakey salt
Directions
- Melt the butter in a medium stockpot over medium-low heat. Once melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the milk and water. Feel the mixture to make sure it's not too hot, then stir in the discard, egg, sugar, and yeast.Add 3 cups of flour and the salt and mix to combine. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few times. Adding up to ½ cup additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Return to the pan and cover with the lid. Let rise for 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 10-inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 16 equal pieces. Shape into rolls and arrange in the prepared pan. Cover and leave to rise another 20 minutes.Bake 40-45 minutes, until golden brown and baked through. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the middle roll reads at least 200 degrees farenheit. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Serve warm!
Sue says
These are amazing and so GOOD! Question, would you be able to make night before and refrigerate unbaked rolls? Refrigerate after shaping and do second rise, bake the next day or shape, do second rise and then refrigerate.
mandyjackson says
Yes! I'd recommend shaping them then refrigerating. Let them sit at room temperature for a bit if they don't look puffy enough before baking!