I wanted a soft sub bun reminiscent of Jimmy Johns. This hits the mark and they are fun (and easy!) to make! This recipe will use a cup of discard for sourdough flavor, and commercial yeast for the rise.

These hoagie rolls/sub buns/whatever you want to call them will totally up your sandwich game. (Are you into really good deli sandwiches at home? I feel like this is a natural extension of good homemade bread. But maybe this is a totally unfounded assumption I have of sourdough people.)

A completely optional step, but one that adds so much good texture and little something extra special to these is the corn grits topping. The extra crunch is so good on the soft buns!

Ingredients

Probably you already have everything to make these!

Yeast - This is a discard recipe, so we're using dry active yeast here to get a good rise.
Sugar - Sugar makes these softer, helps them rise, makes them last longer, helps them to brown, and gives them a more rounded flavor. Sugar is kind of the MVP.
Water - The liquid of choice.
Sourdough discard - A cup of discard is in these rolls. It's a great way to use up lots of discard, and the discard gives them really good flavor. Just keep in mind the older your discard is, the more sour it will be. Give it a sniff before you use it!
Oil - I use vegetable oil, but any neutral oil will do.
Flour - I've made these with lots of different flour ratios, but my favorite is half all purpose and half bread flour. I think it gives them the perfect amount of chewiness. But if you want to do all all purpose or all bread flour, that will work just fine!
Salt - Coming at you having recently majorly miscalculated how much salt to put in a recipe and can tell you with renewed confidence - DO NOT FORGET THE SALT.
Corn grits - Optional, but so good! Sprinkle the rolls with corn grits before baking. The teeniest bit of crunch on the top is *chef's kiss* on these soft rolls.

How to Make Homemade Hoagie Rolls

These rolls are really easy to make! It always rocks my world a little bit when I use commercial yeast in a recipe - it goes so quickly!

Make the dough + let it rise.
Divide + shape the dough.
Let it rise again.
Brush with water + sprinkle with corn meal.
Score.
Bake.
Cool.
Eat.

Shaping Buns

Whatever method you like to use for breads you bake in a loaf pan will work here. You can see a photo step-by-step of how I do it in this post.

Sizing

You can make large hoagie buns by dividing the dough into 8 equal portions, or make smaller ones (think the kid-size sandwiches at Jimmy Johns) buy dividing them into 16. I like to do a combo of some big and some small.

What Kind of Sandwiches to Make with These

The sky is the limit, and really, if you have these rolls ready to rumble, you're already on your way to a top tier sandwich.

BUT, here are some ideas to get your sandwich juices flowing:

Cold cuts. Go to your favorite deli and get wild!
Grinders - I made THE viral Tick Tok grinder on these, and they did not disappoint! (They're the sandwich photographed in this post, and taking up approximately half of my camera roll). Cold subs, hot subs, they are all good on these rolls!
French dip sandwiches - Toast these so they hold up to all the dipping.
Philly cheesesteaks - You can't go wrong with a Philly, especially on these rolls.

THE tik Tok grinder on a sourdough sub bun

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5 from 20 votes

Sourdough Discard Hoagie Rolls

Soft hoagie rolls (AKA, sub buns) using sourdough discard! These are pillowy soft, so easy to make, and will totally up your sandwich game. I highly recommend you don't skip the corn grit topping - it's the perfect crunch on these soft rolls!

Makes 8 large hoagie rolls or 16 small rolls.

Servings:

Author: Mandy

Ingredients

21 grams (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
60 grams (¼ cup) sugar
420 grams (2 cups) warm water
236 grams (1 cup) sourdough starter discard at room temperature
70 grams (⅓ cup) vegetable oil
390 grams (2 ½ cups) all purpose flour
390 grams (2 ½ cups) bread flour
18 grams (2 teaspoons) salt
For topping: corn grits

Directions

Combine the yeast, sugar, water, starter, and oil in a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the flours and salt and mix until combined. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed until smooth - about 5 minutes. Cover and rise for 1-1 ½ hours, until roughly doubled in size.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 8 equal portions - about 133 grams each (or 16 portions if making mini rolls). Shape into loaves and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Cover and rise 45 minutes longer, until noticeably puffed up.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush loaves with water, sprinkle with corn grits (if using), and score lightly down the centers. Bake 18-20 minutes, until baked through to an internal temperature between 200 and 210 degrees and lightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
These rolls will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

Flour - If you prefer to use all all-purpose flour or all bread flour, feel free! I like to do half and half for the my preferred level of chewiness.

Oil - Any neutral oil will work here.

Really, I have too many pictures of this sandwich.

Sourdough Discard Hoagie Rolls

Ingredients