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soft sourdough honey butter rolls

Sourdough discard honey butter rolls

These sourdough discard honey butter rolls are the perfect way to repurpose your leftover sourdough discard. The recipe uses sourdough discard and tangzhong to create the softest, pillowy rolls that are delicious with any meal!
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Prep Time 45 mins
Cook Time 18 mins
Rest Time 2 hrs
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 16 rolls

Equipment

  • 9 inch x 9 inch baking tin
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Skillet

Ingredients
  

Tangzhong

  • 3 tbsp (23g) bread flour
  • 1/4 cup (60g) water
  • 1/4 cup (60g) milk

Dough

  • 1/4 cup (60g) milk, lukewarm
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp (7g) active dry or instant yeast
  • 2 cups (265g) bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup tangzhong (see above)
  • 1/2 cup (120g) sourdough discard (100% hydration)
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter, softened

Topping

  • 2 tbsp milk, for brushing before baking
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • zest of 1 orange

Instructions
 

Make tangzhong

  • In small skillet or pot, whisk together flour, milk, and water until smooth. Bring to simmer over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until mixture has thickened but is still pourable. It should take 5 – 10 minutes. Your whisk should leave a mark when dragged along the bottom of the pan.
  • Pour into a bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent a film from forming, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Make dough

  • In a small bowl, combine the warm milk, 1 tsp of sugar, and yeast. Stir and set aside for a few minutes until the yeast is frothy and active
  • In a large bowl, mix together the bread flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Add the sourdough discard, egg, and milk and yeast mixture, and tangzhong. Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attach, mix on low speed until just combined
  • While the stand mixer is running on low, add the softened butter piece by piece, until fully incorporated. Knead on medium - high speed for 10 - 15 minutes until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test
  • Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour
  • Grease or line a 9in x 9in baking tin. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured countertop. Divide into 16 equal pieces (about 43g each, if you want to be very precise). Shape each piece into a roll by gently pinching together the ends of the dough and rolling on the countertop into a ball. Place the rolls in the baking tin and cover. Let rise until puffy and doubled in size, about 45 minutes
  • Towards the end of the second proof, preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the tops of the rolls with milk, then place in the preheated oven on the middle rack and bake for 18 minutes until the tops are golden brown and make a hollow noise when tapped

Make the honey butter

  • While the rolls are baking, mix together melted butter, salt, honey, and citrus zest. Brush on top of the warm rolls and serve

Notes

  1. If you have a food scale, I strongly recommend using the weight measurements for this recipe as sourdough discard volume can vary depending on its activity
  2. Some other flavor ideas for the honey butter, if you don't want to add citrus zest:
    1. For honey garlic rolls, add 1 clove of minced garlic plus 1/2 tsp of italian seasoning. I like to cook this in the butter over the stove to help release flavor
    2. For honey rosemary rolls, add 1 tsp of chopped rosemary
  3. If you want to make a version without sourdough discard, please use my Japanese milk bread dough as a base and then add the honey butter
Keyword bread rolls, honey, sourdough discard