Sourdough Discard Soft Rolls

It was time to "feed"  the sourdough starter yesterday afternoon. So I used the excess starter, the discard to make the quick and easy recipe that yielded light and fluffy hot rolls ready for dinner. Yes. It’s summer with triple digit temps but I still bake using our countertop Breville oven that preheats in minutes and does not heat up the whole kitchen. 

I used an egg wash on the rolls/buns and then sprinkled
them with Everything Bagel Seasoning Mix. 

Sourdough Discard Soft Rolls      Makes 16 rolls or buns 

2/3 cup milk lightly warmed (105 to 115°)

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled  — Melt the butter before you begin on the recipe so it can cool and will be ready for step #2 

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup sourdough discard, ideally at room temperature

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

Egg wash for brushing rolls (mix an egg with a teaspoon of water)

1. To a stand mixer (or a bowl if you are kneading by hand), mix together the yeast, sugar and warm milk. Let it sit for a minute until it bubbles.
2. Add the room temperature melted butter. Make sure it is not too hot so it doesn’t kill the yeast. 

3. Add the sourdough discard, salt and cornstarch and mix to combine.
4. Begin mixing with your dough hook as you add in the flour a cup at a time. Reserve the half cup of flour to mix in toward the end and add as needed to prevent an overly sticky dough. A little stickiness is okay. 
5. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes in the stand mixer or 7 to 10 minutes by hand. 
6. Remove dough from mixer, shape into a ball and place into the bowl that has few drop or two of vegetable oil on the bottom.  Roll the ball around until it is completely covered in the oil. 
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size. If your sourdough discard is cold, it may take longer for the dough to rise, approximately 40 to 60 minutes.  To speed the process, place the bowl in a warm location or use the dough proof setting on your oven. 
8. Line the bottom of two 8 or 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Alternatively, prepare a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
Spray with pan release.
9. After the first rise, turn the dough out onto the counter and punch it down. Using a bench scraper or a knife, separate the dough into 16 equally-sized pieces.

10. Roll each piece into a ball and place eight dough balls into each prepared pan, for a total of 16 rolls.. 
11. Cover and let rise again in a warm place for about an hour until just about doubled in size, about 40 to 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350° before the rolls have finished rising. 
12. Brush rolls with an egg wash. Or omit and then brush warm rolls with butter.
13. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned on top.