Sourdough Dinner Rolls with Rosemary

Build the Levain:
In a clean jar, mix the sourdough starter, bread flour, and water.
Cover and set in a warm location (between 75-80ºF) for about five hours until it is at least doubled and bubbly.
Alternatively, skip this step and use 240g of active sourdough starter to mix in your dough.
80 grams Sourdough Starter, 80 grams Bread Flour, 80 grams Water
Make Yudane:
Immediately after making the levain, make the yudane. This will help make your dinner rolls extremely soft and fluffy.
Place the bread flour in a small, heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water on top of the flour.
With a silicone spatula, mix together the flour and boiling water until the flour is gelatinized and forms a thick paste.
Cover and let it cool until your levain is ripe.
116 grams Bread Flour, 116 grams Boiling Water
Mix the Dough:
Once the levain is ripe, pour all of the dough ingredients (including the levain and yudane) except the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with the bread hook attachment.
Mix on low speed for a few minutes until the flour is incorporated and the dough is rough and shaggy. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until the dough becomes more cohesive.
440 grams Bread Flour, 50 grams Granulated Sugar, 12 grams Sea Salt, 1 TBS Fresh Rosemary, Levain, Yudane, 118 grams Whole Milk, 3 Eggs
Add the Butter and Mix:
Slice the room-temperature butter into ten tablespoon-sized pieces.
Continuing to mix the dough on medium speed, add one tablespoon of butter to the bowl at a time until it is fully incorporated into the dough. Repeat with the remaining pieces of butter (about 10 minutes in total).
Continue to mix the dough for at least five more minutes until the dough passes the windowpane test, is silky smooth, and easily slides off of the dough hook.
142 grams Unsalted Butter
Bulk Fermentation:
Transfer the dough to a medium bowl, gather it into a round, cover it, and place it in a warm location to proof. At 78ºF, bulk fermentation takes about 4 hours total.
After one hour, perform one stretch and fold on the dough. Rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
Bulk fermentation is complete when the dough is doubled, domed in the bowl, and there are visible bubbles on top of and around the dough.
Overnight Proof:
Cover the bowl and place it into a refrigerator to proof overnight, 8-12 hours.
Divide and Shape the Dinner Rolls:
The next day, butter or grease your baking pan to prep it.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and use your hand to punch it down and degas it.
Weigh the dough and divide the total weight by 20. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 20 equal-sized pieces (mine typically are about 66 grams each).
On a lightly floured surface, press one piece of divided dough into a flat square. Pinch the four corners of the dough into the center of the square like a dumpling. Turn it over and use a hand to quickly roll it on the surface to create tension and create a sphere.
Repeat with the remaining rolls. Space the 20 rolls evenly in the baking pan in 5x4 rows.

At this point, you can tightly wrap the pan of rolls and freeze to make ahead. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then follow the instruction below on baking day. They will likely take longer to proof from frozen.

Final Proof:
Cover the baking pan and place in a warm location for the final proof.
At 78ºF, the final proof takes about 4 hours. The rolls are finished proofing when they've doubled in size and fill the pan. If you poke the rolls with a floured finger, they should leave a slight indentation and feel full of air.
Bake:
Near the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 375ºF (191ºC).
Make the egg wash by whisking one egg and a splash of water in a small bowl. Brush the rolls with the egg wash and sprinkle flaky salt and additional fresh rosemary on top of the rolls.
Bake the rolls for 25-28 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and. the internal temperature reads 200ºF (93ºC).
Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before pulling apart and enjoying them warm! For more shine, brush melted butter on top of the warm dinner rolls.
1 Egg, 1 tsp Water, 2 tsp Fresh Rosemary, Flaky Salt

To make ahead, bake the rolls and then freeze them tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and rewarm in a 350ºF oven.

Sourdough Dinner Rolls with Rosemary

Equipment

Ingredients

Levain

Yudane

Sourdough Dinner Rolls with Rosemary

Egg Wash and Topping

Instructions

Notes