Crusty Sourdough French Rolls

Adapted from Dinner, then Dessert

Puffy and soft on the inside with a nice crunchy crust on the outside like a French baguette, these French rolls are delightful for serving with dinner but they’re also perfect for sandwiches or burgers.

My kids really really love good crusty French bread and until I stumbled across this recipe, I never knew just how to achieve that beautiful French bread crust. I was pleased to discover it’s not hard at all! All you need is a spray bottle full of water. The temperature of the water doesn’t seem to make much difference, so we just keep a spray bottle full of water in the kitchen at all times and some of this dough in the fridge, so whenever the fancy for fresh French rolls strikes (and with my kids, that’s pretty much every day), we have dough at the ready for baking!

My kids are a little spoiled … I mean who gets FRESH French rolls made specially for them almost every day? Since I rarely eat bread (as I’m watching my carbs), I have to admit I’m a little jealous of them. These rolls are SO good. They have just a very slight tang to them, not sour like sourdough sometimes can be and they don’t take as long to make as sourdough often does because I added yeast to make them rise faster.

How do you adapt a regular bread recipe to make it a sourdough recipe?

I adapted this from a regular white French roll recipe. To make any bread recipe that you love into a sourdough bread, simply add 1/2 cup (4 oz.) sourdough starter to the recipe and cut the active dry yeast significantly (or leave it out altogether), then add flour as needed to get the dough to the right consistency.

French bread dough has a very soft, almost liquid, consistency so that’s why I refrigerate the dough before shaping it. It makes the dough much easier to work with. Typically I split the dough into three parts, wrapping each piece loosely with plastic wrap and then another layer on the other side so that when the dough expands in the fridge (and it WILL!), there is room for it to do so without ripping the plastic or drying out. Occasionally a small pocket of dough will escape the plastic and get dried out. If this happens, simply pinch off the hardened, dried out bit of dough and discard it before shaping the rolls.

Then we can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 3 days and cook up fresh French rolls whenever we want them!

Crusty Sourdough French Rolls

★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
• Yield: 12 large French rolls 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 oz. (1/2 cup) sourdough starter
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 1/4 – 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• For oiling the dough: about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• For brushing the buns: 1 Tablespoon melted butter
• Spray bottle with cold water

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Instructions

1. In your stand mixer bowl, add the water, yeast, salt, sugar, sourdough starter, olive oil and 4 cups of bread flour. Stir together with a spoon. The dough will be VERY shaggy.
2. Set the stand mixer on speed 2 with the bread hook and knead for 5 minutes, adding flour just a bit at a time to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl. The dough should clean up the sides of the bowl and be just slightly sticky. If it’s too sticky, plop the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it around in the flour.
3. Form the dough into a ball, then oil it and set it back in the bowl. Cover and let rise until nice and poofy and roughly doubled in size. Split the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, wrap each one loosely in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
4. Line a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or lightly oil the pan. Preheat the oven to the lowest setting, then turn the oven off, but leaving the oven light on. This makes the perfect rising temperature for your dough.
5. Cut each piece of dough into 3 or 4 pieces, then shape into balls, pulling the top of the dough down and pinching it with your fingers at the bottom until the top is smooth. Set the buns on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and set in the oven to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
6. Bake at 400 F. for 9 minutes. Open the oven and, using a spray bottle, spritz with water 6 – 8 times. Cook 8 – 10 minutes longer or until the buns are nicely browned.

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Notes

You can also make hoagie style rolls or even a loaf of French bread or thin baguette, but you’ll need a French loaf pan.

You can also make these rolls by hand, simply by kneading the dough by hand rather than using the mixer. Allow a little longer for kneading time if prepping by hand.

Is it sourdough if you add yeast? I would contend that it IS sourdough because it contains sourdough starter, but if you’re concerned about adding yeast, then leave it out. Rise times will be longer without the yeast and your rolls will taste more “sour”.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 roll