Cabin Baking: Buttery Sourdough Pan Rolls

I fed my sourdough starter and ended up with too much to put back in the plastic jar I keep in the refrigerator. I hate to waste, so I decided to make some dinner rolls.

I found a recipe in Sunset Cook Book of Breads (Sunset Publishing, 1994), a cookbook that came from my mom’s collection. Mom loved to bake, even though Dad teased that he was First Cook in the family. The truth, was they shared cooking responsibilities, a habit Wayne and I have emulated.

Buttery Sourdough Pan Rolls

Sunset says, “The soft yeast dough for these rolls requires no kneading, yet it still results in moist, airy biscuits.” The reason is rolls are small, so gluten doesn't need to be strong enough to hold up the weight of a loaf. Rolls and biscuits  only need to have a uniform mixture.

As usual, I didn’t want a large batch just for the two of us so I cut the recipe in half. Sometimes this is difficult to do, but with this one it was easy except for the egg, which I left whole.

Ingredients:

1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (about 110°F)
2 cups flour
1/8 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
½ cup sourdough starter
¼ cup warm water (about 110°F)

Directions:

Sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let stand until foamy (5 min).

In large bowl, mix 1 cup of flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons of melted butter, starter, milk, and lightly beaten egg. Beat until smooth by mixer or hand (5 min).

Gradually beat in the remaining cup of flour. Because of the extra egg I used an additional ¼ cup flour to keep the mixture from sticking to the sides of the bowl. At the end, it was easier for me to use my hands to incorporate the last of the flour.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes).

Stir dough down. (At this point your can either refrigerate the dough to use in the next 3-4 days, or freeze the dough for future use).

For six rolls, coat a 6x8 baking pan with one tablespoon butter. Drop dough by large spoonfuls. Cover lightly and let rise in a warm place until puffy (about 30 minutes). The rolls will expand to touch each other.

Drizzle rolls with remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Bake in a 425°F oven until browned (15-20 minutes). Turn rolls out of the pan and pull apart to separate. Makes a dozen. Serve warm with butter.

Dough to freeze in parchment paper.

Even though I cut the recipe in half, I froze half for later. When I’m ready, I’ll thaw the dough at room temperature for 2 ½ to 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Then it’ll be ready to form it into rolls to rise the final time before baking.

Next time maybe I’ll make the whole batch and freeze even more for quick and easy dinner rolls to go with Wayne’s cabin deck BBQ entrées. -- Margy