Soft, flavorful dark sourdough rye bread is one of my favorite things to make. These Sourdough Rye Dinner Rolls were born out of a quest to find a fun, portable way to serve this delicious bread! Mission accomplished.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Pull-apart rolls are just really fun. They just are. And my kids loved these (and they’re not rye fans usually. We’re working on that) so this is an excellent way to diversify your family’s bread selection, if that’s a goal in your house, too.

This is also quite a simple dough to make- no mixer necessary. It comes together easily and features only one set of stretch-and-folds (rye dough doesn’t benefit much from these).

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Tools & Equipment for Sourdough Rye Dinner Rolls

Medium & large mixing bowls
Dough whisk or wooden spoon
Kitchen scale: required this time- and always a good idea when baking (I will die on this hill).
Muffin tin (12 cups)

Ingredients for Sourdough Rye Dinner Rolls

Ripe, active sourdough starter
Rye flour-for both the levain and the dough
Filtered water
Bread flour
Whole wheat flour
Fine sea salt
Caraway seeds
Molasses
Unsweetened cocoa powder- just adds flavor and richness, no chocolate

The Process: How to Make Sourdough Rye Dinner Rolls

Make sure you feed your sourdough starter so that you are beginning with a ripe, active, bubbly starter!

Make Your Levain

In a small glass bowl, mix starter, 120g rye flour and 150g cool water. Mix well and cover lightly. Leave on the counter to ferment for about 12 hours.

Mix Your Dough & Bulk Ferment

Before mixing your dough, check the levain for readiness. It should have risen appreciably, with a lot of small bubbles on the bottom and sides. The top may not show bubbles but will likely have more of a cracked appearance. If it is not ready leave it for another 30-60 minutes and check again.

Add the levain, bread flour, whole wheat flour, remaining rye flour, salt, caraway seeds, molasses, cocoa, and remaining water to a large mixing bowl. Use a spatula or dough whisk to mix thoroughly. The dough will be thick and sticky-resist the urge to add more flour. Cover and leave to rest at warm room temperature.

Do one set of gentle stretch-and-folds after one hour, then leave to rest for three more hours. After four hours, the dough should be visibly risen, and you may be able to see small bubbles throughout. If not, leave for 30 more minutes and check again.

Shape & Proof Rolls

Lightly grease or butter a muffin tin. Use damp hands to measure a 25g piece of dough. Gently form it into a ball and place in the tin. You don’t need to degas or punch down the dough- it will gently degas as you shape it. Repeat until each portion of the muffin tin contains three balls of dough (lay the balls gently next to each other-you don’t need to force them all to lay on the bottom). You will probably want to lightly dampen your hands a few times throughout, since this dough is pretty sticky.

Lightly cover the muffin tin and leave to proof at warm room temp for 1.5 hours.

Bake

Toward the end of the proofing time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When proofing time ends, the rolls should be puffy. Place in the oven and bake 18-22 minutes. Let rolls cool in the tin for a few minutes, then remove to a cooling rack or plate. To allow the crumb to fully set, let cool fully before eating. Enjoy with a generous pat of butter and your favorite soup!

Frequently Asked Questions

How Should I Serve and Store Sourdough Rye Dinner Rolls?

Sourdough Rye Dinner Rolls will keep for a couple of days at room temperature, in a bread box, a bag, or a sealed container. They also freeze really well.

Serve as you would any other dinner roll- in other words, with anything and everything. I really love these alongside salmon soup. They’re also really great at jazzing up a fresh salad.

Why Use A Levain Instead Of Plain Starter?

I tend to prefer a levain, or preferment, for my sourdough recipes for a couple of reasons. First of all, it allows me to maintain a smaller starter, since only a small amount of starter is typically needed to build a levain. Second, a levain allows the baker to have more control over the flavor of the loaf, while only maintaining a regular starter. For example, in this rye bread, my regular (non-rye) starter is used to build a large levain with rye flour, and then that levain is what ferments the dough. Essentially, the levain in this case becomes a one-time-use rye starter.