The Best Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls Recipe
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You’ll love these delicious sourdough oatmeal dinner rolls! They are full of flavor, made with sourdough goodness, and so easy to make.
Soft and tender sourdough oatmeal dinner rolls have whole grain oat goodness in every bite, making them the perfect addition to any meal. After you’ve tasted these, you’re sure to want a pan or two for your Thanksgiving table. But don’t just save them for the holidays, the rolls make for a great side with this Quick and Easy Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup.
Making oatmeal sourdough bread is a simple way to add whole grains to your diet and one of my favorite ways to sneak in extra fiber for my family. You can hardly tell the oats are there since they’re cooked before making the dough, making this the ideal dinner roll for the picky eaters in your home.
Traditional sourdough bread has so many great health benefits that I’ve been slowly working my way through my favorite bread recipes to transform them into sourdough recipes. The journey has been filled with delicious bread and produced some pretty amazing things!
This is a great recipe because there’s no need for a Dutch oven or any special equipment, making it easy for anyone to make them. Not only that, but the addition of oats makes this high hydration dough easier to work with than other high hydration doughs.
What is Sourdough Oatmeal Bread?
Sourdough oatmeal bread is sometimes referred to as oat porridge bread or oat porridge sourdough bread if using a sourdough starter to leaven the dough. By cooking the oats before adding to the dough, you’re imparting more moisture to the bread dough and the result is a creamy, custard-like bread that pairs with almost anything.
Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls Ingredients
- Water
- Rolled Oats
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Salt
- Active sourdough starter
- All-purpose flour
Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls Instructions
Mixing the Dough
Feed the sourdough starter 6-8 hours before mixing the dough.
Add 2 cups of cold water, 1 cup oats, and 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium pot on the stove over medium-high heat, reducing the heat to medium-low once the water starts to boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. The oatmeal will soften and puff up as it cooks. Once the oats are cooked and the oatmeal is thick, remove from the heat and stir in the salt and brown sugar.
Pour the cooked oats into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool until warm. Stirring the oats will incorporate some air and cool the oatmeal mixture faster, roughly taking 10-15 minutes. Stir in the active starter when the oatmeal has cooled to a lukewarm temperature.
The oatmeal mixture needs to be at the right temperature before adding the sourdough starter. Too hot, and it’ll kill all of the yeast in the starter. Too cold, and it delays the dough from rising as quickly as it could.
Next, stir in the flour. The dough will be thick and shaggy dough at this point. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Stretch and Folds
Stretching the dough helps develop the gluten which increases elasticity and strengthens the dough and also incorporates some air into your dough, producing more volume.
Grab the edge of the dough and lift it straight up, stretching the dough. Then fold it over onto itself, pressing it into the middle of the dough. Rotate the bowl a quarter of a turn and repeat. Continue until all of the dough has been folded and it starts to feel tight and resistant, generally 10 -15 stretch and folds. The dough will break easily when stretched at this stage.
This completes one set of stretch and folds. Allow to rest for 30 minutes and continue with the next set of stretch and folds, with a total of 3 sets. By the last set the dough will be smooth and elastic.
Bulk Fermentation
Cover the large bowl with plastic wrap or a large plate and let the dough ferment at room temperature until the dough doubles in size. I like to do this step overnight. Temperature will play a role in how long it takes for the dough to double, taking longer if the kitchen is cooler.
Second Rise
The next morning, grease the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan or line it with a piece of parchment paper. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough into 12 equal portions using a bench scraper or sharp knife. Each ball of dough weighs roughly 110-116g. Shape each piece of dough into dough balls, pinching the seams together and placing the rolls seam side down into the prepared pan.
Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and place the pan in a warm place for its second rise. The rolls will look puffy and have risen by 50%, filling in the gaps between the rolls.
Tip:
If you’d like to prepare the dough and bake the rolls at a later time, shape the rolls, cover the dish with plastic, and keep in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours. When ready to bake, allow the rolls to have the second rise at room temperature until puffy and continue with baking.
Bake
When the rolls are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle position.
Bake for 22-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
Remove rolls from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
How Do I Know When the Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls Are Done?
I always like to use a digital thermometer to check that the rolls are done, especially when making a recipe for the first time. It has helped to develop confidence over all of the years as I learned what the finished product looks like. The internal temperature of a roll in the middle of the pan will read 200 degrees when they’re done. It’s a worthwhile tool to add to your baking supplies and I highly recommend having one.
Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls Storage Instructions
Sourdough dinner rolls are best the day they’re baked. Store leftover rolls in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
The baked dinner rolls can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe bag.
Sample Baking Schedule for Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls
Overnight Option
This options allows you to bulk ferment the dough overnight and have rolls by mid morning the second day. Ideal for when you need hot, fresh rolls by lunchtime.
Day 1
- 12:30 – 2:30 pm – Feed sourdough starter and allow to come to peak
- 8:30 pm – Mix the dough and allow to rest
- 9:00, 9:30, 10:00 pm – 3 sets of stretch and folds
- 10:00 pm – Bulk ferment overnight
Day 2
- 8:00 – 10:00 am – Shape dinner rolls and second rise
- 10:00 am – Bake
Same Day Option
This option requires you to have the sourdough starter at its peak in the morning, so feed it the night before. Mix the dough first thing in the morning and have sourdough dinner rolls ready by your evening meal.
- 7:00 am – Mix dough
- 7:30, 8:00, 8:30 am – 3 sets of stretch and folds
- 8:30 am – 4:00 pm – Bulk ferment
- 4:00 pm – Shape dinner rolls and second rise
- 6:00 pm – Bake
I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and rate the recipe. Tag photos #Lockremhomestead over on Instagram when you share pictures of your Homemade Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls!
Sourdough Oatmeal Dinner Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 480 g water 2 cups
- 100 g rolled oats 1 cup
- 42 g salted butter 3 tbsp
- 73 g brown sugar ⅓ cup
- 10 g sea salt 2 tsp
- 200 g active sourdough starter 1 cup
- 540 g all-purpose flour 4½ cups
Instructions
Mixing the Dough
- Feed the sourdough starter 6-8 hours before mixing the dough.
- Add 2 cups of cold water, 1 cup oats, and 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium pot on the stove over medium-high heat, reducing the heat to medium-low once the water starts to boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. The oatmeal will soften and puff up as it cooks. Once the oats are cooked and the oatmeal is thick, remove from the heat and stir in the salt and brown sugar.
- Pour the cooked oats into a large mixing bowl and cool until warm. Stirring the oats will incorporate some air and cool the oatmeal mixture faster, roughly taking 10-15 minutes. Stir in the active starter when the oatmeal has cooled to a lukewarm temperature.
- The oatmeal mixture needs to be at the right temperature before adding the sourdough starter. Too hot, and it'll kill all of the yeast in the starter. Too cold, and it delays the dough from rising as quickly as it could.
- Next, stir in the flour. The dough will be thick and shaggy dough at this point. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
Stretch and Folds
- Stretching the dough helps develop the gluten which increases elasticity and strengthens the dough and also incorporates some air into your dough, producing more volume.
- Grab the edge of the dough and lift it straight up, stretching the dough. Then fold it over onto itself, pressing it into the middle of the dough. Rotate the bowl a quarter of a turn and repeat. Continue until all of the dough has been folded and it starts to feel tight and resistant, generally 10 -15 stretch and folds. The dough will break easily when stretched at this stage. This completes one set of stretch and folds. Allow to rest for 30 minutes and continue with the next set of stretch and folds, with a total of 3 sets. By the last set, the dough will be smooth and elastic.
Bulk Fermentation
- Cover the large bowl with plastic wrap or a large plate and let the dough ferment at room temperature until the dough doubles in size. I like to do this step overnight. Temperature will play a role in how long it takes for the dough to double, taking longer if the kitchen is cooler.
Second Rise
- The next morning, grease the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan or line it with a piece of parchment paper. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide the dough into 12 equal portions using a bench scraper or sharp knife. Each dough ball weighs roughly 110-116g each. Shape each piece of dough into dough balls, pinching the seams together and placing the rolls seam side down into the prepared pan.
- Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and place the pan in a warm place for its second rise. The rolls will look puffy and have risen by 50%, filling in the gaps between the rolls.
Bake
- When the rolls are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle position.
- Bake for 2-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
- Remove rolls from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage Instructions
- Sourdough dinner rolls are best the day they're baked. Store leftover rolls in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.The baked dinner rolls can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe bag.
