Sourdough brioche rolls are tangy, lightly sweetened, and enriched with butter, eggs, and milk for an unbelievably soft texture and rich flavor. These are sure to be your new favorite dinner rolls!
If you’ve ever tasted brioche, you’ll understand why we love it so much. Its tender crumb and buttery flavor works perfectly in so many ways.
Brioche is unique from regular bread because it is such a rich dough made with lots of eggs, butter, and milk. These ingredients build a full and complex flavor with a light and airy texture.
These brioche rolls are also leavened with sourdough starter, utilizing a fermentation period to secure a pleasant tangy flavor, easier digestion, and more readily available nutrients.
It’s hard to choose our favorite way to serve these rolls. They’re a wonderful side dish for dinner and a nourishing, comforting snack.
They’re also structured enough to make the perfect sandwich. Sliced in half, sourdough brioche rolls add flair to a simple grilled cheese, egg sandwich, or burger. They’re a great way to skip the pre-packaged buns and wow your friends and family with a better option.
And while we love these rolls or even a whole loaf of homemade sourdough brioche, the options don’t stop there.
Treat your family to some more delicious brioche recipes, like sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls, brioche French toast, brioche donuts with a vanilla custard filling, or sourdough bread pudding.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious – They’re rich and buttery and especially wonderful when just a bit warm from the oven.
Nutritious – Fermented for better digestion and enriched with real food ingredients, these rolls are full of healthy fats and wholesome goodness.
Multi-purpose – There are so many ways to use these rolls! They are delicious on their own, but also great for cold sandwiches, grilled cheese, hamburgers, French toast casserole, or sourdough breakfast strata.
Ingredients
Sourdough starter — It’s important for your starter to be recently fed and active, as this is the rising power for the dough.
Bread flour — Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, giving this high-hydration dough more structure.
Milk — Whole milk will make for the richest flavor.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
Stand mixer — You can also knead by hand.
How to Make Sourdough Brioche Rolls
Step 1: Feed your starter the night before starting the recipe. You want it to be active and bubbly in the morning. The following morning, add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
Step 2: Knead at medium speed until the dough becomes smooth and glossy, which may take 10-15 minutes. This is a very wet, sticky dough, but you don’t need to add more flour.
Step 3: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, a lid, or a damp towel and begin the first proof in a warm place for 6-8 hours or until doubled.
Step 4: Transfer dough to a work surface (if it’s still sticky, add a touch of flour) and divide into 16 equal pieces. A bench scraper is a great tool for this step.
Step 5: Roll into balls using the counter for tension, pulling the dough towards you and rotating. Place rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled again. This may take between one and four hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Step 6: While the rolls finish their second rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the tops of the rolls with an egg wash (one large egg yolk whisked in a small bowl with one tablespoon of water) and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool a bit before serving.
Tips
- This dough is very wet but should be manageable after kneading and rising. No additional flour is needed, as too much flour will make the rolls a bit tougher and less light and fluffy.
- I highly recommend a stand mixer as the best way for kneading this sticky, wet dough.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. The texture won’t be quite as light, but they’ll still be delicious.
- For a quicker second rise, set your rolls in a warm location, such as on top of the oven, on a counter over a running dishwasher, or in a warm pantry.
Recipe FAQs
Sourdough bread is healthier than typical bread recipes because the grains are fermented and easier to digest. The fermentation process lowers the gluten content, so those with gluten sensitivities may find they can tolerate sourdough better.
Brioche is an enriched dough made with ingredients like eggs, butter, sugar, and milk, resulting in incredibly soft, lightly sweetened, creamy, and rich rolls.
Brioche is similar to challah in appearance and flavor, though challah uses fewer eggs, oil instead of butter, and water instead of milk. Both are lightly sweetened. If you’re interested, here’s my easy sourdough challah recipe!
Brioche is most typically served on its own as a sweet treat, though it is also common to see it as French toast or as a bread pudding because of its sweet, rich flavor.
Store leftover rolls in an airtight bag or container at room temperature for 3-4 days. For longer storage, wrap well and store brioche rolls in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost at room temperature.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Beignets
- Sourdough Pastry Braid
- Easy Sourdough Babka with Chocolate Filling
- Sourdough Croissants
- Sourdough Panettone
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Brioche Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup active sourdough starter, active and bubbly 227 g
- 3 cups bread flour, 420 g
- 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour, 70 g
- 1/4 cup sugar, 48 g
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 8 g
- 1/2 cup milk, 122 g
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 226 g
Eggwash
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Feed your starter the night before. You want it to be active and bubbly in the morning.
- The following morning, add all ingredients to your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Knead at medium speed until the dough becomes smooth and glossy, which may take 10-15 minutes (or more). This is a very wet, sticky dough, but you don't need to add more flour.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, a lid, or a damp towel and begin the first rise in a warm place for 6-8 hours or until doubled. Enriched doughs tend to take longer to rise than regular doughs.
- Transfer dough to a work surface (if it’s still sticky, add a touch of flour) and divide into 16 equal pieces. A bench scraper is great for this. Roll each piece of dough into a ball using the counter for tension.
- Place rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled again. This may take between one and four hours based on the temperature of your kitchen.
- While the rolls finish their second rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the tops of the rolls with an egg wash (one large egg yolk whisked with one tablespoon of water) and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
- This dough is very wet but will be manageable after kneading and rising. No additional flour is needed, as too much flour will make the rolls a bit tougher and less light and fluffy.
- I highly recommend a stand mixer as the best way for kneading this sticky, wet dough.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose. The texture won’t be quite as light, but they’ll still be delicious.
- For a quicker second rise, set your rolls in a warm location, such as on top of the oven, on a counter over a running dishwasher, or in a warm pantry.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
