These Sourdough Discard Hawaiian Rolls are a soft, fluffy, sweet roll that is a perfect side dish, or roll to make sliders and mini sandwiches! They have a wonderful sweetness and flavor from the pineapple juice (yes, pineapple juice!) as well as the brown sugar. It may look like a large pan of rolls, but they'll be gone in no time!
If you're looking for other sourdough discard recipes, especially dinner rolls, try these Sourdough Discard Rolls and Sourdough Discard Garlic Rolls. And if you want to try something else, check out these Sourdough Discard Pretzel Buns and this Sourdough Discard Focaccia.
If you're new to working with sourdough starter, check out these in-depth posts on how to feed sourdough starter, how to use sourdough discard, and tips for struggling sourdough starter.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- These Hawaiian Rolls are delicious as a side dish or to make sliders and mini sandwiches! They are also amazing for breakfast sandwiches!
- You'll really taste (and smell) the pineapple juice in the dough, giving these rolls a slightly fruity and tropical flavor.
- You can easily modify this recipe to use active sourdough starter instead of discard, if you prefer.
- These rolls are sweet, but not dessert-level sweet, and can be an interesting new flavor for your breakfast or dinner rolls!
- They freeze well, so you can enjoy some now and freeze the rest for later.
Ingredients
There are a few key ingredients you'll need to make these Sourdough Discard Hawaiian Rolls.
- Pineapple juice: This is the star of the show! The pineapple juice really comes through and gives these rolls a wonderful flavor and sweetness.
- Non-dairy milk: I use unflavored, non-dairy milk (almond milk), but this recipe will work with any non-dairy milk option. This will also work with regular dairy milk if you prefer!
- Instant yeast: Even though we are using sourdough discard, we need to use a leavening agent (in this case, yeast) to ensure the dough rises predictably.
- Light brown sugar: This gives the rolls some additional sweetness. You could also use dark brown sugar.
- All-purpose flour: This will be the base of your roll and will make them light and fluffy. If you wanted a crustier roll, you could use bread flour.
- Sourdough discard: The sourdough discard should be unfed and at room temperature for this recipe. This recipe is designed for a sourdough starter with a 1:1 ratio (when you feed your starter, it's with 1 part flour and 1 part water). If your starter uses a different ratio, you may need to adjust some of the ingredients in this recipe.
- Egg wash: The egg wash is what gives these rolls their classic shine. If you're not baking with eggs, there are a few substitutes listed below.
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a very adaptable recipe and below are a few easy substitutions and variations you can try.
- Use active sourdough starter - If you'd like to use active sourdough starter instead of discard, you can! To do so, omit the yeast and replace the sourdough discard with active sourdough starter (1:1 substitute). You'll also need to increase the rise times.
- Omit the eggs - If you're not baking with eggs, you can replace the egg in the dough with a liquid vegan egg substitute (like JustEgg) or a flax egg. Instead of the egg wash, brush the rolls with milk or butter.
I have not tested this recipe with other variations, but if you do, let us know how it turns out in the comments! I always love to hear how you're adapting these recipes and use those as ideas for future recipes as well!
How to make Sourdough Discard Hawaiian Rolls
There are just a few easy steps to make these delicious rolls! See the full recipe and detailed directions at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1: Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl) and mix until you have a shaggy dough.
- Step 2: Transfer the dough to a smooth work surface and knead until smooth and soft, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a large, oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in size.
- Step 3: Divide the dough into 15 equal-size pieces. This doesn't have to be exact, but you can use a kitchen scale to measure each roll.
- Step 4: Using the palm of your hand for friction, roll each piece of dough into a ball.
- Step 5: Place the rolls in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan, cover and let rise for 60 minutes.
- Step 6: Brush with melted butter, then bake. After baking, brush the rolls with additional melted butter (optional).
Expert Baking Tips
- Make sure you knead the dough long enough. The dough should be smooth and soft (and not sticky) before the first rise. If you don't knead the dough long enough, your rolls may end up looking a bit uneven or shaggy.
- Rise times may vary based on the temperature of your room. Dough will rise quicker in a warmer room, and slower in a cooler room. Give it time!
- When dividing the dough, the pieces don't have to be exactly the same size. You can use a kitchen scale if you do want them to be exactly the same, but you can also eyeball this!
- These rolls freeze well! Enjoy some now, and freeze the rest for later!
How to Serve Sourdough Discard Hawaiian Rolls
There are many great ways to serve these rolls:
- As a side dish or appetizer. These rolls are delicious on their own and are great as an appetizer or side dish for any meal. You can also spread them with butter, if you like!
- Make a breakfast sandwich. I made an incredible breakfast sandwich with these the other day! The sweetness of the rolls pairs very well with eggs, bacon, and your other favorite breakfast foods.
- Make sliders or mini sandwiches. These rolls are a great size to make sliders or mini sandwiches! Try these Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders, or these Hamburger Sliders.
Equipment
I like to make the dough in a KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer, but this is optional. You can also mix the dough in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, then knead by hand. Use a kitchen scale to measure your sourdough discard, and when dividing the dough.
You'll also need a 9x13-inch baking pan and a silicone basting brush.
kitchen essentials
My Favorite 9x13-inch Baking Pan
The perfect pan for dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, focaccia and more!
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: If you plan to eat these rolls within 1-2 days, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. You can reheat them in the microwave for 30 seconds to make them warm and soft again.
Freezer Storage: Once the rolls have cooled fully, transfer them to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to serve, let the rolls thaw at room temperature, then reheat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! To do so, omit the yeast and replace the sourdough discard with active sourdough starter (1:1 substitute). You will also need to increase the rise times.
The egg wash gives the rolls their shine. If you're not baking with eggs, you brush the rolls with milk or butter instead.
Yes, these are great for making sliders or mini sandwiches! They're also great for a breakfast sandwich.
If you're new to working with sourdough starter, check out these in-depth posts on how to feed sourdough starter, how to use sourdough discard, and tips for struggling sourdough starter.
Sourdough Discard Hawaiian Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough
- ½ cup canned pineapple juice room temperature
- ¼ cup non-dairy or regular dairy milk warmed to 110℉
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter divided and melted
For Topping
- 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water for egg wash
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter (optional) melted
Instructions
- Combine the pineapple juice, milk, instant yeast and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook*. Add the flour, sourdough discard, beaten egg, vanilla extract and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in 2 Tablespoons of melted butter. Increase speed to medium and mix until a shaggy dough forms, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a smooth work surface and knead until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. The dough should be smooth, soft and just slightly tacky (not sticky). If needed, add more flour or milk (1 Tablespoon at a time) to reach your desired consistency.
- Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Brush a 9x13-inch baking pan with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of melted butter and set aside.
- Turn the dough onto a smooth work surface and divide into 15 equal-sized pieces. This doesn't have to be exact, but if you do want perfectly identical rolls, weigh the dough on a kitchen scale and divide that number by 15. For me, each roll weighs about 73 grams.Using your palm for friction, roll each piece of dough into a ball, then place the rolls into the prepared baking pan with the seam-side down. Repeat until you have 15 rolls.
- Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let the rolls rise for 60 minutes until puffed and doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Lightly brush the rolls with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly in the pan, then brush with 1 Tablespoon melted butter before serving (optional).
Rachael says
After the initial mixing in the KitchenAid,can I just continue to knead in the mixer instead of turning out and hand-kneading? Just being lazy …
Jessica Vogl says
You can, but I really recommend kneading by hand to get the best texture and make sure your dough is feeling right (you can then add more flour or liquid if needed, as you'll really feel it).
G says
So originally, I found your page because my brother sent me your recipe for the tried Hawaiian rolls, but it asked for pineapple juice and my sister is allergic to pineapple juice so then I kinda changed the recipe up and use coconut milk, which is obviously more dense and added some limes zest to it and used olive oil instead of butter. So they have like a different texture to them probably because the thickness of the coconut milk and then the olive oil instead of butter. It’s almost like a biscuit roll. Coconut lime biscuit roll hahaaa so tasty and the family devoured them! I will definitely make these again. Thank you!
Jessica Vogl says
Love the idea of this flavor combination! So glad they worked out for you!
Rachel says
I’ve made this recipe a few times and always get compliments. After I do the bulk ferment, can it go in the fridge a day before baking?
Jessica Vogl says
I always recommend that if you're wanting to make it in advance, do the first rise in the fridge overnight, then shape / bake the next day. It sounds like you might be working with active starter instead of discard, is that right?
Janice says
Can you use powdered sugar instead of brown or regular sugar? Do you think it could make the, sweeter? I have not tried this recipe yet but will soon. Thank you
Jessica Vogl says
I would really recommend the brown sugar!
Stephanie says
I’ve made this recipe three times now, including once for Thanksgiving, and every time they come out picture perfect, fluffy, and lightly sweet. As someone used to King’s Hawaiian rolls, I wouldn’t mind if they were a bit sweeter, but I’ll still keep making this recipe because it’s delicious.
Jessica Vogl says
This is really helpful feedback, thank you!
Jenna says
These turned out perfectly for my family thanksgiving! Delicious, fluffy, and filling. The recipe was easy to follow and i love the recipes from this page!
Jill Griffin says
I'm making these for Thanksgiving, but because of oven space need to make them a bit ahead. What is your recommendation if I'm making them on Tuesday before Thanksgiving on Thursday for best time and way to store to keep them fresh. Can I freeze the uncooked rolls and bake the night before? In flexible, just open to your recommendation. Thank you, Jill
Jessica Vogl says
I would bake them completely, then freeze them. Once the rolls have cooled, transfer them to an airtight bag or container and freeze. When you're ready to serve the rolls, let them thaw at room temperature (can take 1-3 hours). Then brush the rolls with melted butter, and reheat the rolls in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. Hope that helps!
Dendy Webb Williams says
Can these be made without yeast? Just let the dough rise longer?
Jessica Vogl says
Yes, you can! There are some notes on this in the substitutions section above.
Jen says
Can you make this into a sandwich bread loaf?
Thank you, Jen
Jessica Vogl says
Hi! I haven't tried it, but I love the idea! The proportions might be off if you use this recipe. But what I'd do is use my Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread recipe and sub the water for pineapple juice (basically make it as if it were the Hawaiian rolls, but that recipe will at least give you the size and process for a sandwich loaf!). Let me konw if that makes sense and if you try it!
Kerrisa says
I have tried so many recipes for the Hawaiian rolls and none have turned out except this one! I love it! My kids and husband love it!
Jessica Vogl says
So glad to hear it!
Danielle says
I made these today and they turned out tasty but quite dense. I used bread flour instead of all purpose, is that where I went wrong? The rolls still were delicious, just not super soft and fluffy. They came out more of a pretzel texture. The dough didn't roll into balls very easily and seemed thicker than it should have been. Any insights?
Jessica Vogl says
The bread flour will definitely be one reason for that (bread flour makes a denser, chewier roll compared to ap flour). If you want soft and fluffy, go with ap flour. I'd also suspect that you might've needed a bit more liquid in your dough, but that's hard to tell without seeing!
Mandy says
Same, they had great flavor but were dense. More like a heavy roll. Which liquid wild you recommend increasing? I’m determined to get these right. I made the regular and same, great flavor but dense. Appreciate any feedback! Thank you for sharing!
Jessica Vogl says
Sounds like your dough needs a bit more liquid! I would add more milk (1 Tbsp at a time) as you're kneading the dough to reach your desired consistency. The dough should be super smooth and soft, and just slightly tacky (not sticky). It should not hard or tough at all as you're kneading.
Mandy says
Thank you! I will definitely try that! I did add 1 tbsp of milk when I made them, but got nervous to keep adding. Thanks again!!
Haley says
What could I use if I don’t have a sourdough starter or discard?
I want to make these but I haven’t mastered the sourdough stuff yet
Jessica Vogl says
You can keep your discard in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you have enough!
Bridget says
I was looking for a quick discard sourdough recipe and OMG, these are delicious!! Thank you for sharing!
Asia says
LOVE THIS RECIPE! I can't have dairy, and you always make the best things with dairy alternatives and this was no different. I panicked a bit when prepping because everything was showing in cups (and just nooooo I know better than try and bake like that) and realized I could switch it to metric. phew! Not sure why it defaulted to cups for this one
After baking, I popped them out and sliced them in half and put different non dairy cheese and sandwich meat on all of them and popped them back in the oven! Such tasty little sliders!!! You rock!
Jessica Vogl says
Yay! So glad these worked out for you! I'm lactose intolerant, so I always love to find another dairy-free person that appreciates that little bit 🙂 And glad you saw the toggle to metric units!
Michelle says
Thanks for this! Made these tonight and the recipe was perfect and we will make these again!
Weighted flour (440g), brown sugar (57 g). I didn’t have instant yeast so just used active dry and gave them extra rise time.
Courtney says
I don’t know where I went wrong but the dough was extremely wet and sticky after doubling in size and would not form into rolls. I would have been better off ladling it into muffin tin molds and baking it that way. Are you sure that 200 g sourdough discard is the same as 3/4 cup? I measured with grams on my kitchen scale; looking back, the amount sure seemed to exceed 3/4 cup. Please advise. The flavor was good but they did not resemble rolls at all.
Jessica Vogl says
200g discard is the correct amount and I always recommend measuring discard by weight rather than with measuring cups. It's hard to say where this went wrong, but yes, it sounds like the dough was too wet! Did you measure the flour in cups or by weight? By weight will always be the most accurate way.
Courtney says
Thank you for your response. I measured with cups because that’s what the recipe specified but I also added what I would call a significant amount of flour above and beyond the 3.5 cups as I was kneading. It seems that there are various numbers suggested for a cup-to-grams conversion for flour…
Jessica Vogl says
Yes, that's always the challenge with flour (and cups). If a recipe offers grams, it's always a good thing to check there so you can see what the creator is using as "1 cup" of flour. I appreciate your feedback!
Madeline Johnson says
I made this recipe today and I really struggled with the rising times. For the initial rise after kneading, I found that even after 2.5 hours my dough wouldn’t double in size like it was meant to after 90 minutes. I also had to wait almost 2.5 hours again for my rolls to rise after dividing them into balls. When the final rise seemed to be moving very slowly as well, I even moved the rolls into the oven with a hot bowl of water for an hour to finish rising. Where did I go wrong? They tasted delicious just a little dense. I followed the recipe as far as ingredients and measurements to a tee. Let me know!! Thanks 🙂
Jessica Vogl says
Interesting. I'm assuming you used discard and yeast, correct (not active starter)? Did you use warm milk? And was your pineapple juice and discard room temperature? You really want the dough to be a bit warm; cold ingredients can really slow this down. Also, how old is your yeast? If it's old yeast, it's possible it's dying, and that really slowed down some of the rise as well.
Andrea says
Thank you for this recipe. I made these today but I found the dough to be extremely sticky and hard to work with. I measured the discard in grams and flour in cups as stated above. But even after adding well over 3.5 cups it still remained sticky although it did rise. It made for a crumbly texture for the rolls. Any idea where I could’ve gone wrong?
Jessica Vogl says
Interesting! It sounds like something was really off. I'd recommend making the full recipe in grams (measuring cups can be very different in terms of how much flour actually fits in). It's very possible that my "cups" are bigger than your "cups" and metric measurements help to make a level playing field there!
Ana says
To make them sweeter, could we add more pineapple juice? Ours turned out good however they weren’t as sweet as your typical Hawaiian sweet rolls. Thank you in advance.
Jessica Vogl says
If you add more pineapple juice, the dough will be too wet. If you wanted to sweeten, you could add more brown sugar, but again, this will change some of the ratios in the recipe and you may need to adjust some other ingredients. It's not something I have tested!
Abbie says
Do you know if these would do well if you prep them the day before you need them? I was thinking of something like getting all the way to forming them into balls then covering and placing in the fridge over night and taking them out in the morning to come to room temperature and rise then bake?
Jessica Vogl says
If you wanted to make them overnight, I would do the first rise in the fridge overnight, then shape / bake the next day. Alternatively, if you want to make them in advance, I recommend baking them completely, then freezing and reheating when you're ready to serve (there are directions in the storage section above for this!).