Name: Sourdough Cheese and Garlic Dinner Rolls
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 830 min
Ingredients: 500 g Bread Flour; 100 g Sourdough Starter ((Fed and bubbly)); 200 g Milk ((warm)); 80 g Water; 20 g Granulated Sugar; 30 g Butter; 10 g Salt; 150 g Mozarella (Shredded); 50 g Parmesan Cheese (Shredded); 70 g Butter; 5 g Garlic powder; 5 g Salt; 60 g Butter; 10 g Olive Oil; 5 g Garlic Powder; 20 g Parmesan Cheese ((shredded)); 2 g Italian Herbs ((I've used dried but you can use fresh))

These sourdough cheese and garlic dinner rolls bake up soft, warm, and are filled with the coziest garlic cheese center. They’re perfect for sharing, and they make an easy side dish for everything from pasta night to a simple bowl of soup. If you love a savory bake, this is one you’ll come back to again and again.

Three sourdough cheese and garlic rolls on a small plate with a pan of rolls in the background.

This recipe was created from my popular sourdough Christmas tree pull apart recipe, which features these rolls in a smaller format, shaped in a Christmas tree. My family love these so much, I decided to tweak the recipe into sourdough cheese and garlic dinner rolls that we can eat at any time of the year. And eat them we do! I make these so often, they literally disappear from my counter tops within minutes of coming out of the oven!

We love serving these with my homemade pizza sauce, we just dip them straight in, so good!!! They're also really delicious drizzled in hot honey for something a little spicy.

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

Soft, Fluffy Texture - These rolls bake up light and tender, with a warm garlic cheese surprise tucked inside.

Easy to Shape - The dough is smooth and easy to work with, so shaping each roll feels simple and relaxing.

Perfect Party Bread - Everyone loves a cheesy dinner roll, and they disappear fast when served warm.

Hand dipping a sourdough cheese and garlic roll into a bowl of marinara sauce.

Ingredients

Bread Flour - Bread flour gives these rolls a little extra structure while still keeping the crumb soft. It also helps hold all that cheesy filling.
Sourdough Starter - This dough relies on natural fermentation for lift. Make sure your starter is fed and bubbly.
Milk - Warm milk helps the dough come together smoothly and gives the rolls a soft, tender crumb. Whole or reduced fat milk both work.
Water
Granulated Sugar - A little sugar balances the savory filling and helps the dough brown beautifully in the oven.
Butter - Melted butter enriches the dough and adds flavor. You'll also use it for brushing on top of the rolls. Salted or unsalted butter will work.
Salt
Mozzarella - You can shred your own mozzarella, or buy pre-shredded. You will get a better cheese pull when you shred your own, but I generally use pre-shredded because it's convenient!
Parmesan Cheese - Freshly shredded parmesan will work the best. Avoid the canned crumbled cheese.
Garlic powder - I like to use garlic powder for the garlic flavor, but you can use fresh garlic if you prefer.
Olive Oil - A splash of olive oil in the topping helps it brush on smoothly and keeps the rolls soft.
Italian Herbs - I've used dried herbs, but you can use fresh if you prefer. Using dried Italian herbs means I can bake these all year round!

How to Make Sourdough Cheese and Garlic Dinner Rolls

Add sugar, milk, water and melted butter to the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Now add the flour, salt and sourdough starter and use the stand mixer with a dough hook to knead into a rough dough. Allow to rest for around 30 minutes. The dough will start out super sticky and look like a big old mess, but don't worry!

Rough mix of sourdough cheese and garlic roll dough in a stand mixer.

Knead the dough until it is silky and elastic. This is such a lovely dough it should be very easy to handle. I knead the dough on speed 1-2 for around 3 to 4 minutes to achieve this smooth dough.

Smooth dough in stand mixer to make sourdough cheese and garlic rolls.

Transfer the dough to a bowl and allow it bulk ferment until the dough has risen around 30%.

Cheese and Garlic Filling

While the dough is fermenting, it's time to make the filling for the bread rolls.

Add mozzarella, parmesan, butter and garlic to a food processor and blitz until it forms a thick paste. Place this into the fridge to chill until you need it.

Cheese and garlic blitzed together in food processor for the filling for sourdough cheese and garlic rolls.

Shaping & Filling the Bread Rolls

Once the dough has finished the bulk ferment, you will need to shape and fill the bread rolls with the garlic cheese filling.

Weigh out the dough into whatever size balls you'd like. I made 15 rolls at approx. 63g each.

Two photos to show measuring out the dough next to a scale to make sourdough cheese and garlic rolls.

Take each piece of dough and add a small ball of filling (I've used a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop) to the centre. Pinch the dough around the filling and gently roll into a ball.

Two photos to show hands stuffing dough with cheese mixture to make sourdough cheese and garlic rolls.

Once you have filled and shaped all of the bread rolls, arrange them in your baking dish and cover with plastic wrap.

Allow the rolls to proof at room temperature and get nice and puffy. See notes for using the fridge for proofing.

Two photos to show sourdough cheese and garlic roll dough in a baking dish; before and after second rise.

Bake Time

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.

Take the ingredients for the garlic butter topping and blend together. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush a little onto each bread roll (save the rest for when the rolls come out of the oven).

Sourdough cheese and garlic roll dough after proofing in baking dish and brushed with garlic butter.

Bake rolls at 180ºC/350ºF for approximately 30 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown.

Take the rolls out of the oven and brush on the rest of garlic butter topping so that it melts into the rolls.

Fresh baked sourdough cheese and garlic rolls in baking pan over a wood table.

Serve with marinara sauce for dipping or as a side dish to pretty much everything!

Kate's Recipe Tips

Don't try to overstuff these or the filling will all leak out during baking. You can choose to make these as big or small as you like! They work perfect as dinner rolls at around 80g or make a lovely appetizer at 40g too!
Make sure you start off with a happy, bubbly sourdough starter - this will ensure your rolls puff up and have a lovely sourdough tang.
Do not add extra flour, just keep kneading until it comes together. Extra flour will alter the texture of the cooked rolls.
These rolls work in a square or round pan - even a spring form tin, depending on how you want them to look. If baking in a pan, place some parchment paper inside to stop them sticking. If I cook them in a baking dish, I generally just oil the dish.

Flavor Variations

Feel free to adjust these rolls to suit your tastes and whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here are some more ideas:

I've chosen to use mozzarella and parmesan cheese - you can use whatever cheese combination you like. Mozzarella will give you the gooey, stringy melted cheese when you bite into the rolls.
You can add parsley, oregano, rosemary or any herbs you like to the filling along with the cheese, garlic and butter. Just make sure they are finely chopped so you don't bite into big chunks of herbs.
Garlic is added to the filling and topping of these rolls, but not to the actual dough because garlic can hamper fermentation.
If you don't want to use garlic powder, you can use roasted garlic or minced garlic. I like mild flavor that the garlic powder provides.
Salt is added to the topping to give it extra flavor and keep you wanting more! If you don't like things salty, feel free to leave it out.

Baking Timeline for Sourdough Dinner Rolls

This recipe has 100g of active sourdough starter - you can reduce the amount of starter if you wish to ferment the rolls overnight. I don't recommend increasing the amount of starter as it will make the dough too sticky.

The dough is an enriched dough so it will take longer to ferment than a lean dough. It's perfectly safe to ferment them overnight with milk in the dough. Read more about creating a sourdough baking timeline.

Here's a sample timeline to help you manage your bake. Remember though, that this is just a sample and the times listed are just a guide. You'll need to adjust this based on your sourdough starter and the temperature of your kitchen.

TIME	PROCESS
	DAY 1
11am	Feed your sourdough starter.
6pm	Mix and knead the dough. Allow the dough to bulk ferment around 30% while you make the filling for the rolls.
10pm	Shape the rolls, adding the filling, and place them in a baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

	DAY 2
7am	Take the rolls out of the fridge and allow them to proof on the counter at room temperature. Remember you want them to be light and puffy before they go into the oven.
11am	Bake these delicious Sourdough Cheese and Garlic Dinner Rolls!

How to Store + Freeze

Store at Room Temperature - Keep the baked rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I like to wrap mine in baking paper first to keep them soft. They won't be super fresh after the first 24 hours but you can warm them a little in the microwave to freshen them up.

Refrigerate - Because of the cheesy filling, you can refrigerate leftovers if you prefer. Store them in a covered container and warm gently before serving.

Freeze for Later - These rolls freeze well. Let them cool completely, then freeze them in a ziplock bag. I prefer not to pull them apart before freezing.

Thaw on the counter, wrap the thawed rolls in aluminum foil and place into a warm oven for around 20 minutes. You can brush with melted butter just before you serve if you want to. Once warm, pull them apart.