This festive Sourdough Bread Roll Wreath features naturally leavened dinner rolls made from stone-ground all-purpose flour from Georgia wheat. It comes together very easily and makes a lovely presentation.

When I created the Rosemary Orange Bread Roll Wreath a few weeks ago, I used my family’s all-time favorite yeast rolls. This time, I converted the family recipe to sourdough, and after a bit of tweaking, was happy with the results.

Use recently fed and active sourdough to leaven these sourdough bread rolls

The first time I made these rolls with sourdough, I used some starter that had been sitting in the refrigerator and hadn’t been fed in a couple of weeks. I measured the amount needed and let it sit out overnight.

I used this same method for the Sourdough Bierocks I made several weeks ago, and it worked well for those rolls. However, I didn’t like the results this time. Using the unfed sourdough made these dinner rolls too tangy (acidic) for my palate, much less my family’s taste buds.

To keep the sourdough tang to a minimum, the next time I made the rolls for the roll wreath, I used a starter that had recently been fed and only included a small portion in the overnight levain. This was the key. Although you can taste the sourdough, it doesn’t overpower the rolls.

Instead of adding herbs to the dough similar to the rosemary orange rolls, I let the sourdough be the flavoring (and leavening) for these rolls and sprinkled sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and camelina seeds on top for color.

I added parsley and African basil sprigs for garnish.

I received the basil plant from a fellow gardener a few months ago in exchange for some sourdough starter. It’s a huge plant now and the bees love it so I think it was a pretty good trade. I love the purple color of the stem and the blooms so I thought it would make a nice garnish.

To keep the hole in the middle of the wreath from closing up, I used a canning ring in the center, but I think it would also look nice with an extra roll in the middle instead of a hole.

Instead of using an egg wash on these rolls, I brushed them with butter before adding the seeds. However, if you want a deeper brown color, you could add an egg wash before sprinkling on the seeds or omit the seeds altogether.

Prepare the dough for this sourdough bread roll wreath in the bread machine or by hand

The dough for these rolls can be made in the bread machine or by hand. Just prepare the levain the evening before, and let it rest until it is bubbly and ready to go. Then add it to the bread machine along with the liquid ingredients and let the machine do the work.

After the bread machine has finished its cycle, allow the dough to ferment on the counter for another hour or two with a stretch and fold in between.

Then shape the rolls, form the wreath, let it proof, and bake it.

If you don’t have a bread machine, the dough can easily be mixed by hand. You’ll find instructions for both methods below.

Make ahead tip

To reduce prep time on bake day, prepare the dough balls, and form the wreath the day before. Then place it in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, take the wreath out of the refrigerator and let the rolls warm up while the oven is preheating. Then bake as usual.

Tips for making a uniformly shaped wreath

Weigh the dough, if possible, to ensure the dough balls are the same size/weight.

Don’t place the rolls too close together so they have room to expand.

Use a 2 ½ – 3” biscuit cutter, cookie cutter, or a canning ring in the center of the wreath to form the shape and keep it from closing up during proofing and baking. I’ve made this wreath using a 2 3/4” biscuit cutter and a 2 5/8” canning ring. They both worked fine during the proofing and baking. Just be sure to grease the outside of the ring or cutter so the rolls don’t stick to it.

As an alternative, omit the canning ring or biscuit cutter altogether and place an extra dough ball in the center of the wreath instead.

Forming the Sourdough Bread Roll Wreath

Once the dough for the rolls is made, the wreath goes together fairly quickly. You can use a round pizza pan, a baking sheet, or other round pan to form and bake the wreath.

I find it easier to shape the wreath in a round pan. I use a 16″ round pizza pan because it’s big enough for the wreath, can serve as the platter after the rolls are baked and slightly cooled, and there’s plenty of room to add garnish around the edges. However, if you don’t have a 16” round pan, a 14″ pan works as well, or a large sheet pan.

I line the pan with a sheet of folded parchment paper, but you can also use rolled parchment and cut it to fit the size of the pan if desired.

Sourdough Bread Roll Wreath

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Author: Bread Experience
Yield: 20 rolls 1x

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Description

This festive Sourdough Bread Roll Wreath features dinner rolls made with natural yeast (sourdough) and makes a lovely presentation for the dinner table.

Instructions

Prepare the overnight levain:

In a small bowl, mix the flour, water, and starter until it is thoroughly incorporated. Cover and let it rest overnight at room temperature for 8-12 hours. (I let mine rest for 11 hours before using.)

Preparing dough in bread machine:

Place all ingredients, except the melted butter, in the bread machine pan in the order suggested by your manufacturer. (For my bread machine, the liquid ingredients are added first, then the flour, salt, sugar.) Add the levain and the softened butter with the liquid ingredients.
Select the Dough/Manual cycle. Let the machine complete the mixing and proofing cycles.
Once the dough cycle is finished and the machine beeps, remove the dough to a bowl, cover and let it ferment at warm room temperature for 2 more hours.
Perform a stretch and fold after the first hour and place the dough back in the bowl, covered, for the remaining hour.
Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
Line your pan or baking sheet with parchment. I used a 16” pizza pan.
Place a 2-3” biscuit/cookie cutter or canning ring in the center of the pan.
Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces. (My dough weighed 842 grams so each piece was about 42 grams) Shape each piece into a ball.
Place 7 balls around the ring/cutter leaving space for the rolls to rise. Form the outer ring of the wreath using the remaining 13 balls. Depending on the size of your ring/cutter, you may only need 6 balls around the center or 8. Just space them as evenly as you can.

Preparing the dough by hand

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg.
Add the water to the levain and mix to combine. Stir the beaten egg into the levain/water mixture. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well to incorporate.
Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to develop the gluten before adding the butter.
Work in the softened butter until it forms a soft dough.
Cover and let the dough proof for about 2 hours. After one hour, stretch and fold the dough over itself. Cover and let the dough rest an additional hour, or until doubled.
Line your pan or baking sheet with parchment.
Place a 2-3” biscuit/cookie cutter or canning ring in the center of the pan.
Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces. (My dough weighed 842 grams so each piece was about 42 grams) Shape each piece into a ball.
Place 7 balls around the ring/cutter leaving space for the rolls to rise. Form the outer ring of the wreath using the remaining 13 balls. Depending on the size of your ring/cutter, you may only need 6 balls around the center or 8. Just space them as evenly as you can.

Baking the wreath the same day

Cover and let the rolls rise until double in size, 1-2 hours. (Dough will be ready when indentation remains when lightly touched.)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. while the rolls are rising.
Uncover the wreath, brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with seeds, if using.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Rotate the pan partway through the bake cycle for even baking.
Serve warm or slightly cooled.

Making the wreath ahead, and baking the next day

Cover and let the rolls rise for about an hour, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, remove the wreath from the refrigerator and let the rolls warm up while the oven is preheating to 375 degrees F.
Uncover the wreath, brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with seeds, if using.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Rotate the pan partway through the bake cycle for even baking.
Serve warm or slightly cooled.

Notes

* The stone ground flour I used weighs a little more then regular all-purpose flour. If you use a different flour, you may need to add a little more if you are measuring by volume and not weight.

Category: Sourdough Bread Rolls

Happy Baking!
Cathy

Festive Sourdough Bread Roll Wreath

Use recently fed and active sourdough to leaven these sourdough bread rolls