These sourdough Hawaiian rolls are a fluffy & sweet bread recipe, no-knead and rise overnight. This pantry staple sweet bread is great for sliders, French toast, or just as a snack!
Mix the dough with a spoon, let the bread rise overnight, and form the rolls and bake the next day. This overnight sourdough Hawaiian bun recipe is simple and delicious, and a great bread for a BBQ, potluck, or gathering.
After making my sourdough brioche bread a few weeks back, I was inspired to make one of my favorite sweet bread recipes: Hawaiian rolls! I love the delicious Hawaiian rolls you get at the store are a particular favorite of mine!) and wanted to recreate it with my sourdough starter.
And let me tell you – these little sweet rolls make the perfect bite for breakfasts, brunches, sliders, and toast! The sweetness of the Hawaiian rolls is a fantastic flavor and will really level up your bread game. Whether you are new to sourdough baking or a seasoned pro, this a great recipe to make with sourdough discard.
This No Knead Sourdough Hawaiian Rolls Recipe Is
Light
Airy
Sweet
Flaky
Simple
Flavorful
Made without Kneading
An easy overnight bread
Sweet Sourdough Discard Recipes for Hawaiian Rolls
This Sourdough Hawaiian rolls recipe is the perfect way to use your sourdough discard from a starter. I hate throwing out food (or rather, composting it!)- so I’m always looking for ways to reuse kitchen scraps to cut back on waste. Instead of tossing your discard when you feed your sourdough starter, try this awesome recipe instead.
I have a whole page on my site for recipes that use sourdough discard. That way you can add a hint of sourdough flavor to your baked goods, and cut back on food waste. This Hawaiian bread recipe uses unfed starter, so just use the discard straight from the bowl.
What Makes Rolls Hawaiian?
Hawaiian rolls are made with pineapple juice, to give the dough a light and sweet flavor. You can use fresh pineapple juice, frozen, or even canned. I actually used the juice leftover from this canned pineapple, which I love! That way I can enjoy the pineapple chunks in my recipes (My Aloha BBQ Tofu recipe is a perfect savory/sweet dinner recipe) and use the juice in this bread, or a margarita!
What’s In This Overnight Sourdough Hawaiian Rolls Recipe?
Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
Pineapple Juice: the pineapple juice gives this Hawaiian bread it’s distinctive sweetness. You can use fresh pineapple juice, but I used the juice that is packed in this canned pineapple (which is 100% juice, so it’s perfect!).
All Purpose Flour:
Granulated Sugar
Active Dry Yeast: I stocked up on this active yeast which I always find plenty of uses for in my kitchen! Active dry yeast is great for overnight breads and this easy quick bread recipe too! Sourdough starter has naturally occurring yeast, but I like to add some volume with a packet of dry yeast too.
Milk
Butter, can be plant based if desired.
Eggs
Water
One of the BEST Pantry Bread Recipes
These Hawaiian sweet rolls with sourdough starter recipe is a fantastic pantry-staple meal! It uses almost all ingredients you would have in your dry pantry or cupboards. You probably have a lot of these ingredients on hand. Keeping a well-stocked pantry makes it easy to come up with delicious meals using a few staples you can rotate.
How Do I Make Hawaiian Rolls with Sourdough Starter?
This may look like a complicated recipe because it has a lot of steps, but believe me this is a simple and easy bread to bake! It’s actually easier than my normal sourdough recipe because you don’t have to knead it.
In a large mixing bowl, add the sourdough starter, flour (start with 4 1/2 cups), sugar, active yeast, and salt. Mix well to combine, and make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
Add melted butter, milk, and egg to a bowl, scramble well with a fork until combined. Add the egg mixture to the center of the flour well. Pour the warm water over the egg mixture. With a large spoon, mix well to combine all ingredients into a dough. Dough should be sticky and thick. If your dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour.
Cover with plastic wrap and place bowl in the refrigerator overnight (8 to 12 hours).
The next morning, grease 2 8×8 loaf pans. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface.
Divide dough into 2 equal sections. And then divide each of those sections roughly into 9 equal parts. Each of those 9 parts will become one roll. I used my hands to roll the dough into balls, then placed them in the 8×8 in baking dish. Each baking dish should have 9 rolls. Cover, and allow dough to rise in the baking dishes in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled in size (mine has taken up to 4 hours on colder days).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the tops of the rolls with egg wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons water) and place in oven to bake for 22 to 28 minutes. Top should be brown, but if it starts to look burnt, then cover with foil and continue to bake.
Allow buns to cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing.
Dietary Modifications
To make these sweet rolls vegan: substitute the eggs, butter, and milk for plant based varieties. I’ve actually made this Hawaiian bread with almond milk before and it tastes great!
To make dairy free: use plant-based milk and butter.
Soft and fluffy no knead sourdough Hawaiian rolls take very little prep time. This pantry staple sweet bread is great for sliders, breakfast buns, and dipping!
4 1/2 to 5cupsall-purpose flourplus extra for sprinkling
2/3cupsugar
2teaspoonsSea Salt
2 1/4teaspoons1 packet active yeast
1/4cuppineapple juice
1/4cupmilk
2tablespoonsmelted butter
1egg
1cupwarm water
Egg wash1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add the sourdough starter, flour (start with 4 1/2 cups), sugar, active yeast, and salt. Mix well to combine, and make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
Add melted butter, milk, pineapple juice, and egg to a bowl, scramble well with a fork until combined. Add the egg mixture to the center of the flour well. Pour the warm water over the egg mixture. With a large spoon, mix well to combine all ingredients into a dough. Dough should be sticky and thick. If your dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour.
Cover with plastic wrap and place bowl in the refrigerator overnight (8 to 12 hours).
The next morning, grease 2 8×8 loaf pans. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface.
Divide dough into 2 equal sections. And then divide each of those sections roughly into 9 equal parts. Each of those 9 parts will become one roll. I used my hands to roll the dough into balls, then placed them in the 8×8 in baking dish. Each baking dish should have 9 rolls. Cover, and allow dough to rise in the baking dishes in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled in size (mine has taken up to 4 hours on colder days).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the tops of the rolls with egg wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons water) and place in oven to bake for 18 to 24 minutes. Top should be brown, but if it starts to look burnt, then cover with foil and continue to bake.
Allow rolls to cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing.
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a rating and comment below, let us know what you loved about it!
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Kelly Jensen has 7 years experience as a food blogger, freelance recipe developer, content creator, beekeeper, and loves cooking everything she can from scratch.
I’ve made this recipe more than a few times now. Here’s some thoughts: the dough comes out extremely sticky when you mix it up but don’t let that bother you. I used all the flour in the recipe and then some. Still a giant sticky mess. I put it in the frig anyway and baked this stuff out. Wow. Great bread. People rave and beg me for it. I then modified it to use coconut water and light corn syrup in place of the pineapple juice. Yeah, it’s off the chain good and sets you apart from the Kings Hawaiian crowd without a doubt. The author is to be commended on this recipe. Seems a bit more complicated than it needs to be (e.g., creating a well for the ingredients doesn’t seem to add any benefit I can imagine – but hey, I’m just sayin’…) but this produces a solid product that you can do many other things with if you are paying attention. Well done!
Thank you so much Clint, I really appreciate the comment and also the alternative ingredient suggestion. Your adaptation sounds delicious, coconut water is such a fantastic idea, I’ve never thought to bake with it!
– Kelly
Hi Meredith, I did still use yeast to get a better rise on them – unfortunately, I haven’t tried it without yeast. If you try it without yeast, please let me know how it turns out!
I just made these for today’s Thanksgiving feast and everyone loved them. I used a mix of all-purpose flour and bread flour, around a 3:2 ratio. I’ve never had a recipe which rose so much in the refridgerator overnight, and then they expanded nicely again when put in the 8×8 pans.
Also, I would recommend using a thermometer probe to make sure the interior of the rolls gets to around 200 F. Had I pulled mine out when the tops were browned, they wouldn’t have been done in the centers. I covered with foil at around 20 minutes when they were golden brown and the temps inside were 180 F and it took about another 10 minutes to get to 200. But it well worth the wait!
It’s great to create my own
Better than store bought
I’ve made this recipe more than a few times now. Here’s some thoughts: the dough comes out extremely sticky when you mix it up but don’t let that bother you. I used all the flour in the recipe and then some. Still a giant sticky mess. I put it in the frig anyway and baked this stuff out. Wow. Great bread. People rave and beg me for it. I then modified it to use coconut water and light corn syrup in place of the pineapple juice. Yeah, it’s off the chain good and sets you apart from the Kings Hawaiian crowd without a doubt. The author is to be commended on this recipe. Seems a bit more complicated than it needs to be (e.g., creating a well for the ingredients doesn’t seem to add any benefit I can imagine – but hey, I’m just sayin’…) but this produces a solid product that you can do many other things with if you are paying attention. Well done!
Thank you so much Clint, I really appreciate the comment and also the alternative ingredient suggestion. Your adaptation sounds delicious, coconut water is such a fantastic idea, I’ve never thought to bake with it!
– Kelly
can i use discard instead of sourdough starter? if so what is the ratio?
So delicious! I need to use more flour, but they turned out so yummy ty
I need to make these for sandwiches this weekend!
These are epic! I think this will be my new go to recipe for rolls. So easy to whip up at night and bake the next day. So soft and delicious
Fun to make yummy to eat
I used about 1/2 c honey instead of sugar and only 1/2 c water.
I just fed my sourdough. Can I still message this recipe with no changes?
Please pardon my typo
Would honey work as a sugar substitute?
Would it be ok to use fed starter?
HI Meredith – yes, you absolutely can! I’ve made it both ways.
Would I still need to use yeast?
Hi Meredith, I did still use yeast to get a better rise on them – unfortunately, I haven’t tried it without yeast. If you try it without yeast, please let me know how it turns out!
I just made these for today’s Thanksgiving feast and everyone loved them. I used a mix of all-purpose flour and bread flour, around a 3:2 ratio. I’ve never had a recipe which rose so much in the refridgerator overnight, and then they expanded nicely again when put in the 8×8 pans.
Also, I would recommend using a thermometer probe to make sure the interior of the rolls gets to around 200 F. Had I pulled mine out when the tops were browned, they wouldn’t have been done in the centers. I covered with foil at around 20 minutes when they were golden brown and the temps inside were 180 F and it took about another 10 minutes to get to 200. But it well worth the wait!