Vegan Sourdough Pesto Rolls
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These easy vegan sourdough pesto rolls work for breakfast, lunch, or dinner alongside a soup and salad — and since they’re sourdough, no baker’s yeast required.
Serve these easy and tasty vegan sourdough pesto rolls for breakfast, or even for lunch or dinner with a soup and salad for a light meal.
Sourdough is the buzzword for homemade bread and baking these days — with supply chain shortages affecting baker’s yeast, sourdough has gained even more takers. The beauty of sourdough is that you can create your own live active yeast by following a few simple steps.
Table of Contents
Baking With Sourdough
Sourdough breads have been a long-running project here — full of ups and downs in the early days, but getting closer to perfect with years of practice. Freshly ground spelt flour is used for all the bakes in this house, ground with a home grain mill. Spelt isn’t gluten-free, but the gluten in it is easier to digest than regular wheat, which made it an easy switch for a household with some gluten intolerance — without giving up the goodness of freshly baked bread.
Tools you may need
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- Deep Rectangular Glass Baking Dish
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Grain Mill (for freshly milling the spelt flour)
How to Make Vegan Sourdough Pesto Rolls?
Ingredients List
- 100g sourdough starter
- 350g freshly ground spelt flour (or wheat)
- 7g Himalayan pink salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp olive oil
- Water, as needed
- 6 tbsp pesto sauce, for filling
Cooking Instructions
Mix and Knead:
Combine the sourdough starter, water, olive oil, sugar and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer. Add water as needed and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and turns smooth and elastic — about 5 minutes with a stand mixer.
First Rise:
Once the dough feels smooth and silky, cover in a well-oiled bowl and leave to rise for a minimum of 8 to 12 hours.
Shape and Fill:
Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface (a wooden surface works well) and fold it inward to knock out the air until smooth. Roll it out evenly into a rectangle about 1 to 1.5cm thick, then spread the pesto sauce evenly over the top.
Roll and Cut:
Roll the dough up tightly and slice into rolls about 3cm thick.
Second Rise:
Arrange the rolls evenly spaced in a well-oiled rectangular glass or deep baking dish. Cover with cling wrap or a wet cloth and let rise for another 2 hours.
Bake:
Heat the oven to 200°C (392°F) with top and bottom heat. Brush the rolls with a little olive oil if you like, then bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve:
Cool slightly and serve with hot soup, or as a breakfast roll.
Serving Suggestions
These rolls are versatile enough for any meal. Try them:
For breakfast: warm, on their own.
With soup: perfect alongside a hot bowl of soup for lunch or dinner.
With a salad: pairs well for a light meal.
Tips for Vegan Sourdough Pesto Rolls
Plan ahead: sourdough needs some lead time — set aside 12 to 15 hours for the whole bake.
Shorter second rise: since the rolls are smaller than a full loaf, 2 hours is enough for the second rise.
Go easy on water: if using spelt or another low-gluten flour, don’t add too much water while kneading.
Make it ahead: the proofed dough can be refrigerated before shaping and the second rise, then baked the next day — this works well and has been done successfully many times.
Pesto Options for the Filling
Wild garlic pesto is the filling used here, but the same method works well with other fillings:
Basil pesto: a classic choice, with or without a little cheese mixed in.
Tomato pesto: a different flavor direction that still works beautifully rolled into the dough.
Sweet fillings: the same dough also works well switched to a sweet filling for a different kind of roll.
Can You Freeze Sourdough Pesto Rolls?
Yes — the rolls freeze well for a couple of months. Thaw and warm them briefly in the oven using a hot air setting before serving. That said, these rolls really are best enjoyed warm and fresh; stored in a proper bread bin, they’ll keep for a couple of days, but the texture and flavor are at their best right out of the oven.
Why These Rolls Work for Everyone
Beyond being easier to digest thanks to the spelt flour and long sourdough fermentation, these rolls are entirely plant-based, making them a good option if you’re cooking for a mixed table of vegan and non-vegan guests without needing a separate substitute.
Recipe Card
Vegan Sourdough Pesto Rolls
- Total Time: 930
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Easy vegan sourdough rolls filled with pesto — great for breakfast, or alongside soup and salad for a light lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- FOR THE DOUGH
- 100g sourdough starter
- 350g freshly ground spelt flour (or wheat)
- 7g Himalayan pink salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Water, as needed
- Flour, for dusting
- FOR THE FILLING
- 6 tablespoons pesto sauce (or as needed)
Instructions
-
Mix and Knead:
Combine the sourdough starter, water, olive oil, sugar and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer. Add water as needed and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and turns smooth and elastic — about 5 minutes with a stand mixer.
-
First Rise:
Once the dough feels smooth and silky, cover in a well-oiled bowl and leave to rise for a minimum of 8 to 12 hours.
-
Shape and Fill:
Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface (a wooden surface works well) and fold it inward to knock out the air until smooth. Roll it out evenly into a rectangle about 1 to 1.5cm thick, then spread the pesto sauce evenly over the top.
-
Roll and Cut:
Roll the dough up tightly and slice into rolls about 3cm thick.
-
Second Rise:
Arrange the rolls evenly spaced in a well-oiled rectangular glass or deep baking dish. Cover with cling wrap or a wet cloth and let rise for another 2 hours.
-
Bake:
Heat the oven to 200°C (392°F) with top and bottom heat. Brush the rolls with a little olive oil if you like, then bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
-
Serve:
Cool slightly and serve with hot soup, or as a breakfast roll.
Notes
The rolls freeze well for a couple of months — thaw and warm briefly in the oven before serving. That said, they’re best enjoyed warm and fresh out of the oven.
- Prep Time: 900
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Breads
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 200
- Fat: 5
Frequently Asked Questions
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