If you ask me what my last meal would include, I would say the same now as I would have said as a kid… ooey, gooey, cheesy, mashed potatoes and a buttery, salty, yeast roll, along with a warm, homemade chocolate chip cookie for dessert. Then again, I probably wouldn’t be hungry if I knew it was my last meal. Nevertheless, for me, a southern homemade yeast roll trumps all on my list of favorite foods. This post is all about one of my all-time FAVORITE yeast breads… the Sour Cream Pocketbook Yeast Roll. This roll is a favorite among southern American bread bakers. If you’ve never eaten one, you’ve got to try it!
History of Sour Cream Pocketbook Yeast Rolls
Well, there’s not much to tell, really. Sour cream, as we know it today, has only been used in cooking since the early 20th century. We can thank the traditions of cultures and countries in Eastern Europe for this awesome cooking addition. Thus, Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls are a fairly new bread, not much history here.
What is SOOO Great About this Bread Anyway?
Um… EVERYTHING! Butter, sugar, sour cream, eggs, yeast… oh, my! I’m not kidding! While I will always cherish my grandmother’s yeast-roll recipe, this yeast roll ranks very high on the list of best tasting yeast rolls. Not only that… wait for it… NO kneading! Can you believe it?! That makes it relatively easy to make, if you don’t count the quick rolling, cutting, buttering, and folding… but that’s assembly-line work. 😉
When Should You make This Recipe?
This bread recipe would be fabulous for your holiday gatherings whether in the fall, winter, spring, or summer. I make them throughout the year since they are quite simple AND everyone loves them. Seriously! I often make them for Thanksgiving or Christmas (depending on when I make my grandma’s rolls). You can make them weeks in advance and freeze them for later consumption. Why NOT make them?
Yeast Bread or Sugar Cookies? I Get Confused!
This roll is truly like making homemade sugar cookies. Like sugar cookies, you stir the ingredients and leave the dough in the fridge overnight (at least I do, for my favorite, rolled-out sugar cookie). The next day or hours later, roll out the dough, cut out rounds like a shaped cookie, and “ice” the tops after they’ve baked. It’s assembly-line work, but actually easier than making sugar cookies, no decorating!
Sour Cream Pocketbook Yeast Roll Recipe Process
Sour Cream Pocketbook Yeast Roll Ingredients
The Sour Cream Pocketbook Yeast Roll recipe ingredients include sour cream, butter, granulated sugar, salt, yeast, eggs, and all-purpose flour.
These are such minimal ingredients for an incredibly, light, yeasty, salty, bread with a hint of tang and sweetness. These are savory rolls not sweet. You can totally make them for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner.
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: A Little Longer Process But NOT Difficult
This roll is a 2-day process (or 1 long day). Please don’t be deterred by this because most of the action is passive!
You can start the process either the evening before going to bed or at least 9 ½ hours before you want to eat them. Instead of kneading, the fridge slowly develops the gluten over at least an 8-hour period. Your fridge does the work NOT you!
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Day 1 or Early Morning- Mix the Ingredients
Activate the Yeast
Start by activating the yeast. In a small bowl, whisk together 4½ teaspoons of yeast (2 packages) and ½ cup of warm water (100˚F-110˚F / 38˚C-43˚C). Then, set the mixture aside for 5-10 minutes until the yeast is activated, bubbly and frothy.
TIP: If the yeast does not bubble or become frothy (even a little), the yeast is dead and you need to start over with a new package.
Melt the Butter & Sour Cream
In the meantime, dice 4 ounces of butter (1 stick) and place it in a glass bowl. Add 8 ounces of sour cream (1 cup) and microwave both for 30 seconds. Stir just until the butter is melted. Add another 5 seconds in increments, if needed.
TIP: Diced butter will require less heat (less mass) to melt. Thus, less heat means less time you need for the butter to cool down enough to add to the yeast.
Add Sugar, Salt, & Eggs to the Butter & Sour Cream
Stir in ½ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt, if using salted butter (or 1¼ teaspoons salt, if using unsalted butter). You may need to set the mixture aside for a couple of minutes to cool down to 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C).
Once the mixture has cooled, stir beaten eggs into the sour cream mixture.
TIP: The sugar amount is NOT too much for this recipe. It really balances out the tang from the sour cream and salt from the butter. Don’t hold back!!
TIP: Crack eggs on a flat surface to prevent shells from getting into the egg white. Place eggs, one at a time, in a separate small bowl so you can easily fish out broken shells, if need be. You can also catch any bad (bloody) egg before adding it to the other ingredients. YES, that happens! AND a small bowl allows you to beat the eggs before adding them to the mixture.
Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients
In a very large bowl, measure out 4 cups of flour (480 grams). Pour in the sour cream mixture followed by the yeast mixture. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 8 hours up to 24 hours).
TIP: If not weighing out flour, fluff the flour in the flour canister and use a spoon to scoop it out. If you directly scoop out the flour using your measuring cup, you will likely pack it in. Thus easily adding, at least, 1 tablespoon PER CUP of extra flour. In baking, if you do this, you will throw off ALL of your measurements and ratios thus producing a much less than stellar bake.
4 cups (480 g) flour Pour in ALL wet ingredients Stir well ensure NO flour left Cover with plastic in a BIG bowl to allow for rise Place in fridge for at least 8 hours to max 24 hours
Day 1 Roll Prep DONE!
Let the fridge do its magic. The gluten in the dough will slowly develop as it sits.
TIP: Remember that as long as you have less than 2% salt to flour weight ratio the salt will not negatively affect the yeast. So, the salt in the dough overnight in the fridge will be fine and still rise.
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Day 2 or Evening- Roll out, Cut, Butter, Crease, Fold, & Seal
Continue the process on the 2nd day or the evening of the morning you made the dough. These next steps are assembly line work. You can make this a family activity by letting your kids help. There is still more passive time than active on your part.
Divide & Roll Dough
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half (eyeball it and tear it or cut it with a knife). Shape each half into a ball and return one of the halves to the bowl and set aside. This dough recipe is so large, it’s easiest to work with one half at a time. Roll each dough half into a thin ¼ inches thick.
TIP: The dough should not be any thicker than a ¼ inch. If so, you’ll end up with rolls that pop open as they rise and the shapes will be unrecognizable (weird looking pocketbooks). You’ll certainly have a messy pan of bread, but they rolls will still taste good!
Turn out onto floured surface Divide in half (tearing is fine) Roll to 1/4 inch thickness
Cut out Dough Rounds & Gather Remaining Dough Pieces
Use a cookie or biscuit cutter or any round object with edges; a drinking glass would work. The cutter should measure ~2 ½ inches in diameter. Cut out rounds using the cutter and set them aside. Roll up leftover dough and add it to the other half.
2 ½-inch cutter Simple dough round Gather up leftover dough
Butter, Crease, Fold, & Seal Dough Rounds
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a condiment bowl. Brush each dough round with melted butter. Use the dull side of a knife and create a crease in the center of each roll round to mark a fold line. Fold each round in half along the crease. Press the fold edges to seal in the butter and help to create a solid roll.
TIP: The reason these are called pocketbook rolls is because they resemble a purse once they’ve been formed. I know… a little antiquated, but pocketbook roll recipes have been around a while. 😊Thus, if your roll doesn’t look like a purse… oops!
TIP: Salted butter is best for brushing. The little extra salt isn’t too much!
Brush on butter Crease w/ dull side of knife Fold along crease Pinch fold edges to seal One pocketbook roll done!
Line Up the Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls for Rising
Place the rolls with sides touching (or close to it) on a large parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover them with a towel or plastic wrap and allow them to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
TIP: I use a very large cookie sheet that measures 18×12½ (internal measurements). I can place all 43 pocketbooks on this one sheet. However, if you use anything smaller, you might need 2 pans.
Begin lining them up 43 rolls ready to rise Cover & place in a warm area
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Preheat Oven & Bake
Preheat the oven to 375˚F (191˚C) during the final 30 minutes of the rise. Once doubled in size and puffy, bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Baked & Ready for Final Touches
Rolls are baked! Add the final, flavoring touch by brushing rolls with the other 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Could we possibly add anymore richness?! No need to cool, eat them while they’re hot!!
TIP: Salted butter is best for brushing. The little extra salt still isn’t too much!
Brush on butter Dig in while they’re hot!
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Close Up Anyone?
Notice the light and airy pockets. Remember NO kneading!! Can you spot the fold housing that little extra butter? You can see a little flakiness/tearing on the right side from where the rolls were touching. These are nice and golden brown on top and bottom.
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Storage Suggestions
You can store these wrapped well at room temperature for several days. Keep in mind that as bread sits, it begins to dry out. I prefer the freeze method for all of my breads including these. Once cooled, wrap them well (in large chunks or separated), place in a freezer bag and freeze until you want to eat them. Place them on the counter for about 30 minutes to thaw and heat in the microwave. You can also wrap a chunk of rolls in foil and heat them in a 350˚F (177˚C) oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. They will taste as fresh as the day you made them.
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Final Thoughts
What can I say? I’ve been making these rolls for over a decade. They really are one of my go-to rolls when I have guests, anytime of year or for the holidays. This is one of our favorite yeast breads. The fact that you don’t need to knead 😉 the dough really factors in when it comes to time. As an aside, if you do not have or like sour cream or you don’t want to buy it, you can still make this bread. You can substitute plain (unflavored), unsweetened yogurt (Greek or regular) in the same amount. The tang will likely be less.
Baker’s Perspective
No kneading! Well, that’s a bonus! The flip side is that you need to roll, cut, butter, crease, fold, and seal each dough round. With an assembly line going, it’s really not difficult and doesn’t take long. This is a great make-ahead bread allowing you to store them for weeks before you want to eat them. That’s a plus!
You know, I can’t recommend it (because I’ve never done it), BUT you might be able to forego the whole rolling process and just divide the dough into 24 individual dough balls and bake as you would regular yeast rolls. Now that would make this the easiest roll recipe ever, I’m sure!
Taster’s Perspective
Scott and I have loved eating these rolls for years. I usually only make them once or twice a year because I have SO many roll and bread recipes that I make. However, of all of them, this one is certainly at the top of the favorite’s list.
We love that they are light, airy, yeasty, salty, and rich from the butter, eggs, and sour cream. You get the added bonus of a little tang from the sour cream and an appropriate amount of sweetness from the sugar. This is just an overall REALLY good balanced roll that is more than a side to your dinner plate. My guests always have another, or two, or three. 😉 You can serve the rolls with more butter, but it really isn’t needed.
If you decide to make them, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Check out my YouTube video on making these rolls. “Sour Cream Pocketbook Yeast Rolls: Light, Buttery, & Salty with a Hint of Tang & Sweetness“.
Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls
Ingredients
- 8 oz (1 cup) sour cream
- 4 oz (1 stick / 8 tbsp) butter
- 100 g (½ cup) sugar
- 6 g (1 tsp) salt for salted butter in the dough, use 1¼ tsp salt for unsalted butter in the dough
- 4½ tsp (2 pkgs) active dry yeast
- 4 oz (½ cup) water
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten and at room temperature
- 480 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 oz (4 tbsp) butter divided
Instructions
Day 1 or Early Morning: Combine ingredients and refrigerate
- Activate yeast: In a small bowl, whisk together yeast and warm water (100˚F-110˚F / 38˚C-43˚C). Set aside for 5-10 minutes until the yeast is activated, bubbly and frothy.TIP: If the yeast does not bubble or become frothy (even a little), the yeast is dead and you need to start over with a new package.
- Heat up butter & sour cream: Dice butter and place it in a glass bowl. Add sour cream and microwave for 30 seconds and stir until melted. Add another 5 second increments until butter is melted.TIP: Diced butter will require less heat (less mass) to melt. Thus, less heat means less time you need for the butter to cool down enough to add to the yeast.
- Stir sugar and salt into the sour cream & butter mixture. Set aside for a couple of minutes to cool until the temperature is between 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C).TIP: The sugar is NOT too much for this recipe. It really balances out the tang from the sour cream and salt from the butter. Don't hold back!!
- Once the butter and sour cream mixture has cooled, stir in the beaten eggs.TIP: Crack eggs on a flat surface to prevent shells from getting into the egg white. Place eggs, one at a time, in a separate small bowl so you can easily fish out broken shells or a bad egg. Also, a small bowl allows you to beat the eggs before adding them to the mixture.
- Mix all ingredients together: In a large bowl, add flour and stir in sour cream mixture followed by yeast mixture until well combined. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight for a maximum of 24 hours.
Day 2 or 8 hours later: Divide, shape, rise, and bake
- Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough half to ¼-inch thick. Use a cookie cutter (biscuit cutter or drinking glass) that is ~2 ½ inch in diameter to cut out roll rounds. Put aside leftover dough as you cut out the rounds. Roll up leftover dough and add it to the other half. Continue rolling and cutting with the other dough half until all dough is used.TIP: The dough should not be any thicker than a ¼ inch. If so, you'll end up with rolls that pop open as they rise and the shapes will be unrecognizable (weird looking pocketbooks). You'll certainly have a messy pan of bread, but they rolls will still taste good!
- Melt 2 tbsp of butter. Brush each dough round with melted butter. Use the dull side of a knife and create a crease in the center of each dough round to mark a fold line. Fold each round in half along the crease. Press the edges to seal.TIP: Salted butter is best for brushing. The little extra salt isn't too much!
- Place rolls with sides touching on a large parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover and allow them to rise in a warm place ~1 hour or until doubled in size.TIP: I use a very large cookie sheet that measures 18×12½ (internal measurements). I can place all 43 pocketbook rolls on this one sheet. However, if you use anything smaller, you might need 2 pans.
- Preheat oven to 375˚F (191˚C) during the last 30 minutes of the rise. Bake rolls for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush rolls with the other 2 tbsp of melted butter. Serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
You might be interested in some of these other individual bread roll favorites.
The Berry Rolls (My Grandma’s Recipe)
Mexican Conchas (Lightly Sweetened Roll)
Columbian Pandebono 30-Minute Cheese Rolls (Gluten Free)
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please share it. Check out my YouTube Channel as well to see videos of kitchen tips, blog bakes, and dishes. Until next time, go bake the world!