Whole Grain Breakfast Roll Recipe | Bake Them While the Coffee’s Brewing

This is the healthy version of the cheesy breakfast roll recipe I posted recently.

The method here is almost the same. We mix the dough, let it ferment for a short while, divide it, shape it, and leave the rolls to ferment in the fridge overnight. In the morning they can be baked right from the fridge making this an extremely convenient way of having freshly baked bread for breakfast.

I had some spelt and einkorn flour in the cupboard, so I decided to add them to this recipe. You can swap them for other whole grain flour or just use 100% wheat if you want to.

The rolls are covered in wheat bran which I made by sifting some whole wheat flour.

These rolls are meant to be eaten fresh for breakfast. As they are small and denser than the cheesy version, they will not be soft and fluffy the next day. Bake them and serve them within a couple of hours.

I will work on a softer and fluffier whole wheat breakfast bun recipe in the future. This time I wanted to keep it simple and with simplicity there is always a trade-off. I am not saying that this recipe is bad, I’m just telling you not to expect the same texture that the cheesy rolls had because that is not how it works with whole wheat flour.

Fridge temperature is an important factor in cold fermentation. My fridge is around 5C (41F). If yours is cooler, then you may need to increase the final dough temperature or let it ferment for longer before you put it in the fridge.

This recipe makes 8 small rolls. Divide the dough into 6 if you want them to be larger. Or multiply all the ingredients to make more of them.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

300g (10.6oz) whole wheat flour

50g (1.75oz) whole grain spelt flour

50g (1.75oz) whole grain einkorn flour

8g (0.28oz) salt

4g (0.14oz) instant dry yeast or 4.8g (0.16oz) active dry yeast or 12g (0.42oz) fresh yeast

20g (0.7oz) barley malt syrup or any other sweet syrup you like. This is optional.

300g (10.6oz) water*

*To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

Wheat bran for topping

If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.

Method

1. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast, salt, spelt, and einkorn. Mix well. Add the malt syrup and mix again. Add the whole wheat flour and mix until there is no dry flour left.
2. Leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes. This will help the flour absorb the water and make the kneading process easier.
3. Knead the dough using the slap & fold method for 8 minutes. *Desired dough temperature 24C (75F). My dough was a bit cooler, so I left it to ferment for 1 hour before moving on to the next step. At 24C (75F) you should ferment it for 45 minutes instead of 1 hour. If your dough is warmer, then you should cut the fermentation time down further.
4. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into balls. Roll the dough balls in the wheat bran and place on a non-stick paper lined tray.
5. Cover and cold ferment for 12 hours.
6. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C (392F) for 20 minutes.

Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.

Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.