I recently updated my cold proofed cheesy breakfast roll recipe, and that got me thinking about more cold proofed bakes. Cold proofing is an excellent method for saving time on the day of baking. All of the prep can be done on the night before and all that is left to do on the next day is baking. It’s a perfect method for breakfast bakes, but any time of day will do.
This is also an updated recipe. I had posted a muffuletta vide a couple of years ago. Back then I still used to actively knead dough by hand which, as we all know now, is a waste of time and energy. This new version ditches the kneading step replacing it with a single fold. The glazing step in the old recipe was done on the second day just before baking. This time I’ve changed it so that everything is done on the first day. The only thing left to do on the next day is baking.
This recipe makes one giant bun which you can slice in half and fill with a ton of fillings and then divide into portions. It makes 4 decently large sandwich wedges. I could easily demolish two and then some, but then gain I am a pretty greedy eater sometimes. It should be enough for two normal people.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the dough –
160g (5.65oz) water
5g (0.17oz) salt
2g (0.07oz) instant dry yeast or 2.4g (0.09oz) active dry yeast or 6g (0.21oz) fresh yeast
15g (0.53oz) olive oil
250g (8.8oz) white bread flour
For topping –
1 egg for glazing
Sesame seeds to sprinkle on top. You can use any seeds that you like.
To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.
The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration.
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
- Combine the water, yeast, salt, and olive oil. Mix well to dissolve the salt and yeast. Add the bread flour and mix to a dough.
- Cover and ferment for 40 minutes.
- Fold.
- Ferment for 40 minutes.
- Dust the dough with flour and place it on a non-stick paper lined baking tray. Flatten it. Glaze it with the egg, leave it to dry for 5 minutes, and then glaze it again.
- Cover the whole surface in seeds and gently press them into the dough with the palm of your hand.
- Cover and leave to ferment for 15 minutes.
- Place the dough in the fridge and let it cold proof for 12 – 24 hours.
- On the next day take the tray out of the fridge and let the dough warm up at room temperature for 15 minutes while the oven is pre-heating.
- Bake at 170C (340F) fan on or 190C (375F) fan off for 25 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.
