One of my favorite kitchen appliances is my grain mill*. Not only is it beautiful, but it has also served me faithfully for years. This recipe for crispy wholemeal bread rolls with sourdough is no exception. They consist only of wholemeal flour (self-ground in my case), water, sourdough and salt. For an extra crunch, you can top the rolls with your favorite seeds and seeds.
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Why you’ll love the wholegrain rolls with overnight proofing
Thanks to the wholegrain flour, the rolls are particularly high in fiber and nutrients. This not only makes them healthier but also keeps you full for longer. The recipe works without yeast. The sourdough makes the rolls fluffy and soft. The recipe is suitable for beginners because the rolls do not need to be shaped, but only cut into rectangles. You can prepare the dough the day before and leave it to rest overnight in the fridge. Overnight proofing makes the wholegrain rolls particularly aromatic.
You’ll need these ingredients
- Whole wheat flour contains all the components of the grain (husk, germ and endosperm) and is therefore particularly rich in nutrients. It gives the dough a slightly nutty taste. I prefer to use freshly ground flour because it tastes more aromatic and can usually absorb more water. If you don’t have a grain mill*, you can of course also use store-bought wholegrain flour.
- Water: Cold in summer and lukewarm in winter. Different flours can absorb different amounts of water, so I would start with 300g and add the rest of the water a little at a time if the dough is too firm.
- sourdough starter
- Salt for flavor.
Baking with sourdough – cultivating and caring for sourdough starter
You can use either wheat sourdough or rye starter for this recipe. I use a universal sourdough for all types of flour. I feed my sourdough with equal parts water and flour. If you use a different mixing ratio, you will need to adjust the amount of water in the recipe.
The sourdough does not need to be freshly fed for this recipe, but it should not have been more than a week since it was last refreshed. The longer your sourdough has not been fed, the longer the dough usually needs to rest.
If you don’t have a sourdough yet, I’ve put together some methods for growing your own starter here.
How to make wholegrain sourdough rolls
Preparing the dough
Make the dough: Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix* to form a smooth dough.
Resting time: Cover the dough and leave to rest at room temperature for approx. 2-4 hours until the volume has increased significantly.
Stretch & fold: After 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough once with slightly moistened hands to strengthen the structure.
Overnight proofing: Cover the dough, place in the fridge and leave to rest overnight.
Shape the wholegrain rolls
Prepare the dough: Place the dough on a floured work surface and carefully shape into a square without squeezing out the air bubbles too much. Spread the seeds of your choice over the surface and press down lightly.
Cut off the dough pieces: Divide into 8-9 equal pieces using a dough card*. Cover the dough pieces with a cotton cloth and leave to rest for 1-2 hours.
Bake the sourdough rolls
Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven with a baking stone* and a steam tray consisting of a stainless steel oven dish* and lava stones* Preheat to 250 °C convection (+ bottom heat).
Bake the rolls: Place the dough pieces on the hot stone*. Reduce the temperature to 230 °C. Bake for 7 minutes with steam, then 10 minutes without steam until crispy.
Leave to cool: Leave the rolls to cool on a wire rack* and serve lukewarm.
Frequently asked questions
Can the wholegrain rolls be frozen and rebaked?
Yes, that works! Leave the rolls to cool completely after baking before freezing them. It’s best to store them in an airtight freezer bag or tin. This prevents freezer burn.
To defrost: Leave the rolls to defrost at room temperature.
For baking: Preheat the oven to 180-200 °C and bake the rolls for approx. 5-8 minutes until they are crispy again.
Why don’t my wholegrain rolls rise?
There can be several reasons why wholegrain bread rolls do not rise properly. One possible cause is that the dough contains too little liquid. Wholegrain flour absorbs more water than white flour, and if the dough is too dry, it lacks the elasticity to rise properly. All flours are different, so you may need to use more or less water than stated in the recipe.
Another reason may be that the sourdough starter is not active enough. Your starter does not need to be freshly fed for this recipe, but the last feeding should not have been more than five days ago. Don’t worry – if your starter doesn’t have enough power, you can make up for it with more time.
Another important factor is the temperature. If the dough is in a place that is too cold, the fermentation process slows down considerably. An ambient temperature of 24 to 26 °C is ideal. At cooler temperatures, your dough will need more time.
You might also like these recipes
- Grain breadsticks with sourdough
- Whole grain spelt rolls with sourdough
- Chia spelt rolls with sourdough
- Wholegrain ciabatta with sourdough
- Healthy Seeded Sourdough Rolls with Poppy Seeds: German Weltmeisterbrötchen
Helpful tools – My recommendations
✨ The links with an star* are affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and buy something, I get a small commission and you support my work (thanks for that 🧡). This does not change the price for you. You can find more information on privacy policy here.✨
- A grain mill* for freshly ground wholemeal flour.
- A Danish Whisk* – especially if you don’t use a kitchen machine. This allows you to mix your ingredients without the whole dough sticking to the spoon.
- A kitchen scale*.
- You can use a stainless steel dough knife* to cut your dough pieces or shape your loaves.
- You can bake beautiful loaves with proofing baskets. There are round proofing baskets* and oval proofing baskets*. If you want to bake several loaves at the same time, I would recommend oval baskets. They take up less space in the fridge and oven.
- A steam tray consisting of a stainless steel oven mould* and lava stones*. The tray is filled with the stones and placed on the bottom of the oven during preheating. When you put your bread in the oven, pour hot water onto the stones. This creates steam, which ensures that your bread rises well.
- Baking steel* or baking stone to make your bread, rolls and pizza nice and crispy.
- A cooling rack* for bread, rolls and waffles.
- A stainless steel kettle* with different temperature settings for soaked ingredients.
- A sharp bread knife*.
- A stainless steel toaster* for slices of bread, toast and rolls.
You can find more product recommendations here.
More wholegrain rolls with sourdough
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Easy Chia Seed Spelt Rolls with Sourdough
The recipe I have for you today is possibly the easiest, laziest recipe for Sunday breakfast bread rolls. You do not need to knead the dough and the rolls do not need to be shaped, only cut out. And then there are only a few ingredients. With wholegrain flour, spelt…
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Recipe for wholegrain sourdough bread rolls
Ingredients
- 500 g wholegrain wheat flour freshly ground or store-bought
- 350-375 g water cold in summer and lukewarm in winter
- 50 g sourdough starter
- 1½ tsp. salt
- Grains and seeds of your choice as a topping
Instructions
Day 1: Prepare the dough
- Make the dough: Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix* to form a smooth dough.Tip: Each flour can absorb different amounts of water. First add only 350 g of water to the dough. If the dough is too dry, you can add the remaining 25 g. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not runny.
- Resting time: Cover the dough and leave to rest at room temperature for approx. 2-4 hours until the volume has increased significantly.
- Stretch & fold: After 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough once with slightly moistened hands to strengthen the structure.
- Overnight proofing: Cover the dough, place in the fridge and leave to rest overnight.
Day 2: Shaping & baking
- Prepare the dough: Place the dough on a floured work surface and carefully shape into a square without squeezing out the air bubbles too much. Spread the seeds of your choice over the surface and press down lightly.
- Cut off the dough pieces: Divide into 8-9 equal pieces using a dough card*. Cover the dough pieces with a cotton cloth and leave to rest for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven with a baking stone* and a steam tray consisting of a and to 250 °C fan (+ bottom heat).
- Bake the rolls: Place the dough pieces on the hot stone*. Reduce the temperature to 230 °C. Bake for 7 minutes with steam, then 10 minutes without steam until crispy.
- Leave to cool: Leave the rolls to cool on a wire rack* and serve lukewarm.
Notes
Can the wholegrain rolls be frozen and rebaked?
Yes, that works! Leave the rolls to cool completely after baking before freezing them. It’s best to store them in an airtight freezer bag or tin. This prevents freezer burn. To defrost: Leave the rolls to defrost at room temperature. For baking: Preheat the oven to 180-200 °C and bake the rolls for approx. 5-8 minutes until they are crispy again.Why don’t my wholegrain rolls rise?
There can be several reasons why wholegrain bread rolls do not rise properly. One possible cause is that the dough contains too little liquid. Wholegrain flour absorbs more water than white flour, and if the dough is too dry, it lacks the elasticity to rise properly. All flours are different, so you may need to use more or less water than stated in the recipe. Another reason may be that the sourdough starter is not active enough. Your starter does not need to be freshly fed for this recipe, but the last feeding should not have been more than five days ago. Don’t worry – if your starter doesn’t have enough power, you can make up for it with more time. Another important factor is the temperature. If the dough is in a place that is too cold, the fermentation process slows down considerably. An ambient temperature of 24 to 26 °C is ideal. At cooler temperatures, your dough will need more time.Have you tried one of my recipes?
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