How to Make Cold Fermented Wholegrain Breakfast Rolls

As promised here is a soft version of my cold fermented whole grain breakfast roll recipe. This one is made with a scald which gives the rolls a particularly nice and springy crumb.

Scald and yudane are pretty much the same thing. A portion of the total flour of a recipe is mixed with boiling water. The hot water cooks the flour gelatinizing the starch in it. It is the gelatinized flour that makes the crumb of the bread so soft and springy. It also makes it stray softer for longer.

This method can be applied to many bread recipes with great results. You can find a detailed video about yudane in the Principles of Baking playlist.

You can customize this recipe by using other flours instead of rye, and you can swap or skip the caraway seeds. The sesame seed coating can be replaced by other seeds or wheat bran or oats, etc. You could also glaze the rolls before coating to make the seeds stick better.

The malt syrup is there for colour, flavour, and sweetness. Skip or swap to your liking.

This recipe makes 8 small rolls or 6 large ones.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the scald –

60g (2.1oz) white bread flour

40g (1.4oz) wholegrain rye flour

6g (0.21oz) caraway seeds

200g (7oz) boiling water

For the main dough –

300g (10.6oz) whole wheat flour

20g (0.7oz) softened butter

8g (0.28oz) salt

15g (0.52oz) malt syrup or any other sweet syrup you like

5g (0.17oz) instant dry yeast or 6g (0.21oz) active dry yeast or 15g (0.52oz) fresh yeast

100g (3.5oz) water

Sesame seeds for coating the dough balls

To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

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. Make the scald. In a large bowl combine the boiling water, caraway seeds, white bread flour, and rye flour. Mix well. Spread the scald on the sides of the bowl to make it cool down sooner.
2. Cover and leave to cool for 1 hour.
3. Mix the dough. Add the water, yeast, salt, and malt syrup to the scald. Mix well to dissolve the salt and hydrate the yeast. Add the butter and the whole wheat flour.
4. Mix well until there is no dry flour left. *Desired dough temperature 25C – 26C (77F – 79F).
5. Give the dough three folds at 15-minute intervals.
6. After the final fold divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into balls.
7. Roll each dough ball in seeds and place on a non-stick paper lined tray.
8. Cover and cold proof for 12 – 24 hours. I have noticed that this kind of dough benefits from some time at room temperature before baking, so take your rolls out of the fridge whilst the oven is pre-heating. Ferment for around 1 hour.
9. Spray the rolls with water if you have a spray bottle.
10. Bake for 20 minutes at 210C (410F) fan off.

Leave to cool down and enjoy!

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.