Wholegrain Spelt Rolls with a Seeded Crust
Juicy breakfast rolls with a crunchy seeded crust
Hello foodies
Freshly baked rolls on a Sunday morning – is there anything better? These wholegrain spelt rolls with a crunchy seeded crust have become a firm breakfast ritual at our house: crunchy on the outside, wonderfully juicy inside thanks to a scald – and far simpler than they look. All you need is a few basic ingredients, a little patience with the resting times and an oven with a bit of steam (don't worry, I'll show you the trick for that). And the best part: the rolls freeze beautifully – so there's always a fresh roll waiting for you, even midweek.
Ingredients
MAIN DOUGH
Step by step
Scald
Prepare the scald
Bring the water to the boil and, in the meantime, weigh out the wholemeal spelt flour (part 1) into a Bowl. Pour the boiling water straight onto the flour and quickly mix the two with the Danish dough whisk until you get a thick, porridge-like mass – that's the scald, the little secret behind really juicy wholemeal rolls.
Wholemeal spelt flour 1 kg
Danish dough whisk, 33 cm
Chill for 30 minutes
Cover the finished scald with cling film and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. The hot water gelatinises the starch in the flour – this way the dough can bind much more liquid later, and your rolls stay lovely and juicy and fresh for longer.
Main dough
Main dough
Knead the dough
Once the scald has cooled enough, you can start making the dough. First pour the cold water into the Dough mixer. Then add the wholemeal spelt flour (part 2), the cooled scald and the fresh yeast, and mix everything together on speed 1 for 10 minutes.
Only now do you add the salt: finish kneading the dough on speed 2 for another 2 minutes. No dough mixer? No problem – by hand works just as well, you simply knead vigorously for a total of 12 to 15 minutes until you get a smooth dough.
Bulk proof: rest for 30 minutes
Shape the finished dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled Bowl. Cover the Bowl with a dough sheet and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes – this is the so-called bulk proof, during which the dough builds volume and Liquid aroma.
Shaping and baking
Portioning
After the bulk proof, weigh the dough into ten pieces of 80 g each.
Rigid stainless steel metal horn
Digital kitchen scale 5 kg
Shape into rounds
Shape the individual pieces of dough into small balls: the best way is to press all the corners into the middle and then turn the piece of dough over. Now, with your flat hand, make circular movements on the work surface until a nice, even ball forms. Don't be discouraged if the first ones turn out a bit wonky – by the third roll at the latest you'll have got the hang of it, promise!
Seeded crust and final proof
Mix Rye meal, poppy seeds, sesame and sunflower seeds in a small Bowl. Brush the rolls with a little water and dip them upside down into the seed mixture – this way the crust stays really nice and dense. Place the rolls on a baking-paper-lined tray, cover them with a dough sheet and let them rise at room temperature for another 30 minutes (final proof).
Rye meal 1 kg
Bake with steam
After the final proof, bake the rolls in the preheated oven at 220 °C fan for 15 minutes with steam. Then turn the temperature down to 200 °C and finish baking the rolls for another 15 to 20 minutes without steam.
And here's how to create steam in a domestic oven: when preheating, place an empty metal tray on the oven floor. As soon as the rolls are in the oven, pour half a cup of water onto the hot tray and close the door immediately. After 15 minutes, open the door briefly once so the remaining steam can escape – that's how the crust turns nice and crunchy.
Wholegrain Spelt Rolls
Ingredients
SPELT SCALD
MAIN DOUGH
SEED COATING
Preparation
- Scald: Pour boiling water over the flour (part 1), mix, cover and chill for 30 min.
- Dough: Knead cold water, flour (part 2), scald and yeast for 10 min on speed 1; add salt, 2 min on speed 2.
- Bulk proof: Cover as a ball in the oiled bowl and rest for 30 min.
- Shaping: Weigh out ten 80-g pieces and shape into rounds.
- Crust: Brush with water, dip into the seed mixture, cover and final proof for 30 min.
- Baking: 15 min at 220 °C fan with steam, then 15–20 min at 200 °C without steam.
Nutrition per 100 g
Storage & shelf life
Everything for this recipe
Recommended from our bakery — exactly the sizes the recipe was tested with.
Ingredients
Wholemeal spelt flour 1 kg
Rye meal 1 kg
Fine wholemeal wheat flour, 1 kg
Equipment
Danish dough whisk, 33 cm
Plastic dough sheets 20 m x 64 cm, cuttable
Rigid stainless steel metal horn
Digital kitchen scale 5 kg
Delivery in 1–2 working days · Free shipping from CHF 100
To make sure they turn out perfectly
Wholemeal rolls have a reputation for being dry and dense – the scald sorts that out. The boiling water gelatinises the starch in the flour, so the dough binds significantly more liquid, and the rolls stay juicy and fresh for longer. By the way, the maths works out exactly: 80 g water plus 70 g flour give precisely the 150 g of scald the main dough needs.
The steam in the first 15 minutes keeps the surface of the rolls elastic – they can really rise in the oven before the crust sets, and they get a lovely sheen too. Without steam the crust tears uncontrollably and the rolls stay smaller. The tray trick from step 7 is quite enough for this – just never pour water onto the oven floor or onto glass.
Bake double the quantity and freeze the cooled rolls – so even on hectic mornings a lovely breakfast roll is waiting for you. Bake straight from the freezer for 5 minutes at 200 °C, and it's done.
Frequently asked questions
Technically yes – but you'd be cutting the best part: without the scald, wholemeal rolls quickly turn dry and crumbly. The 35 minutes of lead time (5 minutes of work, 30 minutes in the fridge) are truly worth it for the juicy crumb.
Yes, no problem! Mix the ingredients in a large Bowl and knead the dough vigorously on the work surface for a total of 12 to 15 minutes, adding the salt after the first 10 minutes. The dough is ready when it's smooth and comes away from the table.
Yes! Water, wholemeal spelt flour, yeast, salt and seeds – that's all there is to it. That makes the rolls naturally vegan and wonderfully juicy even without dairy or eggs.
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Comments
Petits pains
By: Branco On 2026-09-07Bonjour et MERCIIIIIII pour cette recette ils seront sur ma table pour un repas entre amis.
Par contre avant de passer commande les associations de graines sont elles en commande avec les farines ?
Dans l attente cordialement
Replied by: Alessandra Z On 2026-10-16