These Wholemeal Bread rolls are easy to make and have so many delicious uses. They are perfect for dipping in soup, using as dinner rolls and spreading with butter, or filling with salad and cheese for a delicious sandwich.
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Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information
- Strong bread flour is the best option for bread as it is high in protein which assists in the forming of gluten - a protein that creates the rise in bread, as well as creating the lovely bread texture that we all know and love. You can also make this recipe with regular plain flour, the bread may just rise a little less. I recommend Matthews Cotswold Flour for bread making. They are a family run business with a focus on sustainable and organic farming practices. I've visited and toured their mill, set in the beautiful Cotswolds. You can also get 10% off any purchase from their website using my code: KATBAKINGEXPLORER
- A good quality olive oil is the best kind of oil to use for this recipe but you can also use vegetable oil or another plain oil that doesn't have a strong taste like canola or sunflower oil. If you do want to add some extra flavour to your bread you could try an infused oil, like garlic for example.
- The water should be lukewarm or tepid, this essentially means room temperature water which is around 18C to 23C. It's important not to use hot water that's above 30C as this will most likely kill the yeast and your bread will not rise.
- If you are kneading the dough in your stand mixer, pop it into the bowl of your mixer and set it on a low speed with the dough hook attachment. Leave it to knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and supple, and comes away from the side of the bowl.
- For more information on bread making, including a guide on how to knead by hand and lots of tips and tricks, check out my White Bread Loaf recipe.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Wholemeal Bread Rolls
In a large bowl stir both flours, the yeast and salt together. Add the luke warm water and oil and mix to form a dough.
Knead by hand for 10 minutes, or put it in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and knead for 8 minutes. Then place it into an oiled bowl, cover it with cling film and put it in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.
Knock the air out of it on a floured surface, then using scales divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place them onto lined baking trays. Cover them loosely with cling film and a tea towel, and leave them for 1 hour to rise. Before baking you can brush them with water and sprinkle some oats over the top if you like. Bake for 20 minutes until golden.
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Why does this recipe only use half wholemeal flour?
I've found that using half wholemeal flour and half white flour provides a lovely light result. Wholemeal flour alone creates a much denser bread roll, but this recipe provides the best of both worlds - the lightness of white flour and the goodness of wholemeal flour.
How long do the rolls last and can they be frozen?
They will last a few days in an airtight container. You can freeze them wrapped well for up to 3 months.
Who are the bread rolls suitable for?
This recipe is vegetarian and vegan, it is also dairy and egg free.
Can this recipe be made gluten free?
If you are coeliac or are wanting to bake bread for someone who is, I would advise that you look for a specifically gluten free bread recipe. It is much easier to follow an already gluten free bread recipe, than try to adapt one. I am not familiar with gluten free bread baking, and I have no experience with baking gluten free bread. I recommend starting with this Gluten Free Bread recipe from The Gluten Free Alchemist.
What type of yeast should you use to make this recipe?
The best type of yeast to use for this recipe is fast action yeast (also know as instant yeast) it is sold in sachets that weigh 7g each. It does not need dissolving in water before use. The great thing about this type of yeast is that you can just add it straight into the flour. It is my personal favourite kind of yeast for homemade bread baking, and the type I recommend for this recipe. However if you want to use fresh yeast, you will need 8g fresh yeast. Or if you want to use active dry yeast, you will need 9g of active dried yeast.
Troubleshooting
If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
Recommended equipment & ingredients
- Baking trays
- Mixing bowls
- Kitchen scales
- Cooling rack
- Fast action yeast
- Metal dough scraper
- Dough scraper
- Stand mixer
- Silicone mat
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More bread recipes...
Wholemeal Bread Rolls
Ingredients
- 250 g Strong white bread flour
- 250 g Strong wholemeal bread flour
- 7 g Sachet of fast action yeast (also known as instant yeast)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 50 ml Olive oil
- 320 ml Luke warm water
- 10 g Oats optional, for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir the strong white bread flour, strong wholemeal bread flour, yeast and salt together. Make sure not to pour the salt directly over the yeast, add them on separate sides of the bowl
- Mix the oil with the luke warm water in a jug and pour into the flour mixture. Add the water slowly as you may not need it all, or you may need a little more. Stir together until a dough forms
- Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes on a floured surface, or put in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and leave it to knead for 8 minutes on a low speed
- Place the kneaded dough into a large bowl that has been brushed all over on the inside with a light coating of olive oil. Cover the bowl tightly with cling film and put it in a warm place for 1 hour for the dough to rise and double in size
- Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and knead very briefly, just to knock the air out of it
- Using scales, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces
- Roll each piece into a ball and place them onto lined baking trays. Cover them loosely with cling film and a tea towel and leave them for 1 hour to prove
- Pre-heat your oven to 200C Fan/220C/425F/Gas Mark 7
- If you like you can brush the rolls with water and sprinkle some oats over the top of each roll, then bake for 20 minutes until golden. You know they are done when you tap them on the bottom and they sound hollow
- Best eaten fresh, but you can store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They can also be frozen
Video
Notes
- Strong bread flour is the best option for bread as it is high in protein which assists in the forming of gluten - a protein that creates the rise in bread, as well as creating the lovely bread texture that we all know and love. You can also make this recipe with regular plain flour, the bread may just rise a little less. I recommend Matthews Cotswold Flour for bread making. They are a family run business with a focus on sustainable and organic farming practices. I've visited and toured their mill, set in the beautiful Cotswolds. You can also get 10% off any purchase from their website using my code: KATBAKINGEXPLORER
- A good quality olive oil is the best kind of oil to use for this recipe but you can also use vegetable oil or another plain oil that doesn't have a strong taste like canola or sunflower oil. If you do want to add some extra flavour to your bread you could try an infused oil, like garlic for example.
- The water should be lukewarm or tepid, this essentially means room temperature water which is around 18C to 23C. It's important not to use hot water that's above 30C as this will most likely kill the yeast and your bread will not rise.
- If you are kneading the dough in your stand mixer, pop it into the bowl of your mixer and set it on a low speed with the dough hook attachment. Leave it to knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and supple, and comes away from the side of the bowl.
- For more information on bread making, including a guide on how to knead by hand and lots of tips and tricks, check out my White Bread Loaf recipe.
- Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
- For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
Monika Dabrowski
Love your healthy rolls! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Monika!
Corina Blum
This looks yummy! Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
thebakingexplorer
Thanks Corina!
cakespy
Soup and rolls = simple perfection. The ideal winter meal!!
thebakingexplorer
I agree! It's everything I want during winter!
Maurice McNelis
I made these rolls for the first time today, it won't be the last. I had them with spicy lentil soup and what a gorgeous combo. Thanks for the recipe.
Olivia
Just wondering if this could be made exclusively with whole wheat flour? Instead of white and Wholemeal?
And would that affect the calorie count?
Looking forward to trying them!
thebakingexplorer
Hi Olivia, it can but I find using only wholemeal makes the rolls denser. Sp this recipe provides the best of both worlds - the lightness of white flour and the goodness of wholemeal flour.
Anne
Could I just use bread flour so it makes white rolls thanks
thebakingexplorer
Yes absolutely!
Deborah O'Grady
Amazing rolls! Thank you for sharing
Cat
Your rolls look really tasty
thebakingexplorer
Thank you!
Robyn
Am about to make these. Thank you for this recipe
Mandy
Yum! Will have to try this
thebakingexplorer
Do let me know if you try them!
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food
These rolls look absolutely delicious. I work from home, so I'm excited to try baking these: it'll be a great project to have going on "in the background". Thanks for sharing with #cookblogshare!
thebakingexplorer
I really hope you enjoy my recipe Michelle!
jenny paulin
Your healthy rolls look great and are the best accompaniment for warming soup x
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Jenny! 🙂
Alison's Allspice
Your rolls look outstanding! I love baking my own bread, definitely saving your recipe for later!
thebakingexplorer
Thank you Alison! Do let me know what you think if you give them a try!
pauline james
Great recipe will definitely make again.
Carole
So easy to make & delicious
Just found the baking explorer expect to use it more lovely recipes.
Are you a UK site
thebakingexplorer
Hi Carole, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the rolls! Can I ask if there was a reason you gave it 4 stars - do let me know if there was a problem as I'd love to help! Yes I am based in the UK 🙂
William Gow
Quite new to baking and bought a breadmaker and made some mediocre/awful bread and rolls. Got a stand mixer [ arthritis says no no to kneading ] found your site and made your 50-50 bread rolls and what can I say perfection at last. What I did notice was the large difference in the temp of the water of the breadmakers to your recipe there was a misprint saying 15-25 Celcius for the breadmakers which is way too low. Breadmaker is staying in the junk cupboard. Again thank you and will be checking out the remainder of your recipes soon.
thebakingexplorer
Hi William, I'm so pleased you liked this recipe! Thanks so much for the lovely feedback and do let me know if you make anything else 😀
William Gow
just made your white bread loaf recipe. left a comment cheers
Meilanni dillom
1st time making rolls and this recipe is perfect!
Do you think i can use same.dough to make loaf intead of rolls? They are very nice, wondering if I can bake into loaf and.slice it
TIA
thebakingexplorer
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback! Yes you can make a loaf with it too, check out my bread loaf recipe for helpful details on making loaves: https://thebakingexplorer.com/white-bread-loaf/
Bernie
Really great recipe, works perfectly. The tip on using scales is so obvious in hindsight, genius! I’m doing all my rolls like this from now on. Thank you.
Jasmine Stewart
This is the place to come for true British recipe. Easy to understand, gives reasons and explanations, makes it easy to print out the recipe. The best ever recipe posts I have encountered. Thank you so much for plain, straightforward English explanations and measurements
Lilyn
Hi,
Can make this into buns n add dried cranberries n toasted sunflower seeds? Also can use unsalted butter instead of olive oil?
Thanks🌷
thebakingexplorer
Hi Lilyn, this sounds like a delicious idea! Yes I think this would be ok, I've never tried it, you may need to melt the butter or have it very soft so it incorporates well. Make sure it is not too hot if you add it melted. Let me know how you get on!
Lilyn
Hi Kat
I made half of the recipe into 9 buns n added a small amount of dried cranberries, toasted sunflower seeds n toasted black n white sesame seeds. Also egg wash n sprinkled some rolled oats before baking. 👍recipe!
Thank you for sharing!!
God bless🌷
thebakingexplorer
That's wonderful news! Thanks so much for letting me know!
Olga
Such and easy recipe. Thank you very much, my whole family enjoys them.
thebakingexplorer
Thanks so much Olga!
Want wholegrain
Not a wholegrain recipe, actually only 50/50. Mislabelling makes looking for a real wholegrain recipe take an eternity. Thanks for the baking times though.
thebakingexplorer
I've explained in the post why it's 50/50. I've found that using half wholemeal flour and half white flour provides a lovely light result. Wholemeal flour alone creates a much denser bread roll, but this recipe provides the best of both worlds - the lightness of white flour and the goodness of wholemeal flour. I hope that helps 🙂
Denis
I'm interested to make these rolls. However I want to make them into little sandwiches for a couple of bites. Can I just make more rolls (say 24 instead of 12) out of the same amount of dough and just adjust the baking time down?
thebakingexplorer
Yes you can do this! The baking time will be similar I think
Millie
Delicious, even my discerning (fussy) hubby loved the rolls with a request to make them again. Thank you
Annette
Made these and loved them, thank you. Am wondering if it possible to make these rolls using a sourdough starter and leave overnight to prove? I guess they might mould into one big roll though and not keep their individual 12 roll shape? Any ideas please?
thebakingexplorer
So happy you liked them! I don't have much experience with sourdough, I think the only way to know would be to test it out!
Annette
Ahh okay thank you. I make sourdough every week so maybe I’ll give it a go and report back. I’ll still make the rolls as per your recipe as they were so yummy.