These Make Ahead Honey Spelt Rolls are super easy; the dough is prepared ahead of time and can be frozen until you’re ready to bake.
I enjoy making different types of breads and rolls with spelt flour. I’ve had many successes, but some duds as well. One of my less-than-glorious attempts at utilizing spelt in a recipe happened on Thanksgiving Day. I converted my favorite yeast roll recipe to spelt sourdough and used all-purpose spelt flour instead of bread flour.
This turned out to be a bit too many changes at one time. The rolls tasted pretty good but the texture was more like a hard biscuit than a fluffy roll. I think the dough fermented too long. No one complained because we had plenty of food, but this was not the texture I was looking for.
I redeemed myself when I made Spelt Dinner Rolls for Christmas Dinner. I served them to my son’s girlfriend’s family so I was doubly pleased that they turned out. They were not duds. They received the thumbs up from everyone who tried them.
These rolls are super easy! The dough can be made ahead of time and frozen. This worked out perfectly for my schedule. I went out of town for a couple of days so I was able to make the dough the day before, freeze it and transport it with me on the two-and-a-half-hour drive. The rolls were just starting to unfreeze when I got to my destination so I put them back in the freezer to rest overnight.
On Christmas Day, I took the rolls out of the freezer and let them warm up a bit. Then I reshaped them and placed them in a muffin tin to bake. I transported them again during the final proof and baked them once I got to the host kitchen.
Everyone waited patiently for the rolls to bake. I’m happy to say they did not disappoint. They were fluffy and yummy.
These rolls were special because they were made with Spelt but also because I used Roman olive oil, the same oil my youngest son brought back with him from Rome.
I’m sure they would taste good with any olive oil, but because I used his olive oil, they were particularly delicious and memorable.
Adapted from: Taste of the South’s Make-Ahead Honey Wheat Rolls
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Make Ahead Honey Spelt Rolls
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 2 Dozen Rolls 1x
Description
These Make Ahead Honey Spelt Rolls are super easy; the dough is prepared ahead of time and can be frozen until you’re ready to bake.
Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose spelt flour
- 2 cups whole grain spelt flour
- 2 tsp. instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- scant 1/3 cup honey
- scant 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups warm water (100° to 115°)
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the flours, yeast, salt, and sugar using a wire whisk or wooden spoon.
Add the honey and oil and gradually add in the warm water. Using the dough hook, beat at medium speed until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Spelt does better if you don’t over mix it.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead it until it is soft and supple. Place the dough in a large bowl; spray with nonstick cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover, and let rise in a warm place, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch the dough down. Cover large baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper, and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Divide dough into 24 portions. With lightly floured hands, shape each portion of dough into a ball. Place dough balls on prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart. Cover and freeze until firm. Remove dough balls from baking sheets; place in resealable freezer bags. Seal bags, and freeze. (Dough is best if used within 2 months.)
To bake frozen dough, remove dough balls from freezer. Place each dough ball in a muffin cup coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover with a dish towel, and let rise in a warm place (85° F.), until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours. I only had 1 muffin tin with me so I baked half in the muffin tin and the other half on a baking sheet. They both looked and tasted great.
Preheat oven to 350° F.. Uncover dough; bake until golden brown, 17 to 20 minutes. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
To bake rolls on the same day you make the dough, place dough in muffin cups coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover, and let rise in a warm place (85° F.), until doubled in size, 35 to 40 minutes. Uncover; bake at 350° F. until golden brown, 17 to 20 minutes. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and serve warm or let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Cook Time: 17-20 minutes
- Category: Rolls
- Method: Yeast
These honey spelt rolls were shared with:
Happy Baking!
Cathy
sophiesfoodiefiles says
I love these appetizing spelt honey rolls. Do you use an oven with degrees Celsius or into Fahrenheit??
Thank you!
Cathy W. says
Hi Sophie! I bake in an oven that utilizes Fahrenheit. I updated the directions to reflect that. Thanks for the feedback!
Kay says
Okay, what is the difference between all purpose spelt flour and whole grain spelt flour? I grind my own wheat berries and have some spelt but if ground that would be whole grain. How would I get all purpose spelt flour?
Cathy W. says
Hi Kay,
All-purpose spelt is more like bread flour or all-purpose white flour. It has been sifted to remove part of the bran. I use VitaSpelt’s all-purpose flour that I get from Whole Foods and I also use whole grain spelt flour that I mill from spelt berries, but for this particular post, I used VitaSpelt’s whole grain flour instead of home-milled flour.
If you want to use the flour you mill from spelt berries, just sift out some of the bran in order to make it lighter. Or, you could make these rolls using the unsifted flour, they just won’t be as light and you might need more yeast.
Kay says
Thanks for your rapid reply. I’m going to attempt to make this recipe using your suggestions.
Cathy W. says
Let me know how it goes.
Sweet and That's it says
Spelt is one (if not THE) of my favourite flours to bake with.
The ingredients used for these fabulous rolls are delicious, no wonder everybody loved them.
Looking forward to baking them.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with “Bake Your Own Bread”.
Cathy W. says
Thanks Carola! I enjoy working with Spelt as well. Always a pleasure to participate in BYOB.
Anna Z. says
I just bought a Nutri Mill and ground some spelt and made bread last night. Is there a recipe that uses egg or is there a reason not to? The flavor is good, but I find I do not particularly care for breads made without egg. That is just a personal thing with me. Have you tried it with adding an egg? I think I am going to do that next time I make a loaf.
I think I am going to have fun with my NutriMill.
Cathy says
Hi Anna, I have not tried these rolls with an added egg, but you can certainly try it and see how you like it. Have fun with with your mill.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Kathy says
HI,
Do you think that I could use 5 3/4 c stoneground spelt flour to replace the two types called for in this recipe?
Cathy says
Hi Kathy, yes you can use stone ground spelt flour in this recipe. The rolls will be a little heavier if you use all whole grain spelt but they should still taste great. If you want a lighter roll, you can always sift out some of the bran to make the flour lighter.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Alison Bunce says
I am looking to try this for a diabetic family member who can manage spelt but not wheat.
It sounds great but wondered if I could substitute or reduce the honey (because of his blood sugar)
Thanks. Your recipes look amazing.
Oh and another quick question. Another of your recipes instructed to do a fold. Could you tell this novice what this is ?
Cathy says
Hi Alison, yes of course, you can substitute or reduce the honey to suit your needs. The sugar is what helps feed the yeast in this recipe. The honey is more for flavoring. I do hope this works for your diabetic family member.
The folding method is typically used for breads that have a shorter mixing time and require a longer fermentation to develop the dough. During the bulk ferment, after the specified amount of time, usually 45 mins. to an hour, you take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a lightly-floured counter. Then you begin by stretching the dough up from the right and fold it over itself, then from the left, and front and back. Then shape it back into a ball and place it in the bowl to ferment again. Typically the dough is folded a couple of times during the bulk ferment to help develop the gluten structure. Hope this helps.
Kensie says
I have my spelt starter I use for making bread could I use that instead of yeast?
Cathy says
Yes, you can use a sourdough starter in this rolls. If you use one cup of starter, just reduce the amount of liquid and flour by 1/2 cup each, if using a 100% hydration starter.
Karen says
These look great. I want to use poolish with my ancient grain recipes. How do I intro it to this recipe?
Cathy says
Hi Karen,
If you want to make spelt rolls using a poolish, I would recommend this recipe https://www.breadexperience.com/sourdough-spelt-rye-bread-rolls/ instead. Feel free to omit the rye flour and bake the rolls on a baking sheet instead of on a baking stone. Just substitute the poolish for the sourdough starter. Use 50/50 flour-to-water ratio and add about 1/4 teaspoon instant dried yeast. Let it ferment for 1-3 hours at room temperature, and incorporate it in the final dough or place it in the refrigerator to use within 12 hours. Adjust the hydration accordingly, meaning reduce the amount of water in the final dough by the amount used in the poolish.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Tracy Pixley says
Could you please explain in more detail about the times and folding of the dough? I am making these for my Gluten Free friends for Christmas. I would like to bake and freeze them afterward. I do this with my Grandmother’s Roll Recipe using all purpose flour. Do you think they will freeze well after baking?
Thanks!
Cathy says
Hi Tracy,
Are your gluten-free friends able to tolerate spelt? Spelt isn’t gluten-free. It is purported to have a lower gluten index than commercial bread flour but it does contain gluten.
That being said, I think you could bake these rolls and freeze them once they cool down. You don’t have to do the folds for this recipe unless you just want to. I prepared this dough in the mixer and then kneaded it by hand.
If you want to make these rolls completely by hand, mix it with a wooden spoon or danish dough whisk until the dough comes together, then let it rest for 20 – 30 minutes. Complete one fold and turn in the bowl and form it into a ball and place back in the bowl. It should feel less sticky at that point. It probably needs to bulk proof for 2-3 hours with a fold every 30 – 45 minutes. Then let it rest for the final 45 minutes. Then shape and let the rolls proof for 45 minutes to an hour and bake as directed.
Hope this helps,
Cathy