Sunday rolls from the Thermomix® at ours always come with an 8-hour overnight prove: mix the dough on Saturday evening in 15 minutes, leave it in the fridge overnight, then just shape and bake on Sunday morning. 8 rolls with 90 minutes of active baking-day work (including 25 minutes baking time). The secret: the long, cold prove gives the dough far more flavour than a quickly proved Sunday dough ever could.
We bake these rolls every Sunday morning when nobody wants to go to the bakery. 450 g flour, 1/2 cube of fresh yeast, 250 ml water, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar. Two minutes on kneading mode in the mixing bowl, then straight into the fridge.
Overnight Sunday Rolls with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 7 ✓
- 1/2 cube fresh yeast
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 50 g water
- 200 g water
- 450 g flour
- 1 tsp salt
- flour for dusting the work surface
Instructions 0 / 7
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1
Dissolve the yeast.
Add yeast, sugar and 50 g water to the mixing bowl and mix for 3 minutes / 37°C / speed 1.
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2
Knead the dough.
Add 200 g water, flour and salt and knead for 5 minutes / kneading mode until you have a smooth dough. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if it is too sticky, add a little flour and knead briefly once more.
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3
Rest the dough.
Transfer the dough to a sealable bowl and leave to rest in the fridge overnight.
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4
Preheat the oven.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 220°C top and bottom heat (200°C fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
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5
Knead the dough.
Dust the work surface with flour, knead the dough by hand and divide it into 8 equal pieces.
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6
Shape the rolls.
Shape the pieces into rolls, score each one halfway through the middle, dust lightly with flour and place on the baking tray.
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7
Bake the rolls.
Place a heatproof dish of water on the baking tray or on the bottom of the oven and bake the rolls for 25 minutes until golden.
Tip: If you have a little extra time, leave the rolls to prove on the baking tray for a further 30 minutes before baking. Cover them with a clean tea towel. They will turn out even lighter and airier.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the cold overnight prove makes all the difference
At 4°C in the fridge the yeast works slowly but steadily. Over those 8 hours, flavours develop that a quick 1-hour dough simply cannot achieve: slightly tangy, malty and complex. Bakers call this a cold bulk fermentation. Anyone who rushes the process is missing out on around 50% of the dough’s flavour potential.
Many recipes use a full cube of yeast (instead of 1/2) and just one hour of proving time. We deliberately use only half the amount, because more yeast means a faster prove and less flavour. Patience is the most important ingredient.
The flour determines the crumb
Strong white bread flour is the standard for Sunday rolls (higher gluten content than plain flour, gives better structure). Spelt flour as a nutty, aromatic alternative. Wholemeal flour mixed 50:50 with strong white flour gives a heartier and more filling result. If you do not have strong bread flour, combine 350 g plain flour with 100 g wholemeal wheat flour.
A crackling crust: steam and straight from the fridge into the oven
Two tricks set our Sunday rolls apart from anything you get in a bag from the shop: steam and a hot start. We put the shaped rolls straight from the fridge into the preheated oven without letting them warm up first. The heat shock hitting the cold dough creates maximum oven spring, the crumb opens up beautifully and the crust turns wonderfully thin and crisp. We also place an ovenproof dish with 200 ml of hot water on the bottom of the oven. The steam this produces keeps the surface of the dough soft for the first 10 minutes, so the rolls can rise fully before they start to caramelise. After 10 minutes, remove the dish and the crust will turn a proper golden brown in the remaining 15 minutes. If you have a baking stone or baking steel, preheat it for 30 minutes at 230°C and bake directly on it for extra base heat and an open, airy crumb.
Shaping and baking the rolls on Sunday morning
Take the dough out of the fridge and leave it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Turn it out onto a floured work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces (kitchen scales help: 90 g per roll). Shape into balls, place on the baking tray and leave for a second prove of 30 minutes at room temperature. Score each roll 1 cm deep with a sharp knife, brush with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds if you like. Bake at 220°C top and bottom heat for 25 minutes with a dish of water in the oven for steam and a golden crust.
Useful Thermomix® accessories: The dough cleaning tool protects the mixing blade from sticky dough. A spatula gets every last bit cleanly out of the mixing bowl. A lidded bowl of the right size is ideal for the overnight prove, no cling film needed.
Five roll variations for the whole week
Multigrain rolls (add 50 g sunflower seeds and 50 g linseed before the end of kneading), cheese rolls (fold in 80 g grated mountain cheese), bacon rolls (knead in 50 g fried bacon pieces), sweet brunch rolls (1 tbsp sugar and 50 g raisins), wholemeal rolls (50:50 wholemeal wheat flour and strong white flour plus 30 ml extra water).
If you want to use dried yeast instead of fresh: the substitution ratio is roughly 1 to 3 (1/2 cube of fresh yeast is approximately 7 g of dried yeast).
What goes well with Sunday rolls
Classic with a Sunday breakfast spread with cream cheese and jam. For egg lovers, try our advocaat recipes as a Sunday brunch treat. Find more roll recipes in our rolls collection and more bread in our bread category.
Goes well with: butter, jam and cream cheese.
Also worth a look: Mini Burger Buns with the Thermomix®.
