It's easy and quick to make overnight yeast rolls. For the fluffiest, crustiest rolls, keep the dough refrigerated until the morning. There are only five ingredients.
These overnight bread rolls are the most convenient yeast rolls: Knead the dough (in a kitchen machine, if desired), place it in the fridge, and bake the rolls the next morning. This is my go-to Sunday morning breakfast roll recipe.
Check out these Bread Rolls for Breakfast; they are fast and delicious, too.
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Recipe ingredients
Flour:
- Plain or all-purpose white flour mixed with some whole wheat flour.
- You could only use white flour if you wish, but I have tried both versions, and I can definitely recommend using some whole wheat flour as well. The resulting rolls are somewhat more satisfying and have a bit more structure that way.
Fresh or dry yeast?
- I use fresh yeast, which is very cheap and readily available where I live.
- However, I remember that when we lived in England, I could not find fresh yeast anywhere, so if that is the case, you can replace that with 2 ยฝ teaspoons of active dry yeast.
Recipe steps
Evening (12 hours before baking):
- If fresh yeast is used, crumble it and dissolve it in lukewarm water.
- Knead all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer for 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover it with cling film, and place it in the refrigerator.
Next morning:
- Preheat the oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit/ 220 degrees Celsius.
- Generously sprinkle the dough in the bowl with flour.
- Break large clumps of dough, about 12-14, directly out of the bowl and place them on the prepared baking tray.
- Place the tray in a warm spot and let the rolls rest for about 15 minutes.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.
Expert Tips
- The best thing about these overnight yeast rolls is that you don't have to wake up early in the morning to start making the yeast dough, which needs time to be ready for baking. You can knead your dough in the evening and be ready to bake when you wake up the next day.
- I usually start at about 8 o'clock on a Saturday evening; even later, if we plan to sleep longer, the dough must be in the fridge for about 12 hours. I put all the ingredients into the kitchen machine (Thermomix), let the machine do a bit of kneading, put the dough in a bowl with a lid, and put it in the fridge until the next morning.
- The next day, I only had to break some pieces of dough; I didn't even bother to form them. I placed them on the baking tray just the way they were. This way, they have a rustic, unpretentious look in the end, which I love.
- If I have the time, which I normally do, I let the rolls stand on the baking tray in the warm kitchen for about 15 minutes more before putting them into the hot oven. It is not mandatory, but still I recommend it, I find the rolls to be even fluffier and better in the end if they had these extra 15 minutes.
- After less than half an hour of baking time, you will have some wonderful crusty fresh yeast rolls to enjoy with butter, jam, or any savory or sweet topping you can think of.
Recipe FAQs
You can substitute the wheat flour with spelt four, again a combination of white spelt flour and whole spelt flour, the spelt alternative is just as delicious as the standard wheat version.
Fresh yeast is always best, but dry yeast will work fine as well.
Fresh yeast: A cube of fresh yeast weighs 42 g/ 1.48 oz in Germany and it is usually enough to bake a regular-sized bread or to make the dough for a large yeast cake. However, always follow the quantities indicated by the recipe you are following. It helps the dough rise quickly, so you might want to keep that in mind if using it and check if the dough has doubled its volume a bit earlier.
Active dry yeast: It has larger granules and has to be dissolved in water before using it.
Instant dry yeast: The granules are finer, and the yeast can be mixed with the dry ingredients before adding the water.
Both types of dry yeast are usually sold in small packages, and, at least in Germany, one package is the equivalent of ยฝ cube fresh yeast. One package of dry yeast weighs 7 g/ 0.24 oz here.
And by the way, this is the first recipe from the second Valentine's Day Breakfast Tray series on Where Is My Spoon. This series will bring you not only these overnight yeast buns, but also some delicious puff pastry pizza sticks with Parmesan, a lemon jelly, an avocado bread spread, and a refreshing winter fruit salad, perfect choices for a romantic and light breakfast in bed.
Other yeast recipes you might enjoy
Recipe
Overnight Yeast Rolls
Ingredients
- 400 g/ 14.1 oz/ 3 โ cups all-purpose flour See note + more for sprinkling
- 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ ยพ cup whole wheat flour
- 350 ml/ 11.8 fl.oz/ 1 โ cups lukewarm water
- 25 g/ 0.9 oz fresh yeast or 2 ยฝ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Start in the evening, 12 hours before you want to bake the yeast rolls.
- Dissolve the fresh yeast into the lukewarm water.
- Place all the ingredients in the kitchen machine and knead for about 2-3 minutes.
- Place the dough in a bowl and cover well. If the bowl doesn't have a lid, cover it well with cling film.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator and leave it there until the next morning, for about 12 hours.
- The next morning preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius/ 430 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Generously sprinkle the dough in the bowl with flour. Break large clumps of dough, about 12-14, directly out of the bowl and place them on the prepared baking tray.
- Place the tray in a warm spot and let the rolls rest for about 15 minutes.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Enjoy warm or cold.
Pete says
Thanks Adina. Just made these rolls - they're delicious and such an easy-to-follow recipe. I used the 2 1/2 tsp of dried yeast you suggested and a mix of strong white and wholemeal flours (400g/100g). They've come out really well. Thanks! ?
Adina says
Thank you, Pete, I am glad you liked the rolls, we love them too.
Anca says
They look great. I think 12g of dried yeast is a bit too much. Have you tried with less? Also, have you tried with strong flour instead of plain? I would love to try baking these.
Adina says
Hi Anca. Not 12 g but 1 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast. I have just checked again, that is right. I have never used strong flour for these particular rolls, but for many others before. I suppose it should work, let me know if you try. ๐