Spelt & Flax Ugly Rolls

The most mind-blowingly simple yet mouth-watering bread rolls I’ve ever made. 4 ingredients plus 10 minutes total make time? You'll never buy store bought bread again!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
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wholemeal spelt and flax bread rolls in basket with blue linen cloth

These Spelt and Flax Ugly Rolls are the most mind-blowingly simple yet mouth-watering bread rolls I’ve ever made. 4 ingredients plus 10 minutes total make time? I don’t even know how I lived my first 37 years without them.

We have literally been having these for lunch this summer – Every. Single. Day.

Picture this…

  • Soft
  • Tender
  • Textured with seeds
  • Slice like a dream
  • High in protein, fibre, and omegas
  • No oil or sugar
  • & perfectly imperfectly ugly

Made with just 1 bowl, 4 ingredients, and 10 minutes, and just waiting for your favourite toppings. Read on for the recipe, then give them a try for lunch tomorrow!

Watch How To Make Spelt & Flax Ugly Rolls

What Is Wholemeal Spelt?

Spelt is an absolutely brilliant flour, and is the main one I use for baking at home. It can virtually be used one for one as a replacement for regular bleached white wheat flour, and everything always turn out brilliantly with it. Light, soft, tender – just how baking should be.

Spelt, or Triticum spelta, is a distant cousin to modern wheat (Triticum aestivum), and was first cultivated around 5000 years ago. It’s one of the seven grains mentioned in the bible, and is therefore often referred to as an “ancient” grain. You can buy it in its whole grain form, but I mostly use the flour for baking. You can either get it as a white or wholemeal flour, but the one I recommend is the wholemeal version. This means it has the bran and germ outer layers still intact, and is therefore much higher in fibre and B vitamins than the more refined white version.

Compared to standard white wheat flour, wholemeal spelt contains 16% more protein (14.6g per 100g, compared to meat at 20g) and up to 50% more antioxidants. It’s been deemed to be more environmentally friendly too, as it requires less nitrogen fertilisation, pesticides, and can be grown in harsh ecological conditions in more marginal areas of cultivation. You can also go one step further and buy organic wholemeal spelt, which means it won’t have had any chemical bleaching, alcohol treatment, anti-bacterial or anti-fungal agents added. Even the organic version is pretty affordable, especially if you buy it in bulk like we do. We order it in 3kg bags, and still manage to smash through it in under a month!

If you’re currently using standard white flour in your kitchen, when it next runs out, give your health an easy rev up by switching over to wholemeal organic spelt.

Buffy Ellen holding wholemeal spelt and flax bread rolls in pink shirt

How to Make 10 Minute Bread Rolls

The recipe is seriously quick. After a morning at the playground or beach, I’ll walk into the house at 130pm, and can have lunch on the table by 145. The true stuff of lunch dreams I tell you.

I got into bread making (had never had the patience before) at the beginning of the lockdowns. I was making yeasted loaves for a while, then perchance ran out of yeast, so resorted to making rolls in the oven with baking powder instead. I then transferred that to a cast iron pan, and realised they turned out just as good. A few months later I threw in some flaxseeds for extra nutrients, crunch, and flavour, and voila – the Spelt and Flax Ugly Roll was born.

Why Ugly you say? Well, these aren’t your standard beautifully round store-bought dinner roll. They’re rustic looking things, with squiggly edges and roughed up tops. Let me tell you though, that doesn’t make them any less delicious. In fact, they’re so good, I literally do not buy bread any more – haven’t bought a single loaf in more than 6 months. Freshly baked warm bread rolls with 4 ingredients, 10 minutes, and no unwanted additives? I can’t contain myself any longer, you have to try them out!

Buffy Ellen holding cut wholemeal spelt and flax bread rolls

What to Serve With Your Spelt and Flax Rolls

Whatever you like! Here’s my favourite topping stack (yes, all together):

  • Marmite or vegemite (or you can use miso)
  • Avocado
  • Peanut butter
  • Cashew cheese or sliced vegan cheese
  • Tomato
  • Sauerkraut or sprouts
  • Salt and pepper (or seaweed salt, even better)

Quick. Easy. Packed with flavour. I’m not sure how long my streak is going to run for, but 5 months in on having these virtually every day, and I’m still madly in love!

Buffy Ellen holding wholemeal spelt and flax bread roll with in basket with blue linen cloth

Looking for Something Homemade to Top Your Rolls With? Try These

If you try my beloved Spelt & Flax Ugly Rolls, do let me know! Leave a comment and rating below, and tag a photo of your version @begoodorganics on Instagram. Thanks so much – I love seeing you make my recipes, and it also helps me to share the plant-based goodness with even more humans!

Spelt and Flax Ugly Rolls

The most mind-blowingly simple yet mouth-watering bread rolls I’ve ever made. 4 ingredients plus 10 minutes total make time? You'll never buy store bought bread again!
No ratings yet
Servings 8
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 c wholemeal spelt flour
  • 4 tbsp flaxseeds
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ¾ c cold water (+ a little more)

Instructions

  • Add dry ingredients to a bowl, stir together with a fork, then add water and mix to a soft dough.
  • Sprinkle your dough ball with a little extra flour, then mould with your hands into 8 mini buns (or 4 large ones). You can make them as thick or thin as you like; I go for around 1 cm high (more surface area for toppings…).
  • Panfry in a flat non stick pan on low for 3-4 minutes until puffed up and risen, then flip to cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Slice and serve straight away, or store in a sealed container for 3 days. To refresh them, slice and toast in a pan or toaster.

Equipment

  • pan

Recipe Notes

  • Gluten free: Use your favourite gluten free flour mix, or you can use 1 c brown rice flour + 1 c buckwheat flour + 2 tsp guar gum instead of the wholemeal spelt flour. I’ve tried many gluten free versions of these, and while they’re nice, they’re not nearly as delicious as the original wholemeal spelt version. So if you’re ok with gluten, I highly recommend using this.
  • I normally serve one small roll per child or lady, or one larger roll for a man. We flesh them out with lots of toppings, and a big salad with a yummy dressing on the side.