- Season
- Year-round; baked daily and sold fresh in Czech bakeries and supermarkets
- Price
- Low
- Nutrition per 100 g
- 266 kcal
- 8.7 g protein
- 4.7 g fat
- 51.1 g carbs
Whole Wheat Roll
Bread and pastries
Whole Wheat Roll
Rohlík celozrnný is the Czech wholemeal version of the rohlík, the long, crescent-shaped yeast roll found in every Czech bakery, made with wholemeal (celozrnná) flour rather than white flour. It is rolled and curved the same way as the standard white rohlík (rohlík tukový) and sold on the same shelf, usually at a slightly higher price.
In practice
How to store
- On the counter
Keep in a paper bag or bread box at room temperature and eat the same day or the next. Wholemeal rolls stay soft a little longer than white ones but still go stale fast. Do not keep them in a sealed plastic bag while still warm, because condensation encourages mould. Throw away any roll that shows mould.
- In the fridge
Not recommended. Refrigeration makes the starch go stale faster, so the rolls turn dry and tough.
- In the freezer
Freeze on the day of purchase in a well-sealed freezer bag; quality stays good for about 1 month. Thaw at room temperature, or refresh frozen rolls in an oven preheated to 180–200 °C for 5–8 minutes.
How to choose
Check the ingredient list or the shelf label, not just the colour. In Czech shops, darker rolls may be vícezrnný (multigrain) or coloured with malt, and are not necessarily wholemeal. A product sold as celozrnný must meet the 80 % wholemeal-flour rule. Pick rolls that feel light for their size and spring back when pressed gently. The crust should be dry, not soft or sweaty, which happens when rolls are bagged warm. Buy them on the day you plan to eat them: like all rohlíky, they are at their best within a few hours of baking.
What to swap in
Best swap
Grahamový rohlík or another wholemeal roll (celozrnná houska or bulka), which has a very similar crumb and flavour.
In a pinch
A standard rohlík tukový or a vícezrnný (multigrain) rohlík. Both are lighter and less fibrous, and a multigrain roll is not necessarily wholemeal.
Preparation
Usually eaten as it is, sliced lengthwise or simply broken. Spread it with butter, a soft cheese spread (pomazánka) or cottage cheese, or eat it alongside ham, cheese and vegetables at breakfast or svačina (a mid-morning or afternoon snack). A slightly stale roll comes back to life after a light spray of water and 3–5 minutes in a 200 °C oven. It can also be halved and toasted.
Don't toss it
Dry stale rolls completely and grind them into breadcrumbs (strouhanka) for coating schnitzels or fried cheese. You can also dice them for croutons in soups, or use them in bread dishes such as žemlovka or bread dumplings. The wholemeal flour gives these a darker colour and a nuttier taste.
In the kitchen
Cooking
Mostly eaten fresh and uncooked. It can be toasted or reheated in the oven, filled to make a sandwich, or used dried as breadcrumbs, croutons or a bread base for baked dishes. It is not usually used for frankfurter-style hot dogs, which in Czechia use a white roll.
Goes well with
- Butter
- Cottage Cheese (Tvaroh)
- Pomazánka Spreads
- Ham
- Hard Cheese (Eidam)
- Eggs
- Cucumber
- Radishes
- Chives
- Honey
- White Coffee
What it is
Rohlík celozrnný is the Czech wholemeal version of the rohlík, the long, crescent-shaped yeast roll found in every Czech bakery, made with wholemeal (celozrnná) flour rather than white flour. It is rolled and curved the same way as the standard white rohlík (rohlík tukový) and sold on the same shelf, usually at a slightly higher price. Under Czech food law (vyhláška 18/2020 Sb.), a bakery product can only be called celozrnný if at least 80 % of the flour, or of the milled cereal products used, is wholemeal, meaning it contains all parts of the grain. Most are made with wholemeal wheat flour. Some bakeries add rye flour, bran or seeds such as sunflower, sesame or linseed.
How it tastes
Fuller and nuttier than the white rohlík, with a gentle bran bitterness and often a slight malty sweetness. The crust is thin and less crackly than on a fresh white rohlík. The crumb is denser, browner and slightly moist. A little salt in the dough, and sometimes a sprinkle of seeds or caraway, balances the wheaty taste.
Common questions
What makes a rohlík 'celozrnný'?
Is a vícezrnný (multigrain) rohlík the same as a celozrnný one?
Why is my wholemeal rohlík darker than others?
Is rohlík celozrnný gluten-free?
How do I keep wholemeal rohlíky fresh?
Deep dive
2 min read
Varieties
Rohlík celozrnný (wholemeal)
: at least 80 % of the flour must be wholemeal, usually wheat. Typical weights are about 40–60 g, and some bakeries make larger rolls of around 80 g.
Grahamový rohlík
: a closely related wholemeal wheat roll named after graham flour, and often used interchangeably with the wholemeal rohlík on Czech shelves.
Seeded wholemeal rolls
: wholemeal rolls topped with or containing sunflower, sesame, linseed or pumpkin seeds.
Relatives, different products
: the vícezrnný (multigrain) rohlík contains other cereals and seeds but may be made mostly with white flour. The rohlík tukový is the standard white roll made with white wheat flour and a little fat. The proteinový rohlík is a modern high-protein variant. Outside Czechia, the Austrian Kipferl and the Slovak rožok are crescent-roll relatives. General wholemeal dinner rolls are a different, unshaped product.
History
The rohlík has been baked in Central Europe for centuries. Its name is a diminutive of the Czech word roh, meaning "horn", after its curved shape. A popular legend links crescent rolls to Vienna in 1683, but Czech sources note that horn-shaped pastries are recorded much earlier. The wholemeal version is a more recent addition to the everyday bakery range. Its name is legally defined: the earlier decree 333/1997 Sb. already required at least 80 % wholemeal flour, and vyhláška 18/2020 Sb., in force since 1 February 2020, keeps that minimum for a bakery product to be labelled celozrnný.
Science
Wholemeal flour contains the bran and germ along with the starchy endosperm. The bran particles cut through the gluten network and absorb more water, so wholemeal rohlíky rise less and have a denser, moister crumb than white ones. They also need more water in the dough. The oils in the germ give a nutty flavour, but they also make wholemeal flour more prone to going rancid, so bakeries use it fresh. The roll is shaped by rolling a triangle or strip of dough into a tight spiral and curving it. It is baked hot with steam, which gives the thin, glossy crust.
Sourcing and ethics
Most rohlíky sold in Czech supermarkets come from large industrial bakeries, and some are baked on site in store from frozen dough. Small local bakeries still bake fresh daily. Organic (BIO) wholemeal rolls are made from certified organic flour under EU organic rules. Customers who want locally milled grain can ask bakeries about the origin of their flour. Because the rolls go stale within a day or two, buying only what you will eat, or freezing extras, cuts down on the large amount of bread wasted in households.