I upgraded my original Soft Dinner Roll recipe in the most Beth Cato way possible: I added loads of cheese!
I don’t simply mix cheese into the dough like with a standard cheesy roll or biscuit recipe. Nah, that’s too mundane. I tried a take on lamination–the French technique wherein butter is layered to create flaky layers in pastry. But with cheese.
It worked out, in a beautiful way. In these pictures, you see a fine Vermont Cheddar. I highly recommend using an orange cheese (Cheddar, or if you are blessed, something like Red Leicester) because the finished rolls look amazing. White Cheddar would be great for flavor, too, though it would blend in more.
I wrote this recipe for bread machines, but it would be easy to modify to make by hand. Just let the dough have an initial rise for about an hour, mix the first portion of cheese in, then let it rise again before the lamination stage.
Bready or Not Original: Bread Machine Cheesy Soft Dinner Rolls
Equipment
- bread machine
- jelly roll pan or baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water about 110 degrees
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or 1 packet instant yeast
- 6 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Add ingredients EXCEPT cheese into the bread machine. That often means the liquids first. Set the machine on dough cycle and start; this should run for about 2 hours. Once the dough starts mixing, sprinkle in about half the cheese. If necessary–and if safely possible, dependent on the machine–use a spatula to press cheese into the dough. Let dough cycle continue until done.
- Prepare a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan by greasing with butter or nonstick spray.
- Pat out dough on an even lightly-greased surface. It’s time to add the rest of the cheese using a process roughly like French butter lamination.
- Sprinkle a handful of cheese over the lower portion of dough. Fold top part over it, then fold dough the other way, creating a fat dough ball. Pat out dough again. Repeat process again one or two more times, until only a handful of cheese is left.
- Pat out dough again. Use a small round cutter to slice out portions of dough. Place them in the prepared pan, spaced so they don’t quite touch. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Cover pan with plastic wrap or a light towel and let rise again in a warm spot for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until rolls become puffy and double in size.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees.
- Bake rolls for 15 to 22 minutes. If they begin to brown too much, cover with foil halfway through. Let rolls cool a few minutes before serving.
- Completely cooled rolls can be frozen in gallon freezer bags for several months. Sealed rolls will keep well at room temperature for at least 6 days. They are good eaten at room temperature, but are best briefly warmed in the oven.
