These rolls take dinner to a whole new level. I’m quite positive this recipe has brought me to hero status. What’s better than sharp cheddar cheese held together with goat cheese baked into the walls of bread, flavored with a touch of dill? Nothing is better than that. No, there is nothing.
Delicious as they may be, I have to admit to making a rookie mistake. You look at these and can’t help but question why they look so…flat. The recipe I used said to whisk the yeast with 1 cup milk until it dissolved. Okay, so I did that but the dough never rose…
When I sent a picture of these bad boys to my mom and asked why they weren’t rising, she asked me if the water I used to dissolve the yeast in was too hot and reminded me that you want to use warm, not hot liquid with the yeast.
Oh. Duh.
It didn’t occur to me that I should have used warm milk. In my defense, the recipe made no mention of the milk’s temperature. The stuff I used was room temp. I made these again, modifying the recipe, but I was in a rush to get them to a dinner get-together with the girls and I wasn’t able to give the fluffy ones a proper photo shoot. So please, bear with the flat, dense looking rolls in the pictures and focus on the deliciousness that is these most amazing cheesy rolls.
Cheesy Swirly Rolls
adapted from the smitten kitchen
Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp table salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp sugar, divided
- 2-1/4 tsp (1 packet — 1/4 oz) instant yeast
- 1 cup non-fat milk
- 4 Tbsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp for brushing
- 1-1/4 cup grated mozzarella
- 1-1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tsp minced fresh dill
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- fresh ground black pepper
Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and sugar in the bottom of a large bowl.
Stir year into warm milk (105 – 110 °F, for best results use a thermometer to monitor liquids). To proof (foam) yeast, stir in 1 tsp sugar and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Yeast is active if mixture doubles in volume. Pour the yeast-milk mixture and the olive oil into the flour, and mix them together with the paddle of an electric mixer or with a wooden spoon, until a shaggy ball can be formed.
If you are using a mixer (lucky you, my Kitchen Aid stand mixer is in the states because it isn’t dual voltage), switch to the dough hook, and knead at a low speed for about 6 minutes, or until a smooth and slightly sticky ball is formed. If you are stand-mixerless (like myself) and making these by hand, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it for about 8 minutes, until smooth.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest until it doubles, about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can chill the dough in the fridge overnight, or up to 3 days, then bring it back to room temperature and pick up where you left off when you’re ready.
Scoop the dough out of the bowl onto a well-floured counter, and roll into a 12-by-16 inch rectangle. Mix filling ingredients, and spread thinly over the rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the short ends. Roll tightly from one short end to the other, into a 12-inch long log. With a sharp serrated knife, carefully cut log into twelve 1-inch rolls.
Using parchment paper (or a Silpat), line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, and arrange rolls, with an even amount of space between them. Brush tops with additional olive oil, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled again, about 2 hours. When they’re almost doubled, preheat your oven to 350 °F (176 °C).
Once the rolls have fully doubled, bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the cheese bubbles from their centers. Serve immediately.
ENJOY!