Whether you're into spicy food or it's not your thing, today I'm going to tempt you with this delight in the form of cheddar and chili rolls, which are tender and hot and taste wonderful. These cheese buns with a spicy touch are the perfect excuse to gather everyone at home around the table. And if you prefer them without the spicy kick, you can omit the chili with no problem.
These cheese rolls are a great snack or appetizer, and they're also perfect as a side for a casual dinner. We make them with cheddar, but you can use the cheese you like best. So, as you can see, they have something I love: they're adaptable to our tastes and they fill the kitchen with a wonderful aroma as they bake in the oven.
To bake them, nothing beats a luxury ally: the Le Creuset bread casserole oven, which, with its cast iron construction and its domed lid, allows steam to circulate inside, recreating the conditions of a bakery steam oven. And since its design is spectacular, as soon as you take it out of the oven you can bring it straight to the table. It will surely be as successful as the cheese Buns with the spicy touch inside.
Ingredients
- 550 g bread flour (+ a little more for kneading)
- 10 g dry baker's yeast or 30 g fresh yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 25 g superfine sugar
- 250 ml slightly warmed milk
- 125 ml warm water
- 2 eggs
- 45 ml olive oil
- 120 g grated cheddar cheese
- 1 jar of crunchy chili sauce
Preparation
- Put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. Make a well in the center, add the milk, the water and the egg.
- Lightly beat the liquid ingredients with a fork before mixing them with the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients. When you see everything has combined well, knead the mixture with your hands until you form a ball.
- Dust the work surface with a little flour, take the dough out of the bowl and knead it by hand for about 10 minutes, until it looks smooth and soft.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the dough with a cloth or cling film and let it rest in a warm place until it has doubled in size.
- When the dough has risen, deflate it and put 2/3 of the cheddar cheese in the center and fold the dough over it. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead again until you see the cheese has integrated and is well distributed.
- Divide the dough into 11 portions of roughly the same size. Round the portions of dough to form rolls, grease the base of the Le Creuset bread casserole oven and place the dough balls, leaving space between them so they can rise well without bothering each other.
- Place the lid on the cast iron casserole and let the dough rest for about 20 more minutes. Turn the oven on to 200 °C so it’s hot when the dough is ready to bake.
- After 20 minutes, spread a little crunchy chili sauce over each roll and sprinkle the remaining third of the grated cheddar cheese on top.
- Place the lid on and put the bread casserole in the oven. Bake the buns at 200 °C for about 30 or 35 minutes, the time they need to rise and lightly brown.
- When the time has passed, remove the lid and let the cheese rolls bake uncovered for 5 more minutes.
- Bring the bread casserole oven to the table, place it in the center so everyone can tear off their roll.
Suggestions
- As is, the buns are very tasty. But if you prefer not to put chili sauce on them, a great option is to serve them with a delicious rosemary and basil butter or garlic butter.
- Although you can see this is a dough that's very manageable by hand, if you prefer you can make it with your stand mixer.
