Cheese and Tomato filled Bread Rolls

I have a lot of work to be doing, a lot of blog posts to finish, some guest articles to write, and a few cakes to plan and prep for. I should absolutely, definitely not be making cheese filled bread rolls... So, here are my cheese filled bread rolls!

Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato filled Rolls

I hadn't made any bread yet this week, and I'm going to be honest, I've been missing it a little bit! After studiously watching 'Bread' for the last three weeks, and then attempting to recreate the loaves each week, I feel like I'm about to hit a stumbling block in the shape of sourdough starters! Watching the latest episode, the process of create the starter, feeding it, allowing it to grow for a week, is somewhat daunting, and I'm not even going to try and attempt it until the weekend. 

Meanwhile however today, I decided to get a little bit creative with some dough. I have seen a few recipes out there for these tasty looking filled rolls, it seems to be something of a trend at the moment to bake fillings into bread, creating flavoursome ready to eat sandwiches. I love the concept, it's basically lunch on the run, no slicing or buttering required! 

Using what I could find in the house, here's how I made them...

Ingredients

For the dough;

- 580 grams strong bread flour

- 5 grams salt

- 7 grams yeast

- 100 ml olive oil

- 300 ml warm water

- 1 egg, beaten

- handful of sesame seeds

For the filling;

Anything you want!!!! I used 100g cheddar cut into cubes, some chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a sprinkle of rosemary, but you could use any cheeses, cooked meats, vegetables and herbs you wanted. 

Method

• Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the salt, and mix well. 
• Add the yeast to the warm water and stir. 
• Pour the olive oil over the flour. Add a third of the water and yeast mixture, and start to mix the dough together. 
• Add another third of the water, mix again, and then as much more of the water as needed to bring the dough together.
• Turn the dough out onto an oiled work surface, and knead for around 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm, and put in a warm place for at least an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. 
• Meanwhile, prepare your filling, by chopping all of the ingredients and mixing together in a bowl. 
• Once the dough has proved, tip it back out of the bowl, and knock it back by kneading it for a couple of minutes.
• Divide the dough into eight equal parts, and cover with clingfilm to keep the dough from developing a crust. 
• Take each of the eight pieces in turn, roll them up into a ball, then pat down to make a flat round. Place some of the filling in the centre of the dough, then fold the edges up into the centre to seal the filling inside. Turn the rolled up dough over, and place on a greased baking tray, with the seam on the bottom. 
• Repeat with all eight pieces, then cover with the clingfilm, and place the tray into a large plastic bag, ensuring no air can get to the dough. 
• Set aside for a further 45 minutes to prove again.
• Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. 
• Once the second prove is completed, remove the plastic bag and the clingfilm. Brush the tops of the rolls with the beaten egg, and then sprinkle the sesame seeds over the buns.
• Place in the oven, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown, and the rolls make a hollow sound when tapped lightly on the base.
• Remove from the oven, and serve hot, or leave to cool and take them for your lunch, it's your choice!