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Cheese Bread Rolls Recipe

5 from 3 votes
prep 30 minutes
cook 25 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours
total 2 hours 55 minutes
Serves 24 rolls
These cheese bread rolls are made with fluffy brioche dough, stuffed with your favorite cheese and baked in a pool of cream and topped with herby garlic butter. The perfect accompaniment to any cozy fall and winter dinner.
Author: Bernice Baran
Servings 24 rolls

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer with bowl and hook attachment or large bowl with your hands
  • 1 9x13" baking dish or 10-12" cast iron skillet
  • 1 knife
  • 1 pastry brush
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

Brioche Dough

  • 5 g active dry yeast, or rapid rise yeast*
  • 12 grams granulated sugar
  • 120 mL warm water
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 56 grams salted butter, melted
  • 300 grams bread flour (or all-purpose flour), spooned and leveled*
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Filling

  • 8 packs string cheese/cheese sticks, I used mozzarella but any string cheese works
  • 120 mL heavy cream
  • 2-3 Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese , *optional

Garlic Herb Butter

  • 56 grams salted butter, softened
  • pinch sea salt flakes
  • 1 clove garlic, minced, or couple dashes or garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp fresh herbs or 1 tsp dried herbs, finely chopped, I mix rosemary, thyme, basil and cilantro

Method

Brioche Dough

  1. Place the yeast with half of the sugar and the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam.*
    5 g active dry yeast or rapid rise yeast*, 12 grams granulated sugar, 120 mL warm water
  2. Add the rest of the sugar, egg and melted butter, mixing until they’re somewhat combined. Then add the flour and salt and mix until it comes together.
    1 large egg room temperature, 56 grams salted butter melted, 300 grams bread flour (or all-purpose flour) spooned and leveled*, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  3. Use the hook attachment to knead the dough for about 10 minutes (15-20 minutes by hand), until the dough peels itself away from the edge of the bowl (if the dough isn't making progress and is still sticky, feel free to add an additional 2-4 Tbsp of flour).
  4. Cover and let it proof for about 60 minutes in a warm environment (75-100F/24-38C), until it’s doubled in size and fluffy.

Assemble

  1. Slice the cheese sticks into thirds so you have 24 pieces, set aside.
    8 packs string cheese/cheese sticks I used mozzarella but any string cheese works
  2. When the dough has doubled in size, use the wrapper of the butter or a little baking spray or oil to grease a 9x13x2 inch pan or a 10-12 inch round or square pan like a cast iron skillet.
  3. Punch the air out of the dough and flip it onto a well floured counter.
  4. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 8"x12" (it doesn't have to be perfect) and use a knife or a pizza cutter to slice 6 strips one way and 4 strips the opposite way, creating about 24 two-inch squares. Again it doesn't have to be perfect but don't make the dough too thin, it should be about between 1/8"-1/4" thick and you should get about 24 squares (you can also make 12 or 16 larger dinner rolls but I like the size of the smaller ones better).
  5. Place 1/3 of a cheese stick on top of each square and then pinch all the edges of the dough together to enclose the filling. Place the ball of dough on the counter and lightly hover your hand over it in a circular motion to smooth the seams (see video). Make sure when you pinch it together that it's sealed well so the cheese doesn't all leak out.
  6. Place the rolls in the prepared baking pan with a little space between them, (my pan in the photos was a smidge smaller so you should have a tiny bit more space between each one) cover them with plastic wrap. Place them in a warm environment (about 75-100°F or 24-38°C), for about 45-60 minutes, and let the rolls rise until they've doubled in size.
  7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 (177C) convection (I have to use convection in my oven because it's overly hot on the bottom but if your oven circulates heat well, conventional should be fine too - you can broil it for a minute at the end if you want to brown the tops a bit more).
  8. Once the rolls are ready to go in the oven, pour the heavy cream on top of the rolls, top with the parmesan and bake for 25ish minutes until they're golden brown. Meanwhile make the butter.
    2-3 Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese *optional, 120 mL heavy cream

Garlic Herb Butter

  1. Microwave the butter just until it's soft or melted.
    56 grams salted butter softened
  2. Add the salt, garlic and the herbs and mix until it's well combined.
    pinch sea salt flakes, 1 clove garlic, minced or couple dashes or garlic powder, 1 Tbsp fresh herbs or 1 tsp dried herbs, finely chopped I mix rosemary, thyme, basil and cilantro
  3. Brush the dinner rolls with the garlic herb butter after they're done baking and serve warm.

Notes

  1. The amount of flour can vary depending on the environment, temperature of ingredients, percentage of water in eggs/butter, etc. so make sure to add enough so the dough can be handled without sticking to your fingers after kneading for about 10 minutes.
  2. Use visual cues for proofing. You want the dough to double in size and look/feel fluffy. Don't overproof. Refrigerate during proofing if you need to step away for longer than recommended.
  3. Skip activation in step 1 if you're using instant yeast or rapid rise yeast and reduce proofing time to about half if needed, use visual cues. 
  4. You can use any type of string cheese stick. I also used shredded cheese and it works ok but much more difficult to seal and leaks for easily. 
  5. To refrigerate or freeze, place the rolled dough balls in the pan they'll be baking in, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then foil and refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 131kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 4gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 164mgPotassium: 22mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 207IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 0.2mg
Course: Breads, Savory
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cheese rolls, dinner rolls, garlic bread, pumpkin cream cheese bread