There is nothing better than homemade bread fresh out of the oven, well almost nothing, maybe chocolate, but fresh bread is way up on the list. These rolls are easy to make and well worth the wait.
Start by putting yeast, sugar, olive oil, and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. A few things to note in this step:
– do not add the salt in this step, sugar activates yeast and salt kills it;
– your water should be around 110 – 115 degrees, any cooler it will take longer to activate, if at all, and any warmer risks killing the yeast, I use my wrist to temp the water but until you get used to the feel, use a thermometer;
– a stand mixer makes life easy, but if you don’t have one, just use a large bowl and a hefty wooden spoon to mix or a dough hook on a hand mixer.
Once your yeast is nice and bubbly, it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients. Add the garlic, salt, cheddar cheese, and 1 cup of flour. Mix until just combined. Add the other 2 cups of flour and mix for about 3 minutes. If it doesn’t for a ball, add more flour and little at a time until the dough forms a ball. Remove dough from the bowl, spray it with cooking spray and return dough to bowl. Cover and set aside.
After about an hour the dough should have about doubled in size and is nice and airy looking. Punch down the dough and put it on a clean, floured surface and mound it into a wide log.
Cut into 8 equal chunks. Just eyeball it, no need to get out a kitchen scale. I cut the dough log in half, each half in half, and each quarter in half. It usually comes out fairly even but it’s ok if they aren’t all exactly the same size. Roll each chunk into a ball.
Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a 12 inch cast iron pan and spread it around the bottom and sides using a brush or a paper towel works too. Place the dough balls evenly around the pan, spray the top of the rolls, cover with some plastic wrap and set aside for about 30 minutes, until doubled.
When almost doubled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
When the rolls are ready for the oven, remove the cover and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the rest of the cheddar cheese. Return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until nice and golden brown.
Remove from oven to a raised wire rack or a wool hot pad. Learn from my mistake and don’t put a hot cast iron pan on a cotton or polyester hot pad, it will start it on fire!
Garlic Cheddar Dinner Rolls
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- 12 inch Cast Iron Pan
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water 110-115 degrees
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp granulated garlic
- 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese grated
- 3 cups bread flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer with a dough hook add yeast, sugar, 1 tbsp olive oil, and water. Let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes until the yeast is bubbly. Add the granulated garlic, sea salt, 1 cup cheddar and 1 cup of flour – mix until combined. Add the other 2 cups of flour and mix for 3 minutes. If needed, slowly mix in more flour to form a soft dough. Remove from bowl.*
- Spray mixing bowl with cooking spray and place dough back in your bowl, cover and let rise until doubled – about 1 hour.
- Punch down dough and put on a floured surface. Shape into a log, using a pastry knife, cut into 8 equal pieces. I cut the log in half, then each half in half, then each quarter into half – this gives me fairly equal pieces.
- Put 1 tbsp olive oil in the bottom of a 12 inch cast iron pan and spread around the bottom and sides.
- Roll each dough piece into a ball and place evenly around the pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about ½ hour – may take longer depending on how warm you kitchen is).
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Remove cover from rolls and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add remainder of the cheddar cheese. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven to a raised baking sheet or place on a wool hot pad or a turret suitable for holding a hot cast iron pan. Let sit for about 15 minutes before removing from pan and eating.
- Enjoy!