Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns- #TwelveLoaves

Super soft and fluffy dough that envelops sharp cheddar swrils, grated onion and fresh herbs. Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns are perfect for breakfast, brunch or serve as a side to make dinner extra special!

Hey there! Yes, I’m still here. I couldn’t wait for August #TwelveLoaves and an excuse to make these ridiculously delicious cheddar swirl breakfast buns! I have 1000’s of photos I’d love to share here and posts even ready to go (how could that possibly be true?) and why haven’t I just posted something…any thing?

We have been braving the heat and enjoying some last no schedule days at the beach. Today was a fun one. Our neighbor was teaching the kids how to find the baby shrimp, crabs and fish hiding in the seaweed. We released them soon after…too hot in that little bucket!

My neighbor’s are raising a baby squirrel! Yes, a tiny little squirrel. I happened to find one that fell out of our tree last week while they were out of town. Their daughter wanted to raise it so badly. The poor little bugger had spinal injuries and did not make it.

How nice was it a week later when a client of our neighbor (he’s a veterinarian)called and said they found a baby squirrel that fell out of their tree. Say hello to Puddles! Personally, I’m not into squirmy critters with sharp nails. But right now, he’s awfully cute!

There were so many happy, happy moments that happened so far this summer. Of course the highlight of the summer was our family trip to Italy. It’s wonderful to spend time together with my family and with my in-laws that I don’t get to see very often. And the food…oh, the food. Where do I begin? We even got to go to my father’s hometown in Sicily. Here’s a glimpse of Sicily’s incredible cherry tomatoes.

Sicilia…

It’s been hard to get back into the groove of blogging again. It takes me forever and a day to put a post together. I know I’ve talked about this before. But when there is something as special as a #TwelveLoaves post coming up, I finally get kicked in the bottom with a little motivation!

I found these fantastic cheddar swirl rolls in Deb‘s Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.   I used my dough recipe that I use I think in almost every sweet bread recipe. It was just perfect even in a savory recipe. Deb mentions in the recipe you can switch the cheese to provolone. If you don’t have dill on hand, use some parsley. I happened to have both and stuck with cheddar cheese because I do love it so! I stuck to Deb’s filling suggestion and am thinking that next time, provolone will be my cheese of choice!

Delicious savory bread happening at our baker’s blogs…run and see what’s been baking!

• Cheddar Jalapeno Sourdough Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns by Lora at Cake Duchess
• Onion and Poppy Seed Bread by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
• Pissaladiere by Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Shallot, Herb and Garlic Cheese Muffins by Anne at From My Sweet Heart
• Skillet Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread by Holly at A Baker’s House

2013 January: Clean Slate February: Open Challenge March: Holiday Breads April: Berries May: Open Theme June: Summer Buns July: Stone Fruits

Yes, yes! Cheese is my nemesis. How about yours?

I’ve been going a little crazy with tomato season. Tomatoes in every thing and I think I will be canning some next week along with some mangos. Yay, for my mango tree finally coming around! Normally I don’t feature my hands/fingers in photos. My daughter has been practicing her photo taking skills all summer. She took almost every photo you see here today (except for the 1st two shots). I need to get her to photograph some future posts soon before it’s back to school time!

Brush on the buttahhhh! I brushed some on just before baking. I had a little more ready to caress these lovely buns…

These rolls are fantastic for breakfast. Imagine them baking in the morning and the smell of the cheese and the herbs…the onion. Delicious! A really fun dinner roll idea. I think they are the sort of roll you could eat at any time of day!

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Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns

Super soft and fluffy dough that envelops sharp cheddar swirls, grated onion and fresh herbs. The most perfect buns for breakfast, brunch or serve as a side to make dinner extra special!

Servings: 12 buns

Author: Lora

Ingredients

• DOUGH
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 ounce envelope active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water 100 to 110 degrees
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter plus 1 Tablespoon reserve 1 Tbsp for brushing the rolls, melted
• 4 1/2-5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• FILLING
• 1/2 cup grated onion about 1/2 medium onion
• 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese or provolone
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley or dill or both
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch of black pepper

Instructions

• Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and let stand until cooled to room temperature. Meanwhile, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, eggs and butter. Beat in cooled milk. Gradually add the flour and salt, scraping down side of bowl, until a soft dough forms. Turn dough onto a floured work surface and knead the remaining flour into the dough, adding more flour if too sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth. The dough will be soft.
• Grease a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours-2 hours.
• In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients for the filling. Coat two 9-inch round baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper; coat paper with spray.
• Punch down the dough. Dump the dough out onto a floured surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Spread the cheddar mixture over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Brush the borders with water. Tightly roll the dough into an 18-inch log, rolling toward the clean border; pinch the seam to seal.
• Cut crosswise into 12 generous 1 1/2 inch pieces.
• Arrange 6 pieces in each prepared pan.
• Brush the rolls with the remaining melted butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot until buns double in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Uncover pans and bake buns until they are golden-brown and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes

Notes

Fresh Herbs: you could use fresh parsley, dill, thyme. Any combo of all the herbs is also wonderful. I love the dill + cheddar combo. Just be sure to use fresh herbs, not dried. The flavor won't be same with dried. If you are dairy free, use your favorite dairy free cheese and dairy free butter for the dough.

Read through the whole recipe before starting. This bun recipe takes time to make. First proofing takes 1.5-2 hours. 2nd proofing takes 30-60 minutes (mine were ready to go in oven in 30 mins, but could take longer). ABSOLUTELY worth the wait!!

Prep ahead: make the dough up to the first rise and leave in the fridge over night. Next morning, take out of fridge and let come to room temp before continuing with the recipe. A super time saver and really nice to impress your family for a lovely brunch or any guests staying over for the weekend!

Tried this recipe?Mention @savoringitaly or tag #savoringitaly!