CHEESE & BACON ROLLS
Cheese and bacon rolls are a true Aussie icon, the kind of comfort food that turns up at footy fundraisers, bake sales, long lunches and school fetes with the same dependable cheer as a sunny arvo. They pack that perfect trifecta; pull apart bread, salty bacon, gooey cheese. Loved for their portability, affordability and crowd pleasing flavour, they’re the sort of thing everyone remembers from childhood and still reaches for when hitting up a Bakers Delight. There’s something undeniably nostalgic about tearing into one while it’s still warm, the cheese stretching like a happy, greasy hug and for many years has become a makeshift lunch or dinner when I am low on time.
I really love my recipe for these rolls because it’s pretty simple to put together and the it has no additives and is low on ingredients. Plus they work well as a larger roll to stuff with sandwich fillings and fill it out. What I do is make a big batch, then portion them up and wrap two at a time to freeze and defrost each week for lazy weekend brunches with avocado and eggs. They freeze and toast up really well making them a great one to batch.
CHEESE & BACON ROLLS
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CHEESE & BACON ROLLS 〰️
Time: 2 hours + 30 minutes
Serves: 12 or 16*
If looking to make 16 and a bit more smaller size, just cut into a 4X4 formation and follow the cook as is. the 12 portions you get more a solid bun, can fill size, with the 16 portions, better as they’re own.
600ml warm water
7gm instant dry yeast
2 tea spoons caster sugar
50gm olive oil
1kg bread flour
Pinch salt
1 egg, whisked
300gm bacon, cubed
250gm tasty cheese, shredded
In a large bowl add in the warm water, yeast and sugar and agitate before allowing to sit to bubble for 5 minutes. Add in the oil and mix in before adding in flour and salt. Using a non stick spoon, mix everything together until a shaggy dough is formed. Then knead the dough in the large bowl until it all comes together, and the bowl is essentially clean from the dough picking everything up. Then on clean surface knead the dough until smooth (8 minutes), you won’t need extra flour as the dough is designed to peel right off in the knead, but if it’s struggling dust a bit of extra flour on the surface. Once dough ball is smooth, lightly oil the large bowl and place dough ball in and cover before leaving to rest in warm spot for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, fan forced.
After 1 hour rest, punch dough to de-gas and then allow to fall onto clean surface. Then flatten it a little using your hands into a big rectangle. Then with your eyes cut into a 3 X 4 formation for 12 dough balls. Using the clean surface roll the balls along the surface to create spheres and flatten the bottom of the ball before placing in a lined rectangle baking tray in a 3 X 4 formation. Cover with tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
After final rest gently press down onto the rolls just to flatten them a little bit across the board, then brush an egg wash and top with bacon and press the pieces down gently into the rolls. Top the entirety with shredded cheese and into oven for 25 minutes. Change oven setting to grill function and to 250 degrees Celsius and allow to grill until golden and caramelised on top (3-5 minutes), just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
Allow to cool for ten minutes and then turn onto baking tray and tear apart each roll.