Ultra soft bread gets filled with melty cheese inside. You will love this sweet cheese rolls for your snack, breakfast or dessert.
Enjoying a rich, hot drink can be very comforting. And I think I am a late bloomer.
Lately, I find making myself a nice cup of hot chocolate or matcha latte more and more. I am not a coffee drinker but somehow, I think I finally get how coffee lovers feel as they sip into a hot cup, savoring every slow gulp.
There is a sense of comfort that blankets around you as you hold that nice, hot mug.
And with all those matcha and hot chocolate, I feel that a soft, warm bread will be a good addition, right?
So today’s recipe is no hot drink, instead, it is what you eat with your hot drink. We have these sweet cheese rolls.
These cheese rolls are spot on with the melty cheese inside the soft, sweet bread, making your coffee (or hot chocolate) time more comforting.
I love the sweetness and texture of the sprinkled sugar as I bite into the soft bread. I just can’t stop at one.
This bread dough uses a starter or an overnight dough which you make ahead. If you are trying your hands for the first time making bread, this dough is a nice one to start with.
Another beginner friendly dough recipe is the one I used in this Choco Hazelnut Rolls. This one requires one rise only, and you yield amazingly soft bread.
Don’t get intimidated by the long process, working with dough may seem scary at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will be hooked.
Making Sweet Cheese Rolls
Make the Overnight Dough ( one day ahead): In a medium bowl stir together boiling water and flour until a thick paste forms. Gather this into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
On the Day of Baking: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat up the water until it the temperature is 110-115 F. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes until it is foamy.
No thermometer? This water is about two to three notches hotter from being lukewarm. You can dip your fingers quickly on it, but you cannot let it stay unlike when water is lukewarm.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, milk powder, salt and sugar. Whisk to incorporate.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast mixture, and stir using a wooden spoon. Add the egg and continue to stir. You want the powders to be moistened.
Add the overnight dough (there it is, the smooth ball of dough sitting on top of the rest of the shaggy dough). Stir the mixture until the dough is incorporated with the rest of the ingredients.
Add the melted butter and stir the mixture until a soft, shaggy dough is formed. It should be gathering in the center of the bowl.
Turn this dough over onto a floured board. Knead for 7-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky.
Characteristics of an Adequately Kneaded Dough
- It is still tacky but not sticky. As you knead, the stickiness of the dough diminishes. It turns from being a shaggy, loose dough into a smooth, clean-looking dough that no longer sticks to your hands or the board.
- It is stretchy. Pull out a little piece of dough, use your finger to stretch it out to form a small square. The dough should stretch thin enough for a translucent film to form in the center of the square. See windowpane test.
Place it in a bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for an hour or so, until doubled in size.
Roll the dough into a 16×10 rectangle. Divide it into 4 sections vertically, then 5 sections horizontally to create 20 rectangles. It helps to score or mark the cuts first at the edges so you will get somewhat even portions of the dough.
Place strips of cheese into the center of each rectangle. Roll each into a log, egg-roll style. Pinch all the edges together to close the rolls.
Place each roll onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Position them with about an inch of space in between. Cover the rolls loosely with a clean kitchen towel.
Let them rise for about an hour or more until the size is doubled. Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush each roll with melted butter and sprinkle sugar on top.
Once the temperature is attained, bake the rolls for 15-17 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly golden. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve.
There they are, fresh from the oven, glistening with sugar and cheese oozing out. Coffee time is just about to get started.
Do you love baking bread? Check out these other bread recipes:
- Japanese Milk Buns
- Milk Bread
- Yema Rolls
- Ube Bread Rolls
- Hawaiian Rolls
- Austrian Buchteln ( Sweet Mini Buns)
- Chocolate Walnut Bread
- Also, try serving these with Coffee Jelly. Perfect day!
Cheese Rolls
Ingredients
For the Overnight Dough
- 1/3 cup boiling water
- 2/3 cup all purpose-flour
For the Bread Dough
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup warm water 110-115 F
- 2 and 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp milk powder
- 1/3 cup plus one teaspoon sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Filling
- 20 strips cheddar cheese about 3 inches long and 1 inch thick
- 1/4 cup butter melted, for brushing on the risen rolls
- sugar for sprinkling on the rolls
Instructions
Make the Overnight Dough (make ahead)
In a medium bowl, combine flour and boiling water. Stir until the mixture turns into a paste. Shape the dough into a ball. Wrap this in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
Make the Bread Dough
In a small microwave-safe bowl, warm the water until it reaches 110- 115 F. Sprinkle the yeast and let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until foamy. In another bowl, combine the flour, milk powder, salt and sugar. Whisk to incorporate the ingredients.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast mixture, and stir using a wooden spoon. Add the egg and continue to stir. Add the overnight dough. Stir the mixture until the dough is incorporated with the rest of the ingredients.
Add the melted butter and stir the mixture until a soft, shaggy dough is formed. It should be gathering in the center of the bowl. Turn this dough over onto a floured board. Knead for 7-10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky. Place it in a bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for an hour or so, until doubled in size.
Roll the dough into a 16x10 rectangle. Divide it into 4 sections vertically, then 5 sections horizontally to create 20 rectangles. It helps to score or mark the cuts first so you will get somewhat even portions of the dough.
Place strips of cheese into the center of each rectangle. Roll each into a log, egg-roll style. Pinch all the edges together to close the rolls. Place each roll onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Position them with about an inch of space in between. Cover the rolls loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Let them rise for about an hour or more until the size is doubled.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush each roll with melted butter and sprinkle sugar on top. Once the temperature is attained, bake the rolls for 15-17 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly golden. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
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See you!
Can I use hot dogs instead of cheese?
Hi Dolores! Oh yes, you can 🙂
Hello, wondering the cup you mentioned is how many ml?Tks. And kindly waiting for your reply ASAP.
Hello. 1/3 cup woykd be about 70 ml. 3/4 cup will be about 175 ml. I still suggest younude the cup measurements
Hi. What if i dont have powdered milk what can i use? Is it ok the fresh milk and how much do have to put? Thank you ..
Hello Mary Jane. You may add 2 tablespoons of warm milk to the dough. Add it at the same time as the melted butter. You may need to adjust by adding a bit of flour during kneading process to offset the moisture added 🙂 Good luck!
Please ignore previous question. I misread the recipe.
I hope you love these, Thessa!
Hi Sana, I love the soft dough of this bread. Thank you for sharing.
I have one problem though. The cheese melted inside and left a big hollow. I was hoping you can still bite into the cheese filling. Instead there is a hole in the middle of the bread. I sealed it well to avoid the cheese to leak out. I’m not sure what went wrong. Please advise. Thank you!
Hi Thessa! No problem at all there. The case with this is that the cheese is melty, and adheres to the dough within rather than staying firm. So you are definitely not doing anything wrong.
If you want the cheese to be more substantial rather than melty inside, use cream cheese 🙂 I hope that helps 🙂
I will try and see if low fat cheddar and/or park skim mozarella will work. I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks, Thessa! I appreciate that so much!
I am looking to make a good homemade recipe of cheese bread(rolls) like you would buy in the store. Instead of putting something inside could i use shredded cheese and put into the dough when rolling out and make a solid cheese roll?
Hello there! If you want the cheese to be on the bread itself, you can try the Cheddar Cheese Buns recipe, also here on the blog or the cheese loaf bread. I cannot recommend adding cheese to the dough as you need to put a lot before it can be substantial to flavor the bread.
can i add mash potato powder for a feathery soft cheese rolls?
Hello Jude! I have not tested adding mash potato powder in this but that is worth a try:)
Should the overnight dough be at room temperature when I mix it with the other ingredients the next day?
Hello Jennifer! Yes, you can take it out of the fridge about 5-8 minutes before you are ready to make the dough. Good luck!
I just bake this now taste like hotdog bun not what i expected but it’s okay they’re that bad. Half of the bread i put labneh and breakfast cream.
I do not have yeast whats the best substitute? Thanks.
Hello Catherine! Unfortunately, yeast is needed for the recipe and substituting it will not work.
Hi,Ms Sanna.
Thank you for this great cheese rolls recipe.
I would just like to ask why my cheese rolls were pale after baking?
I put butter and sugar as instructed.
Thanks!
Hello there! Were they soft? It could be underbaked/ under kneaded.
with ECQ, I only have instant dry yeast available at home.. how to use this instead of active dry yeast? thanks!
Hello Mac! I strongly suggest you use it in the same manner as stated in the recipe:) Good luck!
Hi there this sounds really yummy! Just wondering, what does the overnight dough do? Is it like tangzhong? And how do you refrigerate it, wrapped in plastic? Or in a bowl to rise? Thanks so much!
Yes its like tangzhong. You just wrap it in plastic:)
HI Sanna! can i use instant yeast instead of active yeast?
Hi Jen! Yes you can but follow the same directions:)
Can I use bread flour instead of APF?
Hello, Mel. Yes you can:)
Hi Sanna,
For my understanding, what is the overnight dough for? Thank you and all the best!
Earl
Hi Earl! The overnight dough will make the dough softer.
Hello! We are in love with this bread! So much, in fact, that my son wants cinnamon rolls with this exact dough. Do you think this can be done perhaps by adjusting sugar levels? Or do you have a recipe that yields rolls this soft? I will appreciate your reply. My toddler is a bread monster! 😀 Thank you very much!
Hello Diane! You can adjust the sugar up to 2-3 tbsp more 🙂
Hi, I’m about to try this coz I’ve been wanting to make cheese rolls for so long. But, just curious, why do we need the overnight dough? Can’t we just skip this part? Thanks!
Hi Mira! The overnight dough makes the dough softer. If you want, you can use pandesal recipe for this one and just fill it with cheese 🙂
Hello,
What is the substitute for milk powder? Can i just use the regular milk? Also, if using instant yeast, can I just mix it with flour without proofing it? Thanks
Hello Marielle! Some people omit the milk powder and they seem to work out fine. Some substitute creamer powder too. If you want to use instant yeast, I would suggest to still follow the same instructions in the recipe 🙂 GOod luck and happy baking!
Hello Sanna Thanks for the wonderfull cheese roll recipe so good.
Just wondering do you have Pianono recipe?
Thanks
Hello there, Kriz! Thank you! I don’t have a pianono recipe but you can check out my friend’s pianono recipe at Kawaling Pinoy.
Hi. Any kind of milk powder will work?
Hello there! Yes any kind of milk powder:?
Hi Sanna, when making my overnight dough, it wasn’t like paste but it was dry. I used 2/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup boiling water. What is wrong with it?
Hi Amy, just gradually add more water if the dough is too dry. But just add only enough until the dough is pasty:)
Hi! Everything about the dough is great. The only problem I had was that the cheddar cheese that I used just melted, and the bread turned out to be hollow in the center. Would you recommend to use processed cheese like Eden instead?
I’m comparing it to Mary Grace’s where the cheese stayed firm inside.
Thanks so much in advance!
Hello there! Yes, you can use Eden cheese or cream cheese. 🙂
Hi! I forgot to make the overnight dough on the day of baking these rolls. Can I just chill the “overnight dough” for say, 8 hours? Will that be enough?
Hello Karla. Just chill the dough for atleast 4 hours in the fridge.
Thanks for the recipe! Used fresh milk and Bread flour! It was so good! Will try to experiment with both BF and APF the next time.
Thanks for the feedback, Garet! I am happy you loved them.