Peeta's Stuffed Cheese Buns

 Last month I got an email from my brother Dave with the subject: "I want somma these!"  Similar emails in the past have led me to such concoctions as doughnut-upside down cake, marshmallow lime meringue pie, reverse whoopie pies, and eggnog sandwich cookies.  Dave doesn't mess around.  And he only sends me a recipe when he's really serious about it. 

So I clicked through to Yammie's Noshery and drooled over her pictures of gooey cheese-stuffed buns, while mumbly-stumbling through her dizzying explanation that Peeta (Hunger Games, people) is her future grandson.  Or something. 

Regardless, the buns looked awesome.  And easy.  And a nice change from the usual.  So I bought a lot of cheese, and invited Dave's family over for dinner.  We served the buns with Roasted Red Pepper and Herb Pasta with Shrimp, green beans, and an experimental pie for dessert that I'm still trying to decide whether to post. 

Here's Dave's happy, happy face at getting "somma these" buns (too bad it's just a headshot.  They'd just come from the Renaissance Festival and he was wearing his kilt):

Cousins:

And can you ever get away with taking pictures of kids without doing a silly shot?  I think they are pirates:

But back to the buns.  So.  Good.  

Peeta's Stuffed Cheese Buns (print recipe)
Makes about 20

1 cup warm water (hot from the tap, between 105º and 115º)
2 T yeast
2 T sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
8 oz. cheese, the more the merrier (I used chunks of mozzarella for the inside and a mixture of shredded cheddar and Parmesan for the top.  You can use any cheeses you like, preferably ones that melt well)
A few tablespoons of melted butter mixed with a sprinkle of garlic powder and some fresh herbs if you want

1.  Mix together the yeast and water and let it sit for a few minutes.  Add the sugar, garlic powder, melted butter, and oil.  Add the flour a little at a time, mixing in your stand mixer with a dough hook.  Add the salt.  Knead for 10 minutes in the stand mixer or by hand.  Let dough rise in a greased bowl, covered with a damp cloth for 30 minutes.

2.  Preheat oven to 375º.

3.  Divide the dough into about 20 pieces.  Put about a 3/4-inch chunk of cheese in each one and make sure you pinch all the edges back up tightly.

 Put the pinched side down on a greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle the buns with more shredded cheese and some Parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 11 to 15 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.  Brush with melted butter and serve warm.

 Recipe adapted from Yammie's Noshery 

1 year ago:  Raspberry Tea Cake with Mascarpone Cream Filling
2 years ago:  Peanut Butter Banana Bread
3 years ago:   Chocolate Honey Zucchini Muffins

Garlic-Slathered Stretch Bread (a.k.a. "Pizza Dippers")

Hello. This looks good, right? And it smells and tastes even better.

I've got this cookbook, A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. Amazing book. The pictures are mouthwatering. The recipes are creative, well written and a balance between classic and unusual ideas. The whole thing should be a home run. But instead it seems to be luck-of-the-draw. I have made nineteen recipes to date from it - 6 were AMAZING, 5 were DISAPPOINTING and 8 were only SO-SO (usually tasting fine but not really being worth the effort or work required, which is often A LOT.) Despite the stats, I keep going back to it because it just calls to me. You've got to see this book. It's really one of my favorites.

So. I recently re-went-through it and made a note of the thirty-something (love that show!) recipes I want to try, and I started with this one. I knew it would be hard to be disappointed by bread slathered with garlic. I thought I'd make it as a dinner side to go with spaghetti and salad. But when it filled the house with Italian garlicky aromas, I thought, forget the spaghetti. We sliced it, served it with bowls of marinara, and called it "Pizza Dippers." Voila, dinner is done!

Did I mention these were so so so so so good? So good! And don't be put off by the mayonnaise. I hate the stuff, but it's just an agent for the so-much garlic, and you can't taste it. Just saying.

Garlic-Slathered Stretch Bread

(whole recipe takes about 4 1/2 to 5 hours)

Dough:
2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees F)
1 3/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast

1 3/4 tsp salt
4 tsp sugar

4 cups bread flour

Garlic Slather:

6 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning (I at least doubled this)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil.

2. In a mixer bowl, hand-whisk water and yeast together and let stand 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve yeast. Briskly whisk in salt, sugar, and most of the flour to make a soft dough. Knead with dough hook on lowest speed 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary until dough is resilient but not tough. *Remove dough hook and spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover entire mixing bowl with a large clear plastic bag.* (I don't like this technique but Goldman swears by it. Instead, I put dough in a sprayed bowl, cover loosely with lid and dish towel, and place in cold oven to avoid drafts.)

3. Let dough rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 3 hours (I cut the time in half and did 2 1/4 hours.)

4. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; gently deflate. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rise. Meanwhile make Garlic Slather. Using a mortar and pestle (which I don't have but I used my muddler and it worked great), mash garlic and salt to a fine paste. Remove to a bowl. Fold in mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, seasoning and oil.

5. Divide dough in half. Stretch each to a long oval, about 18 x 6 inches. Place on prepared baking sheet, evenly spacing apart. Using back of a spoon, spread filling all over top of each bread. Top each with mozzarella cheese. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let dough rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours until puffy.

6. Preheat oven to 400. Bake until nicely golden on top and topping is sizzling, about 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool at least slightly, then cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Serve with warm marinara sauce, if desired.

Recipe from A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman

Parmesan Herb Bread

When you can't be bothered to make garlic bread, but want the house to smell like it, here is the recipe for you! So good with lasagna (that's what we had it with), it would also made great midnight-snack toast, deli or grilled cheese sandwiches, or if it gets a little stale, croutons for your salad! I did find the long list of 1/4-teaspoons a bit tiresome. If I didn't have one of the herbs, I just substituted something I did have. Also it called for dill, which I don't like and didn't have, so I put in extra rosemary - my favorite. Or you could just dump in a bunch of Italian seasoning - a favorite move in my family! There is obviously lots of room to customize. If you stick with the basic chemistry, you can look forward to one good loaf of bread.

Parmesan Herb Bread

1 cup water (70-80 degrees)

3 T butter

1 egg, beaten

3 cups bread flour

2 T sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, finger crushed

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1/4 tsp dried thyme

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select basic bread setting. Choose crust color and loaf size if available. Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 T water or flour if needed. Makes 1 loaf (1 1/2 pounds.)

Recipe from Quick Cooking, May/June 2002