Pull-Apart Garlic Cheese Buns
Ingredients:
- 1 cup half & half
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 1 package rapid rise yeast
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flour
- 15 1 inch cubes of the garlic white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded garlic white cheddar cheese (I use a brand called Yancey's Fancy that I find at Sprouts, but any white cheddar will do)
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- Coarse sea salt (for sprinkling)
Instructions:
- Heat the half & half in the microwave for about 30 seconds until it is warm but not too hot.
- Add the half & half, butter and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to combine. You can use the paddle attachment on the mixer to combine as well, but mine never reaches the bottom of the bowl so I just used a spatula. Note that if you are using regular active dry yeast instead of rapid rise, just combine it with the warm milk first and let sit for about 5 minutes to activate the yeast. Then proceed with the remaining steps.
- Add the eggs, salt and flour, and use the dough hook on the mixer to knead the dough on medium speed for about 10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides and form a ball. You can also knead by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl that has been greased with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
- Once the dough has risen, remove to a lightly floured surface and divide into 15 equal pieces.
- Grease a 9 x 13 pan.
- Take the cubes of the garlic cheese and place them in the center of each dough piece, closing the dough around the cheese and pinching to seal it. Roll into a ball and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking pan. Repeat for all 15 pieces of dough.
- Cover the pan with a dish towel and let rise until doubled in size, about another hour.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Brush the tops of the risen rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the rolls and bake at 375 degrees F. for 15-18 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the rolls are just very slightly browned. The internal temperature should be about 190 when they are finished if you want to check that way.