Homemade cheese buns with cheddar inside and outside, these are some of the best cheese bread buns I’ve ever had.
Cheese buns are super popular around here, you can buy them in any bakery and they are always good. But the homemade recipe is even better. Soft yet slightly chewier and denser than regular bread rolls, full with cheese and rolled into even more cheese.
I’ve been baking the cheddar buns for years now, I can’t even remember the first time, I think even before the children were born. My husband was always a big fan, he grew up in a bakery and although he knows nothing about cooking and baking, he does know what good bread and bread rolls are. And he definitely loves these cheesy ones!
And these breakfast bread rolls or the super-soft yeast rolls.
Ingredients needed
Flour, salt, sugar, water. One egg and a little milk for brushing the bread rolls.
Yeast:
- Either fresh, active dry or instant yeast, I’ve used all these kinds over the years and they all work.
- If using fresh, crumble it into the lukewarm water, mix in the sugar and let stand for about 5 minutes.
- If using active dry yeast, the procedure is the same.
- In the case of instant, just mix it with the flour.
Cheese:
- Originally, I was making the cheese buns with Gouda. It works great as well, but I find Cheddar the better option nowadays, it has a slightly stronger taste and a stronger color.
- You will need quite a lot of it: 300 g/ 10.6 oz/ 2 ½ cups for the dough and 150 g/ 5.3 oz/ 1 ¼ cups for rolling the buns into it.
- I always buy a whole block and grate it myself either with a box grater or a food processor. In this case, it is worth it to use the food processor.
How to make cheese buns?
Although made with yeast the dough for these bread rolls could not be easier to make. Really, especially if using the instant kind, it all comes down to mixing the ingredients and doing a bit of kneading. And if you knead the ingredients in the stand mixer, everything gets even easier.
How to make the yeast dough?
- Place the flour, instant dry yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix well.
- Add the lukewarm water (about 40 degrees Celsius/ 105 degrees Fahrenheit) and the first portion of grated cheese.
- Mix well and knead for about 5 minutes with the hands or about 3 minutes with the mixer until smooth and elastic.
- Place in a bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until nicely risen.
- If you use fresh or active dry yeast, crumble/sprinkle it in the lukewarm water, add the sugar and stir gently. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then combine with the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough.
Rising time for yeast dough:
- The rising time greatly depends on the kind of yeast you use and on the temperature in your kitchen.
- Dough made with the fresh sort will need less time, so check after about 1 to 1 ½ hours already, it should have slightly doubled its size.
- If the kitchen is warm, the rising time will be shorter as well, be sure to check.
- If the kitchen is not warm enough, place the bowl in the oven and turn on the oven light. Just the light, not the oven.
How to form the cheddar buns?
- Start preheating the oven, it will need to reach 250 degrees Celsius/ 480 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Grate the remaining cheese and place it on a large plate.
- Mix the egg and the milk in a small bowl.
- You can either form a thick sausage and divide it into 12 buns. Or you can just tear lumps of dough and form the buns. I prefer to weigh each piece on the kitchen scale, it makes the rolls more regular. (1)
- Knead the pieces shortly on the lightly floured working surface and give them a nice round shape. (2)
- Brush each bun with the egg mixture. (1)
- Roll into the grated cheese. (2)
- Place on the prepared baking tray. (3)
- Cover the tray with a clean kitchen towel and let rise lightly for another 15 minutes.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until deeply golden and cooked through. (4)
- Check the oven after about 10-15 minutes. If the cheddar buns are already very golden, cover them loosely with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent them from getting too dark.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Recipe FAQ
Honestly, the cheddar cheese buns are so good and hearty, you can just have them as they are. Either warm, lukewarm, or at room temperature.
Otherwise, just the way you would serve any other buns or rolls.
Split them in half and smear them with butter. An absolute delight, especially when the buns are warm and the butter melts slowly. Of course, don’t forget, adding butter adds lots of calories to the already very rich bread rolls.
You can stuff them with anything else you like, I would not necessarily go for anything cheesy, as they are full of it already, but you can try cold meats, spreads, vegetables, roasted vegetables, salad leaves, and so on.
You can even use them as burger buns, absolutely delicious!
They are a great side dish for stew, goulash, or soup. Try them with the Chicken and Chorizo Stew, Stewed Turkey, Spanish Vegetable Soup, Mushroom Soup, or any other creamy soup.
The cheese buns keep well for 2-3 days, wrapped in a kitchen towel. They are always best on the day you’ve baked them, but you will still like them the following days.
Freeze them in freezer bags. You can refresh them in the oven before serving.
More buns and rolls:
Cheese Buns Recipe
Ingredients
- 600 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast Note 2
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 3 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 375 ml water
- 450 g Cheddar cheese divided, Note 3
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Dough:
- Mix: Place the flour, instant dry yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix well.
- Add the lukewarm water (about 40°C/ 105°F) and the grated cheese needed for the dough (300 g/ 10.5 oz).
- Knead dough: Mix well and knead the dough for about 5 minutes with the hands or about 3 minutes with the stand mixer until smooth and elastic.
- If you make the dough with fresh or active dry yeast, crumble/sprinkle the yeast in the lukewarm water, add the sugar, and stir gently. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then combine with the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough.
- Let dough rise: Place the yeast dough in a bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until nicely risen (Note 4).
Shape:
- Preheat the oven to 250°C/ 480°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Grate the remaining cheese (150g/ 5.3 oz) and place it on a large plate. Mix the egg and the milk in a small bowl.
- Cut buns: Form a thick sausage and cut the pieces of dough with a scraper or tear the pieces directly from the dough. You will have 12 buns (Note 5).
- Knead the dough pieces shortly on the lightly floured surface and shape them into balls.
- Brush each cheese bun with the egg mixture and roll it into the grated cheese.
- Let buns rise: Place them on the prepared baking tray. Cover the tray with a clean kitchen towel and let rise lightly for 15 minutes.
- Bake: Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until deeply golden and cooked through. Check after about 10-15 minutes. If they are already very golden, cover them loosely with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent the cheese from getting too dark.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- A digital kitchen scale will give you the most precise measure ensuring the best bake possible.
- You can use 25 g/ 0.9 oz fresh yeast or 10 g/ 1 tablespoon active dry yeast instead. In this case, proof the yeast. Crumble the fresh one or sprinkle the active dry yeast into the lukewarm water, add sugar and mix gently. Let stand for 5 minutes and combine with the remaining ingredients.
- 300 g/ 10.5 oz/ 2 ½ cups grated cheese for the dough and 150 g/ 5.3 oz/ 1 ¼ cups for rolling the buns into it.
- The rising time depends on the yeast and on the temperature in the kitchen. Check after about 1 to 1 ½ hours if you are using fresh dough and if the kitchen is very warm, the dough should be almost double in size.
- I prefer to weigh each clump of dough on the kitchen scale.