If I was marooned on a deserted island for three years, I’d crave cheese too! Ben Gunn flat-out waxes lyrical about it when telling Jim what he misses most about home. If I could dive into the book (a superpower for which I’ve often wished), I’d bake Ben a batch of these heart-meltingly homey cheese buns, developed by Laura at PheNOMenal!
P.S. I had difficulty getting the original dough recipe to work, so I substituted a dough from Leigh Anne at Your Homebased Mom, which I prepared in accordance with the original PheNOMenal recipe.
Ben’s Toasted Cheese Buns
“You mightn’t happen to have a piece of cheese about you, now? No? Well, many’s the long night I’ve dreamed of cheese—toasted mostly…”
— Treasure Island
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp warm water
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 egg (not pictured, because I’m silly and forget things)
- 12-14 cubes mild Cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- extra garlic salt for topping
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
Makes a little over 1 dozen buns
INSTRUCTIONS:
- First, preheat your oven to 400° and pour the warm water and oil into the bowl of a standing mixer. Then add your yeast and sprinkle on the sugar. Let stand for 15 minutes.
- Time to break out your dough hook! Add your egg and garlic salt to the mix and gradually beat in the flour on medium speed (using the dough hook attachment).
- If some of your dry components stay at the bottom of the bowl and refuse to incorporate, just stop the beater, gather up the dry components, and press them into the middle of the dough. Fold the dough in half over them (to ensure they don’t fall out) and continue beating until the dough is thick and smooth.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and divide your dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place 6 or 7 balls on each sheet, evenly spaced apart, and allow them to rest for 10 minutes. They should expand a tiny bit.
- Poke a hole in each ball with your thumb and place a Cheddar cube in each hole. Pinch the hole firmly closed and form the dough back into a smooth ball, keeping the cheese cube as close to the middle of the ball as possible.
- This is where it gets messy! Brush melted butter on the dough and sprinkle on lots of garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Press one handful of shredded Colby Jack cheese on top of each ball.
- Pop the buns in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the dough has developed a beautiful golden crust.
- Serve while rescuing marooned pirates from a life without cheese in Treasure Island! 🙂
Here’s the Yummly Printable!
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp warm water
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 egg (not pictured, because I'm silly and forget things)
- 12-14 cubes mild Cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- extra garlic salt for topping
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 400° and pour the warm water and oil into the bowl of a standing mixer. Then add your yeast and sprinkle on the sugar. Let stand for 15 minutes.
- Time to break out your dough hook! Add your egg and garlic salt to the mix and gradually beat in the flour on medium speed (using the dough hook attachment).
- If some of your dry components stay at the bottom of the bowl and refuse to incorporate, just stop the beater, gather up the dry components, and press them into the middle of the dough. Fold the dough in half over them (to ensure they don't fall out) and continue beating until the dough is thick and smooth.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and divide your dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place 6 or 7 balls on each sheet, evenly spaced apart, and allow them to rest for 10 minutes. They should expand a tiny bit.
- Poke a hole in each ball with your thumb and place a Cheddar cube in each hole. Pinch the hole firmly closed and form the dough back into a smooth ball, keeping the cheese cube as close to the middle of the ball as possible.
- This is where it gets messy! Brush melted butter on the dough and sprinkle on lots of garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Press one handful of shredded Colby Jack cheese on top of each ball.
- Pop the buns in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the dough has developed a beautiful golden crust.
- Serve while rescuing marooned pirates from a life without cheese in Treasure Island!
Ah, many a long night I’ve dreamed of cheese…toasted mostly 🙂 These look like the rolls you get at Red Lobster. Perfect for the sea-faring theme!
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