These are particularly good rolls or buns. They are filled with flavor from the tangy sourdough, intense sun-dried tomatoes, and sharp cheddar cheese. The rolls are easy to make, and I usually cook the dough in batches in my air fryer to avoid heating up the house with the regular oven and to save electricity. The air fryer also gives the rolls a nice, golden-brown crust. The rolls come out of the air fryer hot and oozing with melted cheese. The rolls are great with any meal--breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I especially like them, warm, with a bowl or soup or salad. Enjoy!
Sourdough Sun-Dried Tomato and Cheese Rolls -- Makes 8-10 Rolls
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup of milk
1 cup of white whole-wheat or whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
In a large bowl mix all of the ingredients listed above well and loosely cover the mixture with plastic wrap. Let the mixture sit for at least an hour. I usually let my mixture sit for 4-5 hours while I work. When you're ready, add:
3 - 4 tablespoons of chopped, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Stir, then knead the mixture for 3-5 minutes until it forms a soft dough, adding an additional 1/2 cup of flour, if necessary, to keep the dough from being too sticky to knead. Press the dough out into a rectangle/square that is about 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle the dough with:
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (or use another cheese you like)
Press the cheese slightly into the dough to hold the cheese in place and roll up the dough, jelly-roll style, into a log. Cut the dough log, crosswise, into 8-10 pieces. Place the dough rounds onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment or small pieces of parchment cut to fit your air fryer basket. Leave at least an inch between the dough pieces. Spritz the dough with non-stick cooking spray and loosely cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rounds rise until they increase in size by about a third. This rise usually takes a couple of hours in my not-that-hot kitchen. Bake the dough in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Alternatively, put a dough-topped piece of parchment in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the dough at 320 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the rolls are a deep golden brown. Repeat the air frying process with the remaining dough.
