This recipe makes about half a dozen soft, puffy, incredibly cheesy buns or rolls. The buns are simple to make, don't require hard-to-find ingredients, and are full of sharp cheese flavor, which the sourdough tang accentuates. The buns make great appetizers and accompaniments to dinner. They also are great for breakfast, either alongside eggs or cereal or for a "grab and go" snack with your morning coffee. With whole-wheat flour and plenty of cheese for protein, the buns are great for "helping the hungries." Because it's been so hot lately, I've made the buns in my air fryer, but you can also bake them in the oven. Enjoy!
Double Cheddar Buns or Rolls -- Makes about 6 Medium-Large Buns
1/2 cup of sourdough starter/discard
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoons of canola oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup of white whole-wheat flour
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients list above and beat them together for a minute or two. Loosely cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for at least an hour (up to six hours is fine, too). When you're eady, add:
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Stir, then knead in the flour and salt. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, adding another 1/4 cup or so of flour to prevent the dough from being too sticky to knead. Knead in:
1/3 - 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Divide the dough into about six pieces about the size of a golf ball. Into each piece of dough press:
1 one-inch square (or so) piece of sharp cheddar cheese (for a total of 6 pieces of cheese)
Wrap the dough around the cheese and roll the dough into round balls (like rolling play dough!). Cut pieces of baking parchment to fit your air fryer basket or line a small baking sheet with baking parchment. Place the balls on the parchment, spacing them an inch or two apart. Spritz the dough balls with a little non-stick cooking spray. Let the dough balls rise for a couple of hours or until they have increased by about one-third in volume. If you want to make the buns in the air fryer, put one dough-topped piece of parchment in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the buns at 320 degrees for about 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove the first batch from the air fryer to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough balls. If you want to use the regular oven, bake the buns at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden. Let the buns cool a little before serving them, as the cheese in the middle of the buns is HOT!
