Beer and cheese buns

Absolutely delicious beer and cheese buns, with grated cheese added to the dough and baked until it becomes wonderfully crisp on the outside. What an aroma and flavour – they are impossible to resist! I originally planned to eat them with various toppings, but pulled apart while still warm, straight from the baking tray, they are simply irresistible. Easy to make (it is a classic yeast dough) and requiring only a few ingredients. One large tray is therefore enough for everyone :).

Makes 12.

Ingredients for the sweet yeast dough:

• 815 g strong white bread flour
• 12 g dried yeast or 25 g fresh yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 30 g butter
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 cups beer (500 ml)
• 115 g cheese, such as Cheddar, grated

Mix the flour with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, first prepare a yeast starter). Add the salt, honey (if it is solid, warm it gently first), beer and knead the dough. Once the dough has been kneaded, add the melted butter and knead again. Add the grated cheese and knead until incorporated. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1½ hours).

After this time, knead the dough briefly again. Tear off pieces of dough and shape into 12 buns. Arrange them in a 25 × 38 cm baking tin (bottom dimensions) lined with baking paper, leaving a little space between them (they will join together during baking). Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 40 minutes, or longer if necessary, until risen again (they should double in size). Brush the risen buns with melted butter and sprinkle with the additional grated cheese (see ingredients below).

Place the buns in an oven preheated to 200°C and bake for about 18–20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Additionally:

• 25 g butter, melted, for brushing the buns
• 100 g cheese, such as Cheddar, grated

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: “NewYorkTimes Cooking”.