Cheesy Pinwheel Buns

In line with my current engrossment with The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, we used a recent day off from school to make a version of Deb's Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns. Since the KC kids are not huge dill fans, we opted to leave that part out and replaced some of the cheddar cheese with our family fave, Parmesan.

The munchkins had so much fun making dough.

Yeast is still a magic potion for them. They can't get enough of watching dough rise.

Cheesy Pinwheel Buns
adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
makes 12 buns

For the dough
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 (1/4-ounce or 2&1/4 tsp) packet instant yeast
1 cup milk
4 tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled

For the filling
1/2 cup grated onion
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
dash black pepper

1. Whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a separate small bowl, combine the yeast and milk. Whisk until the yeast dissolves. Pour the yeast-milk mixture and the melted butter into the flour mixture and mix using the paddle attachment on your mixer, or a wooden spoon if you're looking for an upper body workout, until the dough is holds together in a raggedy mass.
2. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 5-6 minutes on low speed, or if you're going the old fashioned route, dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it with your hands for 8 minutes. In either case the kneading is done when the dough is nice and smooth and just barely sticky to the touch. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray or wipe the the bottom and sides with oil and transfer the dough ball to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warmish place for a couple of hours until it has doubled in size, like this (and yes, that is my son in a tutu, he always dresses his best for baking):

3. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle (about 12 x 16 inches or as close as you can get).

4. Mix together the onion, both cheeses, salt and pepper. Spread the filling over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border at both short ends.

5. Start rolling from one short end to the other to make a log. Cut the log into 12 equal slices with a sharp knife.

6. Line a pan of your choice (two 9-inch rounds or one 9x13-inch rectangular pan) with parchment. Place the rolls cut-side up into the prepared pans, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until they have doubled in size. (Deb recommends brushing the tops with melted butter at this point. We skipped it and still got beautiful yummy buns so take your pick).
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the buns have doubled in size, pop them in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. You'll know they're done when the cheese is oozing out the top and starting to brown in places. Cool slightly on a wire rack and serve warm.

These fill the house with really good smells. So good in fact that my photo session was cut short by a band of hungry monkeys demanding to be fed. Yup, that's a diffuser behind Roo and that's him eating my prop. I suppose that's success if I've ever had any.