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I was scrolling through Pinterest today and saw this delicious photograph of “Stuffed Cheese Buns”. I was even more delighted when I clicked on it to discover that these were not just any stuffed cheese buns, but rather Peeta’s Stuffed Cheese Buns! Oh, Peeta!! If the breads he bake taste anything like this, then I can’t understand why Katniss didn’t fall in love with him sooner. I would fall head over heels for him in a heartbeat if he threw me one of these.
This recipe is courtesy of Yammie’s Noshery, which I highly recommend you check out if you have some free time. Yammie is only 19 years old but she has a blog full of original recipes, and her food photography is excellent as well. She’s also developed other book-inspired recipes besides this one.
I went ahead and made a batch of these today. I just couldn’t wait another minute after seeing these. I made 24 rolls and after stuffing with mozzarella cheese, I put 20 in the freezer for Christmas Lunch, and baked the other four for everyone in the family to try one. It’s good I put the rest of them away, because I could easily devour another.. eight or so of these. It’s torture knowing they’re in the freezer, next to the frozen chocolate mint chip cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and bittersweet decadence cookies I’ve also made for the holidays. Yikes. I’m in danger.
Peeta’s Stuffed Cheese Buns
Makes 20-24 round buns.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp yeast
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 8 oz. of cheese (I recommend fresh mozzarella – very easy to divide into chunks for stuffing)
- Additional melted butter, shredded cheese, and fresh or dried herbs for topping
Directions
- Mix together the yeast and water and let it sit for a couple of minutes to activate.
- If using a stand mixer or mixing by hand: Add the sugar, garlic powder, melted butter, and oil. Add the flour a little at a time, mixing in your stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the salt. Knead for 10 minutes, then let the dough rise for about 30 minutes.
If using a bread machine: Add wet ingredients first, starting with the yeast+water combination, followed by the oil and melted butter. Then, add the dry ingredients: flour, garlic powder, sugar, and salt. Set the machine to the Dough setting and let it do its thing, then let it rise in the bread machine for 30 minutes. You do not need to wait for the full cycle to finish. - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Divide the dough into about 20 pieces. (I was able to make 24 pieces, by dividing dough in half, and in half again and again until I had enough pieces.) Put a 3/4 inch chunk of cheese into each ball of dough, the pinch the edges up tightly. Put the pinched side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the buns with shredded cheese.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Brush with melted butter and top with herbs. Serve warm. Devour and enjoy.
