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Sekai Gohan

Cheese and Bacon Roll: Australian Bakery Bun with a Melted Cheese Top

Servings 12 rolls

Freshly baked cheese and bacon rolls, round buns topped with melted cheese and small pieces of bacon
Steps with photos

Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
Strong white bread flour 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) High-protein flour for a soft, fluffy crumb
Water, at body temperature 1¼ cups (300 ml) Wakes the yeast and hydrates the dough
Fresh yeast 0.18 oz (5 g) Raises the dough
Salt 0.28 oz (8 g) Seasons the bread and steadies the rise
Egg, lightly whisked 1 Glaze for colour and shine; some may be left over
Milk 1 tbsp Loosens the egg for brushing
Grated cheese (tasty cheese) 1 Australian cup (250 ml) The melted, browned top
Bacon, finely chopped 3 rashers (slices) Salt and crisp edges; goes on raw

Steps

  1. 1Wake the yeast

    Crumble the fresh yeast into a bowl and pour in the body-warm water. Stir until the yeast dissolves, then leave it for about a minute. This shows you the yeast is alive before any flour goes in. Move on when the surface turns lightly frothy.

  2. 2Combine with flour and salt

    Put the bread flour and salt in a large bowl and stir them together first. Pour in the yeast water and mix with a spoon until everything comes together. There is no kneading yet. Stop when you have a rough, shaggy mass with a few dry patches at the edges.

  3. 3Knead for 5 minutes

    Tip the dough onto a lightly floured bench. Knead for 5 minutes, pushing it away with the heel of your hand, folding it back and turning it. Dust with a little flour only if it sticks hard. The dough is ready when it is smooth and springy and comes away from the bench cleanly.

  4. 4First rise

    Return the dough to the bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel. Leave it for 1 hour somewhere out of draughts. On a cold day, set the bowl inside a larger bowl of 85°F (30°C) water and keep the towel over the top. The dough is ready when it has doubled in size and looks domed and airy.

    Go by the dough, not the clock

    The hour is the time for fresh yeast in a mild kitchen. In a cool room, or with dry yeast, keep waiting until the dough has truly doubled. Dough divided too early bakes into dense, heavy rolls.

  5. 5Knock back, divide and shape

    Turn the risen dough out onto a floured bench and press it down to release the gas. Roll it into a thick log and cut it into 12 equal pieces with a dough scraper. Cup each piece under your hand and roll it against the bench into a ball. Each ball is done when its surface is smooth and taut.

  6. 6Second rise and preheat

    Line a baking tray with baking paper and set the balls on it with space between them. Cover with the damp tea towel and leave for 30 minutes. Turn the oven on to 465°F (240°C) now, so it is fully hot when the rolls are ready. The rolls are ready when they are puffy and visibly larger, short of doubled.

  7. 7Press and glaze

    Press each roll down gently with your fingertips to flatten the top slightly. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl. Brush a thin coat over the top of each roll. Stop when the surface shows a faint sheen with no drips running onto the paper, since glaze that pools burns on the tray.

  8. 8Top with cheese and bacon

    Toss the grated cheese and chopped bacon together in a small bowl. Pile the mixture over each roll and spread it right out to the edges. Bits that fall onto the paper melt and attach to the roll as it bakes. Each roll is ready when its whole top is covered, with no bare ring of dough around the edge.

    Cover to the edge

    Mixing cheese and bacon before topping spreads the bacon evenly instead of leaving it in clumps. Taking the mix to the very edge gives every bite of roll a crisp, cheesy rim.

  9. 9Lower the heat and bake

    Turn the oven down to 390°F (200°C) and slide the tray in. Bake for 20 minutes. Take the tray out with oven mitts and look at the bacon closely. The rolls are done when the cheese has melted into a golden sheet with browned edges and the bacon is crisp, with no raw sheen left on any piece.

    Hot oven and cooking the bacon

    Bacon is pork and is eaten only fully cooked. The home food safety guideline for meat is a centre temperature of 167°F (75°C) for at least 1 minute; for pork, 145.4°F (63°C) for at least 30 minutes also meets the guideline. If any bacon still looks pink or glossy, return the tray to the oven until it is cooked. Handle the tray and oven door with mitts; the tray stays very hot for some time after it comes out.

  10. 10Cool on a rack

    Lift the rolls off the tray and set them on a wire rack. Left on the hot tray, they trap steam underneath and the bottoms turn damp. Let the cheese settle for a moment before you bite in. The rolls are ready when the bottoms feel dry and do not stick to your fingers as you pick them up.