Ham and Cheese Rolls

Looking for an easy yet super delicious idea for holiday breakfasts?

Something you can prepare ahead of time and just pop in the oven to warm in the morning?

Something that even the pickiest eaters will fall in love with?

Well.... look no further. 

These soft and fluffy rolls are stuffed with ham and cheese and, with only a little extra time, look like you slaved all day over them.

We used deli honey baked ham and then jalapeno Havarti cheese but you can use your favorite meat and cheese to fill them. Make them up far in advance and freeze them, then all you have to do is pop them in the oven to reheat in the morning. Of course, these also work for brunch, lunch, or as a dinner accompaniment.  

We used our go-to bread recipe but feel free to use store bought or your favorite soft yeast dough. 

Ham and Cheese Rolls

Ingredients

5 - 5 1/2 cups flour

3 Tbsp sugar

2 envelopes Rapid Rise Yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup water

1/3 cup butter, cut into pieces

Filling
24 slices of cheese (we used jalapeno Havarti)
24 slices of ham (we used deli honey ham)

one egg, beaten - for egg wash

Directions

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
In a large bowl combine 3 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, and baking soda.
In a medium saucepan, heat buttermilk, water, and butter until very warm (120 - 130); butter does not need to melt completely. Mixture will appear curdled.

Stir into the flour mixture. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough.

Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic 2 - 5 mins). Cover and let rest on floured surface approx 15 mins.
After dough has rested:
 1. divide dough into 12 equal parts.
2. Roll one piece into a rectangle.
3. cut strips evenly, roughly 1/3rd of the way up the rectangle. Lay 2 slices of cheese and 2 slices of ham along the middle, uncut 1/3 dough.
4. Fold top 1/3rd of dough over the filling and pinch to seal.
5. Wrap the strips of dough around the filled section.
(See step by step photos below)

Repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Place each roll onto prepared cookie sheet.

Cover with a clean tea towel and set somewhere warm to rise for an hour.

After an hour - preheat oven to 375.

Take beaten egg and, using a pastry or basting brush, brush tops of buns with the egg. 

Bake at 375 until tops of bread are golden brown, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Remove to cooling rack to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Best served warm but, of course, they are still delicious at room temp - or even just out of the fridge.

Pretty, right?

You can also freeze them once they have cooled down to room temp, covered in an air tight container. When ready to serve, simply pop them into the oven until warmed through.

Just enough to cheese to make these melty and delicious but not too gooey.

Cut in half (above) there is 24 pieces - which is perfect for Christmas morning when you might have a house full of company. You can do all the not-really-hard work days, or even weeks, in advance.

I would recommend storing any uneaten pieces covered in the fridge. 

You can always pop them in the microwave for a few seconds too. 

 

Be sure to visit these fun sites for more great links! - Carole's Chatter, Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons, My Turn (for us),  Wondermom Wannabe