Homemade Bread Rolls

Pillowy soft homemade bread rolls stuffed with spinach and cheese - a delicious and filling meal that can be made with simple ingredients!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Proofing time 1 30

Servings bread rolls

Calories 358kcal

Author Shinta

500 grams (approx. 1 lb) bread flour
7 grams active dry yeast or use instant yeast
1 cup milk 1 cup=250 ml
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg
80 grams butter melted + extra butter for brushing the dough olive oil can be used as a substitute
¾ teaspoon salt

¾ cup spinach if using fresh - finely chopped, if using frozen, thaw before using
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon dried herbs
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon white pepper
salt to season
1 tablespoon cream cheese optional

Warm the milk until it is a little over room temperature. Mix in the sugar and the sachet of yeast.
Stir and let the yeast activate for 8-9 minutes. It should be frothy once activated. Optionally, use instant yeast.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour, the activated yeast+ milk mixture, the egg, salt and butter. Using a stand mixer or your hands, mix well until the mixture forms a dough. Knead the dough for a few minutes on the countertop.

Place the dough back into a lightly greased mixing bowl and cover it with a clean tea towel. Let it double in size (around 90 mins). If you are using an Instant Pot, lightly grease the inner pot with olive oil and set the Instant Pot to 'Yogurt' mode. Let the dough sit inside for 50 minutes, until double in size. Use this time to make the filling for the bread rolls (see recipe below).

Take out the dough, and on a lightly floured surface, knock out the air, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is around ¼ inch thick and roughly shaped like a rectangle.
Spread out the filling over the rolled out dough.
Using a knife or pizza cutter cut the dough into strips of similar width (2-3 cm wide).
Roll up each strip and stack them in a baking pan or cake tin. I used 2 x 7-inch round cake tins, each holding 4 dough rolls. Do not stack them too tight, give the rolls a little space to rise.

Keep the cake tins in a warm place, covered with a clean tea towel to rise for the second time for 50 mins-1 hour. If you are using an Instant Pot, you can stack the cake pans and keep them inside the Instant Pot. Hit the 'Yogurt' setting and let it proof for 30 minutes. During this time, pre-heat the oven at 350 F (180C).

Once proofed, brush the tops of the dough with melted butter and transfer to the pre-heated oven. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 F (180C), until golden brown. Once baked, brush with more melted butter right after you take the rolls out of the oven.

Combine all the ingredients listed under filling and keep aside to use while shaping the dough. Proceed with the steps as explained above.

These savory bread rolls can be proofed a day ahead, then stored in the fridge and baked before you serve them. Let them come to room temperature before you bake them.
You can substitute spinach and mozzarella with other ingredients of your choice, such as: Feta cheese, Sun-dried tomatoes, Cream cheese, Rotisserie chicken, Cooked bacon, Ham, Corn kernels, etc.
Bread flour can be substituted with all-purpose-flour or whole wheat flour or spelt flour.