Easy Cheese Bread Rolls

These soft and savory yeasted cheese bread rolls are enriched with sugar, butter, milk powder and eggs for a tender bite! Filled with an aged gouda cheese and egg filling, these are some of the most unique rolls I’ve ever had. They take under 2 hours to rise and are the perfect addition to any meal.

This savory, delightful cheese bread recipe is a family recipe handed down from my grandma. I remember my dad making these every once in awhile growing up. He’d pull out a big block of cheese from the freezer and the entire house would smell yeasty and delicious when they were done.

These are different from most rolls I’ve had–the texture isn’t as fluffy as a typical dinner roll. The dense bite almost reminds me of a cross between a biscuit and a roll. I’ve never seen cheese-filled rolls anywhere else, but my dad would always fill the rolls with shredded aged gouda cheese mixed with egg.

The result is a really savory roll that has much more personality than a plain dinner roll. I also love the shiny, laminated tops from brushing an egg yolk across the risen rolls before baking. This is such a special recipe that goes well with salad, soup, pasta, chili, or pretty much any main dish you can think of. Hope you love them!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Uniquely dense texture: While we love a fluffy dinner roll, these have a slightly denser (but still fluffy!) bite texture almost like a biscuit.
• Savory flavor: My favorite thing about these rolls are the pockets of cheesy goodness! They’re not overly cheesy, but it adds a nice salty punch to make these intensely savory.
• Shiny, glossy top: If you love the sheen of a croissant top, you’ll love the smooth, vibrant golden top of these rolls.

Recipe Ingredients

• Nonfat dry milk powder: The protein and sugar in milk powder helps enhance the gluten network in the dough, creating a more tender texture and encouraging browning. There’s a relatively small amount of milk powder so in a pinch, you can omit it. But I highly recommend using it if you can!
• Instant yeast: Instant yeast has smaller granules than active dry yeast which allows it to activate faster and have a shorter overall rise time. You can sub active dry yeast instead if that’s all you have, but you’ll likely need to let the bread rest for 30-45 minutes longer to get the same rise.
• Baking powder: Even though this recipe uses yeast, my grandma’s recipe includes a tiny bit of baking powder. My theory is that this helps speed up the rising time by a tiny bit (though I’m not positive it has a significant impact).
• Gouda cheese: While my dad prefers an aged gouda for the filling, I’ve also tried these rolls with a mix of mozzarella and parmesan. A punchier aged cheese like Gruyere would also be great in these.

How to make cheese bread rolls

Although there is a decent amount of steps to make these yeasted rolls, they are fairly straightforward! Follow along below.

Step 1: Start by proofing the yeast. This isn’t strictly necessary for instant yeast, but I like to do it to ensure my yeast is active. Stir the sugar into the warm water, then stir in the yeast. Set aside to foam up while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, dry milk, salt and baking powder. Add the melted butter and egg and stir with a spatula to barely combine (dough will be quite shaggy and dry). Add yeast mixture and stir again to form a very shaggy dough. Attach a dough hook to your stand mixer and knead on medium speed for 8 minutes, or until dough comes together in a smooth, supple ball. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise for 45-60 minutes, until nearly doubled.

Step 3: While the dough is rising, combine all the filling ingredients (cheese, egg white and salt) in a bowl. Reserve the yolk for brushing on the tops!

Step 4: Once dough has nearly doubled and springs back slowly under your finger, grease a 9×13 pan. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and keep half covered. Roll out the other half on a floured surface to a ~7×9″ rectangle. Cut dough down the middle length-wise so you have two long rectangles. 

Step 5: Place 1/4 of the cheese mixture down the center of each rectangle length-wise, spreading the mixture down the center inch of each rectangle, but not quite to the edges. Starting from the center edge, fold the long side of the dough over the cheese filling so you have two long, even skinnier rectangles. Slice each rectangle into 4-5 pieces. Place the rolls in the prepared pan and repeat the same process with the other half of the dough. Let rise for about 30 minutes, or until slightly puffed. 

Step 6: Preheat the oven to 350. Brush the tops of the rolls with the reserved yolk and sprinkle with additional kosher or flaky salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until deeply golden and puffed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to store and reheat

Rolls are best served the day they’re made. Store any leftover rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge up to a week. You can freeze any baked rolls, wrapped in foil and placed in a Ziploc bag, for up to a month.

Rolls are best served reheated wrapped and foil in the oven or toaster oven at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes.