Once upon a time I lived in a tiny town. There’s not much one can say about it and I wasn’t terribly sad when I moved out. One of the things the tiny town does have going for it, however, is the local bakery. Firstly, they make the most divine vanilla & jelly donuts, that are a) triangle-shaped as opposed to round, and b) somehow inexplicably far more delicious than anyone else’s. Secondly, they make the most divine cheese & herb spirals. Cinnamon roll-like thingies that are savoury and cheesy and herby and wonderful.

 

I decided my life really needed more savoury cheese spirals. And cheese & salami spirals. Don’t see why you couldn’t throw in some chopped ham too, or make a Mediterranean version with pesto, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, or a spinach and feta combo, or…

 

Cheese & Green Chilli Spiral Rolls or Salami Spiral Rolls




Dough:
300 ml milk
25 g fresh yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
300 ml bread flour
appr. 400 ml all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil




Cheese filling:
100 g garlic cream cheese
150 g grated cheese
1 (113 g) can chopped green chillis




Salami filling:
50 g garlic cream cheese
100 g chopped salami
100 g grated cheese
1 (113 g) can chopped green chillis




For egg wash: one egg, lightly whisked




Crumble yeast into a bowl; add salt and sugar.
Heat milk gently to 37 C and pour into the bowl, whisking until the yeast has dissolved.
Add flour, a little at a time, and knead until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and no longer sticks to your hand (as always, you might find that you need more or less flour than called for). Knead in oil. Cover the bowl and let rise for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled.
Butter a 9” square or round cake pan.
Roll the dough out into about a 30 cm x 40 cm square (11” x 15”) – the exact size and shape is not critical here! Spread the cream cheese evenly on the rolled out dough and sprinkle cheese, chillis (and salami) on top. Roll the dough up, starting with the wider side, and cut into nine pieces. Place the pieces into the prepared pan, cut side up. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 175 C. Brush the risen rolls with egg wash. Bake for 30-35 minutes.