Potato Sourdough Cheese Rolls

One of my favorite things to make with my Momma's Potato Sourdough starter is these amazing Cheese Rolls. They are soft and warm and have melted cheese in the middle. 

Be still my heart. 

Carb Heaven. 

Today I'm featuring these cheese rolls from heaven. If you missed how to make the starter for this dough go here.

When you are ready to make your bread pull your starter out and in a large bowl combine the following:

1/3 c sugar
1 Tbs salt
1 c starter
1/3 c corn oil
1 1/2 c warm water
6 c bread flour
1 tsp (heaping) yeast

This will make your dough. You want to beat it with the dough hook attachment until the bowl is clean as shown below. You may have to add a little more water. You are looking for the dough to be soft and pliable, but sticking to itself. You don't want it stuck all over the hook or the mixing bowl.

Cover the dough and let it rise. It should double in size. I use a large bowl with a little olive oil in the bottom. I covered it with a slightly damp light cloth and stuck it in my oven.

Once your dough has risen ( maybe about 1-2 hours. It should double in size) You can roll it out. You are going to eventually end up with a log, so try and make a large rectangle like shape.  Dump any type of shredded cheese you like all over the rolled out dough.

Roll it up like this and then cut it into about 1 inch thick slices. 

The cheese should be in the center of the roll. To make them round and puffy on the top instead of flat like a cinnamon roll take the rolls and bend and roll as follows. 

Place the rolls in a lightly greased muffin tin. Let them rise again until they have cuffed up and fill the muffin tin and go over a little.
Sprinkle some additional cheese on top, then bake them until the cheese on top is golden. About 20-30 minutes at 350 F.

Enjoy warm with your favorite dinner. Or just by themselves slathered in butter. Don't forget to share. I know it's hard.

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

One of my favorite appetizers since childhood has been Mozzarella sticks. That cheesy ooey gooeyness mixed with the crispy outside is so delightful! My favorite is when they are piping hot and the cheese juice just runs everywhere! 

Lots of brands make frozen versions of these amazing appetizers. But none of them are as good as fresh made at a restaurant.

I want to share with you my version of homemade Mozzarella sticks! They are so easy and great for kids to help make too. There are no measurements to this recipe. Just do as much of the ingredients as you want or need.  

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Prep time - 15 minutes

Cook time - until golden and melty 

Ingredients:

Flour

Milk

Egg(s)

Breadcrumbs

Seasonings (Italian or Herbs du Province)

Mozzerella string cheese sticks

In three separate bowls put your flour, bread crumbs and seasoning, and milk and eggs. Slice your string cheese sticks in half then dunk as follows:

Make sure that on steps #2 & #3 that you coat the cheese completely in the flour and egg/milk mixture, this helps protect the cheese from oozing out during baking. If you are having trouble getting the flour or eggs to stick you can double dunk steps #2 and #3. Essentially doing two layers of each, flour then egg mixture, then more flour, then more egg mixture. It makes the coating a little thicker but if you are worried about your cheese melting out this will help create more of a barrier. 

Line them up on a baking sheet (I use foil to make clean up easier) and bake for approximately 20 minutes at 350 F. Or until golden and gooey. If you want a faster baking time you can bake at 400 F. However I suggest freezing them for a half hour prior so that the cheese doesn't run out anywhere. The lower temperature seems to keep them from melting too fast while the egg cooks. 

Serve with your favorite marinara or dipping sauce. These are so easy I was able to do most of it one handed while my 5 month old was teething! Make more than you think you need though because they are so delicious they will be gone before you know it!

Stay tuned for what's coming up next month! I am pretty excited about February's theme. I'll be announcing it on Feb 1 on the blog. 

Happy Eating!