Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls

Okay, so have you ever just had those moments of epiphany, when you’re just sitting there and some perfectly-formed idea pops into your brain? For days, I had been mulling things over–French bread dough…garlic butter…cheese–but I just could NOT figure out the logistics of it all. And then one day, it just came to me and I couldn’t make them fast enough. And they were even better than I imagined.

Don’t get me wrong, this is no health snack–I mean, we’re talking butter AND cheese here (my dietitian friend Emily should probably just avert her eyes now). But oh. My. Gosh. these are so good. And one perk is that one is pretty much enough, so all you have to do is find enough people to help you eat them so you don’t have any leftovers and it’s not TOO bad of a nutritional train wreck!

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls
Recipe by Our Best Bites

French Bread Dough:
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4-5 1/2 c. flour
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg yolk

Garlic Butter:
1/2 c. (1 stick) of real butter, no substitutions
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg yolk (set white aside for later) and combine. Add 3 c. flour and mix well until combined. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finger. Knead, either by hand or in mixer (my personal and very lazy choice) for another 2-3 minutes. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.

While dough is rising, combine butter and garlic bread seasoning. Set aside.

Now…here’s a little trick I’ve been using a lot lately. I really, really hate cleaning up flour on my work surface after I’ve been working with dough, but I obviously have to use SOMETHING to keep it from sticking. If you spray a little non-stick cooking spray on your work surface and your rolling pin, your dough won’t stick and clean-up is super easy!

Anyway, roll your rough into a rectangle that’s about 18-20 inches by 6 inches. Smear garlic butter over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle with cheese.

Roll up jelly-roll style and then use dental floss to cut into 12 equal slices. Of course, I kind of forgot to take pictures of this whole process, but if what I’m saying makes no sense, check out the orange roll recipe to see what I’m talking about. Place each slice in a muffin tin. Cover with a clean cloth. Preheat oven to 350 and allow rolls to rise while the oven is heating.

When the oven is ready, bake for 18-22 minutes.

You’re going to need to keep a CLOSE eye on these puppies during the last 10 minutes or so–once you notice the cheese getting brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the rolls (you don’t need to press it down or anything, just lay it on top). This will keep the cheese from burning, although it will get pretty brown on top. It’s okay, though, because the insides are still all ooey-gooey.

Pull these out of the oven and eat ’em up ASAP! If you want to try and counteract the butter/cheese/white flour combo, pair these up with Italian Turkey Soup or dip ’em in some luscious, veggie-filled pasta sauce.