Caramelised Onion and Stilton Multigrain Spiral Rolls

Finished Rolls

Obviously I'm a fan of all baked goods, but these might be the best thing I've ever made; multigrain rolls are packed with sweet caramelised onions and punchy blue cheese. They’re great on their own (warm is best, or straight out of the oven!) or with a herby side salad or bowl of tomato soup. Cooking them side by side makes for crispy tops and soft, bouncy sides, but the fillings would be equally delicious worked through the whole dough to make a large loaf – whatever suits your needs!

Dough, pre-rising

Caramelised Onion and Stilton Multigrain Spiral Rolls

Makes 16/18 rolls

Ingredients:

Dough:

500g multigrain bread flour (or strong white)

25g/1oz marg or butter

2 tsp salt

2 tsp/7g dried yeast

350ml warm water

Filling:

4 onions, very finely sliced

2 tsp butter or marg

2 tsp sugar (any variety)

Salt and pepper to season

225g stilton (or use any variety of cheese you like)

Doubled dough

milk to glaze

200oC oven/180oc fan oven

Method:

1. Rub the marg or butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add the yeast and salt (to separate sides of the bowl) and mix.

2. Add the warm water in stages until the dough comes together but isn't sticky.

Soft, golden caramelised onions

3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

4. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (at least 1 hour).

5. Whilst the dough is rising make the caramelised onions. Cook the sliced onions in a saucepan with a little oil over a low heat for 10 minutes, or until very soft and translucent, do not let the onions colour. Once soft, add the butter and sugar, continue to heat gently until everything is combined. Season to taste. Sieve the onions to remove excess liquid and set aside to cool.

Covered dough with fillings

6. Once doubled in size, turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface, knead gently for 30 seconds to knock it back and then roll the dough out into a rectangle (approx. 1m x 50cm).

7. Cover the rectangle evenly with the onions and blue cheese (broken into small pieces), tack one of the long edges to the work surface and then roll from the opposite long edge like a swiss roll - do it as tightly as you can. (I left a small portion of the dough without stilton as some of the people I was making it for don't like it).

8. Cut the ~1m long roll into approx. 5cm portions (you should get between 16/18 individual rolls, plus some scraggy end bits which you can just bake with the rolls).

Mid rolling

9. Place the rolls, cut side up into greased baking dishes; I used a rectangle dish and a round dish just to mix up the final loafs you’ll get.

10. Cover the rolls with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise again in a warm place for approx. 30 minutes.

11. Brush the rolls with milk and bake in the centre of a preheated oven (200oC) for 35/40 minutes, or until golden brown. Because of the oils from the cheese and onions you can't tap these rolls on the base to test for a hollow sound; you have to do it by the colour of the dough and the feel when pressed, you're looking for crispy exteriors that spring back when pressed. Turn out of the trays and leave to cool on a wire rack, or eat straight away... 

Sliced rolls before 2nd proofing

No two ways about it, these are delicious! They'll keep for up to a week in an air tight container, it's nice to reheat them in the oven for 10 minutes to refresh them if you're keeping them this long.

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx

Finished Roll!

Ready for the oven

Dad’s Favourite: Cheese and Onion Pie

Finished pie and leftover cheese straws

This is Dad’s favourite; I remember having it as a special meal every Easter holiday in the caravan, with mushy peas or baked peas - it only comes out on special occasions now though! This is my Gran’s recipe that I’ve adapted by adding more cheese, I use a really strong cheddar, and the mustard brings out the flavour of it even more, if you’re not such a fan of this flavour you can use a milder cheese, but I think that kind of defeats the object of a cheese and onion pie…

Pastry coming together

Ingredients:

8oz plain flour

2oz lard/Trex (vegetarian alternative)

2oz butter/marg

large pinch salt and pepper

1.5tsp mustard powder

4oz grated extra mature cheddar

8tbsp cold water

3 medium onions

6oz grated extra mature cheddar, plus extra for the top of the pie

3 eggs

Pastry ready to chill

1tsp Dijon mustard

large pinch salt and pepper

1 beaten egg to seal and glaze

Oven at 170oC fan oven/190oC other ovens

7in pie dish, approx 2in deep

Method:

1. First make the pastry by rubbing the lard and marg into the flour and mustard powder until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the seasoning and cheese and mix well.

Rolled out pastry base

2. Add the water to the bowl slowly and mix with your hand until it comes together to make a soft, but not sticky, pastry. You might not need all of the water, or you might even need more.

3. Tip the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together into a smooth pastry. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least two hours – the longer the better as it makes the pastry easier to work with.

4. Whilst the pastry is chilling it’s time to make the filling; finely dice the onions, cover with water and boil for 15 minutes, or until soft and translucent.

5. To make the filling add the cheese, eggs, mustard and seasoning to a large bowl and mix.

6. Once the onions are soft, drain them and leave to cool until they’re cold enough to touch so they won’t scramble the eggs, then add to the filling mix. Leave this to one side now until you’ve sorted your pastry.

Lined pastry base

7. Once the pastry is chilled cut it into 2 pieces, of one third and two thirds. Roll out the larger piece until it’s one and a half times larger than your pie tin. Pick up the pastry gently and lay it into the tin. Lift up the sides of the pastry so it falls into the corners and then gently press the pastry into the sides of the tin. Leave the edges over hanging.

8. Pour the pie filling into the pastry base and glaze the edges with beaten egg

9. Roll out the other half of the pastry on a floured surface until it’s 0.5cm thick and gently lay it over the top of the pie. Press the edges together so they seal and then use a sharp knife to cut away the excess pastry (you can use this to make decorations for the top of your pie, or make cheese straws by twisting strands of the pastry, which will take approx. 20 minutes to bake)

Base, filling and lid for construction

10. Crimp the edges of the pie, brush with egg, sprinkle with the extra cheese and cut two small slits in the top of the pie to let the steam escape.

11. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven on a preheated baking tray for 30-40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the centre of the pie is firm to touch – if the pie browns too quickly turn the oven temperature down slightly and keep cooking until the pie is firm to touch.

Pie ready for the oven!

This pie is tastiest warm or at room temperature, but of course is good straight out of the oven too if you can’t wait! Like I said, we love it with baked beans or mushy peas and some buttery mashed potatoes!

Finished piece of pie!

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx