Crunchy Cheese Rolls

A while back, I made some bread with beer and cheese. It was delicious, but rather heavy. It had both buttermilk and butter. Today, I made some more bread with beer and cheese; crispy on the outside and airy on the inside, like a baguette. Except more delicious. I went with very strong cheeses, so as to use less of it. I also used very little beer, to keep most of the airy baguette goodness. A roaring success, according to my coworkers.

There isn't much to say about these - they were delicious, quick, light, crispy, and salty. The beer didn't provide much flavor but it moistened up the bread a little bit. The shaping didn't work out as well as hoped, but it still worked. The cheeses were great together. So, recipe:

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Crunchy Cheese Rolls

Makes 8-10 large-ish rolls, good for a snackwhich

(adapted from Lean Bread recipe in Artisan Breads Everyday)

340g bread flour

200g lukewarm water

50g beer (I used 21st Amendment's current seasonal, Bitter American)

30g shredded asiago (or other hard, strong cheese)

block of sovrano grana (or other very hard, very strong cheese) for grating on top

7g salt

3g instant yeast

The day before baking, combiner flour, asiago, salt, and yeast in a bowl and stir. Add in water and beer, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes, until the dough is hydrated. Let rest for 5 minutes, then stir again for 2 minutes, and let rest for 5 more minutes. Then stretch-and-fold 4 times, with a 10 minute rest between each. Put dough in a clean, oiled bowl, cover it tightly, and place in fridge overnight (or a couple days, but no more than 3).

The day of baking, remove the dough about 2 hours before you want to bake it. Break the dough into 8-10 pieces for rolls, and shape each into a ball then roll them into logs. This should be done on an oiled work surface, no flour. Put the shaped rolls on a parchment-lined sheet pan, coated with corn meal, and cover. Rest for an hour, uncover, and rest for another hour.

Preheat oven to 550 degrees. After 2 hours of the bread being out of the fridge, grate the sovrano grana (or other very hard cheese), enough to sprinkle on top of each roll. Take a dull knife and press, lengthwise, through each roll, then spread grated cheese into the crack with your fingers. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for 8-10 more minutes. Let cool for ~15 minutes, then eat.