There was a period of time in my life when I would eat ham and cheese rolls for breakfast almost every day. These Chinese bakery-style ham and cheese rolls were so soft with the perfect amount of cheddar cheese. Simple but very satisfying. Lately, I've been reminiscing about those rolls and so I decided to make my own but vamp it up a bit. These prosciutto and cheddar breakfast rolls are stuffed with eggs, ricotta, chives, and crispy prosciutto in every bite. They are the American version of those ham and cheese rolls and every bit as delicious!
Prosciutto and Cheddar Breakfast Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm milk, between 100-110 degrees F (250 ml)
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (7 grams)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (370 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons softened butter (28 grams)
Filling
- 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 5 large eggs beaten
- ½ cup ricotta (124 grams)
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- 2 cups shredded white cheddar (250 grams)
Instructions
- Make the dough. Combine milk with yeast and sugar in a medium bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes or until yeast is activated and mixture is foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast mixture with flour, salt, and softened butter. Mix until a dough forms. Continue to knead for 5-7 minutes or until smooth. Alternatively, knead by hand. Transfer dough to a clean bowl and wrap with plastic wrap. Let sit in warm area for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay prosciutto on the baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes or until crispy. Let cool then crumble into small pieces.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan over high heat. Add eggs and cook until halfway cooked. Remove from heat and stir in ricotta. Season with salt and pepper and let cool.
- Add chopped chives and crispy prosciutto to eggs, stirring until combined. Set aside.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with butter.
- Lightly dust a work counter with flour. Punch down dough and roll into a 12x18-inch rectangle. Sprinkle 1 cup cheddar evenly over dough. Spread egg mixture on top and sprinkle remaining cheese. Roll dough with the long side facing you so that you end up with an 18-inch log. Cut log into 12 rolls that are 1 ½ inches wide.
- Place rolls cut side facing up in prepared baking pan. Loosely cover and let sit in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Serve warm.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
I love these prosciutto and cheddar breakfast rolls because you can make a batch and have breakfast ready for the entire week. They also freeze great, which means you can prep even further in advance.
To make the rolls, first, make the dough. I took my basic pizza dough and switched the water for milk and added butter to make a very soft dough.
Knead the dough until smooth, then let it rise in a warm area until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make the filling. To make these rolls appropriate for breakfast, I wanted to incorporate eggs. And so, we're going to lightly scramble five eggs, cooking them only about halfway. If you fully scramble the eggs, they can get rubbery.
Turn off the heat, then immediately stir in the ricotta. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and let it cool completely.
Meanwhile, bake thinly sliced prosciutto until crispy. Lay the prosciutto on a baking sheet, pop them in the oven, and bake until deeply browned and crisp. The prosciutto will continue to crisp up while it cools.
Break the prosciutto into smaller chunks and stir it into the egg and ricotta mixture along with chopped chives.
Now it's time to make the actual rolls. Lightly dust a clean work counter with flour and roll out the dough until it's a 12x18 inch rectangle. Sprinkle half of the shredded white cheddar on top followed by the egg filling and the remaining cheese.
Starting with the long side facing you, tightly roll the dough into an 18-inch log. Use a serrated knife or floss (unflavored floss!) and cut the log into 12 rolls that are 1 ½ inches wide.
Place the rolls in a greased baking sheet with the cut sides facing up. Then, loosely cover the pan and let the prosciutto and cheddar breakfast rolls proof a second time.
Don't worry if the rolls are touching. They can be side by side as long as they're not too tightly packed in.
Bake the rolls in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. As tempting as it is to eat them right away, let the rolls cool slightly on a wire rack before digging in.
I literally could not wait to tear into these prosciutto and cheddar breakfast rolls. The smell alone was killing me! And with my first bite, I was not disappointed. The rolls are a perfect combination of salty, creamy, and cheesy all wrapped in a soft dough. I think I may have a new breakfast bread obsession!
For more savory bread inspiration check out these spinach artichoke pinwheels!
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