Wool Roll Bread with Gruyère Cheese and Herbs

This wool roll bread is soft, fluffy, and filled melty Gruyère cheese, parsley, scallions, crushed red peppers, and dill seeds. It's the perfect pull-apart bread to enjoy with soups and stews, or just spread with a little butter or garlic oil and enjoyed on its own. 

This amazing bread is also wonderful dipped in hot pizza sauce, and leftovers are wonderful reheated. 

Evidently, over the last year and a half, while I was busy making pork buns, bierocks, and sourdough, the Interwebs were being taken over with wool roll bread. Of course the Bread Baking Babes had to try making it. 

This bread trend either came from Vietnam or Malaysia, or maybe not. Who knows? Either way, the bread basically calls for a standard Hokkaido milk bread recipe that is then cut into five or six pieces, sliced, filled, rolled up, and baked. 

There are so many options for filling this bread. While I went with a savory and cheesy filling, you can also fill it with sweet fillings such as custard, chocolate chips, jam, raisins, blueberries, cinnamon apples, or even a ground beef filling. 

Of course, you can skip any filling and bake this bread simply brushed with butter, cinnamon and sugar butter, or garlic butter. 

How to Shape Wool Roll Bread:

First, divide the risen dough into 6 individual balls. Be sure to weigh the pieces so that they are equal in size. 

Next, shape each piece into a ball and roll each out into a five inch by eight inch oblong. Using a bench knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips about 2/3 the way up lengthwise, about 1/4 inch apart. 

Add the filling to the uncut end of the dough and roll the dough up with the cut pieces on the outside.

Place the rolled up pieces in an oiled and parchment lined springform pan to form a circle. 

For this bread, I used my recipe for Hokkaido milk bread rolls. The recipe has amazing oven spring, and is pretty foolproof. 

This month, the Bread Baking Babes host is Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. She introduced us to this bread and gave us license to fill it with whatever filling we like! 

After the recipe, be sure to check out the rest of the Bread Baking Babes' versions of this bread. 

While none of us are TikTok or YouTube stars, we sure know how to bake bread. 

Wool Roll Bread with Gruyère Cheese and Herbs

Yield: 16 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 1 HourInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 3 H & 30 M

This wool roll bread is soft, fluffy, and filled melty Gruyère cheese, parsley, scallions, crushed red peppers, and dill seeds. It's the perfect pull-apart bread to enjoy with soups and stews, or just spread with a little butter or garlic oil and enjoyed on its own.

Ingredients

For the Tangzhong

• 1/3 cup (1 2/3 ounces/50 grams) bread flour
• 1 cup water

For the Dough

• 2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces) bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 150 grams (5 1/4 ounces) of the tangzhong
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and pounded with a rolling pin until softened

For the Filling

• 124 grams (1 1/2 cups) grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon dill seed
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Instructions

To Make the Tangzhong

1. Mix the flour and water in a saucepan together until there aren't any lumps.
2. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and registers 149 degrees F or 65 degrees C. If you don't have a thermometer (get one!), look for lines in the mixture made by your spoon as your stir. Remove from the heat immediately.
3. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface of the tangzhong. Let it cool. You can refrigerate it if you want to, or use it immediately once it has cooled.
4. Bring it back to room temperature when you are ready to use it.

To Make and Shape the Bread

1. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with spray oil and line the bottom with parchment paper. 
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and tangzhong. Add the mixture to the flour mixture.
4. With the dough hook, mix the ingredients on low until the dough comes together. Add the butter, one piece at a time, and mix on medium speed.
5. Once the butter has been incorporated, mix the dough on medium high for 18 to 20 minutes. The dough should be elastic.
6. Form the dough into a ball and place it into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
7. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Knead each piece of dough into balls. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
8. When ready to shape, roll each piece of dough into a 5 inch by 8 inch oval.  Using a bench knife, cut the dough about 2/3 the way up lengthwise into 1/4 inch (or less) thin strips (see photo). 
9. Toss together the cheese and herbs and divide the mixture among the ovals, placing the mixture on the noncut side. 
10. Roll up the dough, enclosing the filling, so that the strands are on the outside. 
11. Place the dough sections, seam side down, in the springform pan next to each other to form a ring around the edge of the pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 40 to 60 minutes. In the meantime, heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
12. Bake the bread in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and puffy.
13. Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

64.21

Fat (grams)

3.33

Sat. Fat (grams)

1.87

Carbs (grams)

6.45

Fiber (grams)

0.35

Net carbs

6.10

Sugar (grams)

0.98

Protein (grams)

2.19

Sodium (milligrams)

87.13

Cholesterol (grams)

19.60

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2021/09/wool-roll-bread-with-gruyere-cheese-and.html

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The participating Bread Baking Babes Are:

Judy's Gross Eats

My Diverse Kitchen

A Messy Kitchen

Bread Experience

Blog from OUR Kitchen

My Kitchen in Half Cups

Feeding My Enthusiasms