Cheese Buns
[quote]From the bag I pull two fresh buns with a layer of cheese baked into the top. We always seem to have a supply of these since Peeta found out they were my favorite.
CATCHING FIRE
[/quote]
Breads of Panem — Food inspired by The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
One of the breads I was most excited to attempt from THG are the cheese buns from Catching Fire. Katniss describes the buns as baked with a layer of cheese on top which was nice and simple. I’m one of those people that can never get enough cheese, whether in my food or my choice in entertainment. When I first attempted making these buns, the result was a decent enough bun but with a disappointing bread to cheese ratio.After doing a bit of research, I came across this awesome recipe for Gruyere cheese bread from King Arthur flour and the search was over. Basically, you fill the bread with cheese the same way you would with a cinnamon roll; I just added an extra dousing of cheese on top for good measure.
From his passing remark in The Hunger Games about how the goat cheese and apple tart that they made in the bakery was too expensive for his family to eat, I can’t help but wonder if the cheese buns that Katniss likes so much are one of the more expensive items at the Mellark’s bakery. When you think about it, these buns are probably richer than most of what the District gets to eat on a regular basis. After Katniss gives two cheese buns to two people she finds fleeing the Capitol, she waits until they’re “sucking the grease off their fingers” to find out more about the situation.
For these cheese buns, I used the same slow-rise dough that I use for the other Mellark bakery breads. It just seems fitting to use the same dough for all of the breads that Peeta may have a hand in making. If you don’t feel like making the dough from scratch, you can always substitute ready-made bread dough.
Ingredients
- 1 lb bread dough
- 2 Tbsp butter, softened
- 2 cups of cheese, divided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F
Pat bread dough into a 12" by 12" square
Spread the bread dough with butter and sprinkle with cheese 1 1/2 cups of cheese
Roll the dough up as you would a jelly roll or cinnamon roll,pinching the seam shut
Cut dough into 1" slices
Place on a parchment or SilPat lined cookie sheet, cut side up.
Sprinkle each roll with the remaining cheese
Bake at 425F for 15 ~ 20 minutes until the buns are gold brown and oozing with cheese
Remove to a rack and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving
To be honest, the plain cheese bun was tasty but just a little plain though my four year old LOVED them.
While not true to the book, I created a slight variation to the bun using some delicious sauteed onions which I think is a real winner. My housemate and I agreed that we would be sneaking these in when we go to the midnight premiere (and the next day when we watch it again with another one of our friends!) of The Hunger Games movie.
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme (double the amount if using fresh thyme)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.
Add olive oil and then the diced onions, thyme, bay leaf and salt
Sautee the onions until translucent.
Lower heat to medium to medium low and continue cooking, stirring often, until onions have turned
golden brown.
