Wednesday Baking | Italian Cheese Twists

Every Wednesday (ok, most Wednesdays!) I share a baking recipe. And lots of pictures of said baking recipe. I don’t call this Wednesday Baking because I bake solely on Wednesdays…no, my oven gets a workout much more frequently than once a week! Wednesday just happens to be the day I share baking recipes with you. All the past baking posts are archived in the Wednesday Baking category, which can also be found in a tab underneath my blog header.

This recipe, like the one for Garlic Pull-Apart bread, is not a start-to-finish bread recipe. Instead, it’s a way to fancy-up a pound of regular bread dough.

The two recipes are sort of similar, but unlike the pull-apart recipe, this one produces individual rolls, and it also incorporates more herbs.

To make these, you’ll need a pound of bread dough. You can use thawed bread dough from the freezer section of your grocery store, or you can do like me and use a pound of sandwich bread dough.

When I made this particular batch of rolls, I used a combination of whole wheat and white flour. In retrospect, I think I prefer my Italian spices on white bread, but my family scarfed down the whole wheat batch without complaint, so the whole wheat obviously didn’t render these rolls inedible.

If you’re making homemade bread dough, follow the recipe instructions up through the initial rise (i.e. make the dough, knead it, and let it rise for an hour).

First, roll out your pound of bread dough into a 12×12 inch square.

I use the term “square” loosely.

Mix the butter and herbs together.

Spread the herbed butter over the dough and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese if desired.

Fold the dough into thirds (like we do with Cinnamon Twists), and cut into strips.

Twist each strip and place onto a greased baking sheet (I use these Vollrath baking sheets).

Cover the rolls with a wet tea towel, and let them rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Beat an egg with a tablespoon of water, and brush egg wash over the rolls. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Italian Cheese Twists

1 pound bread dough
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, optional
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Roll dough to 12 inch square. Combine butter and seasonings; spread over dough. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese if desired. Fold dough into thirds; cut into 15-20 strips. Twist strips; place on greased baking sheet. Cover with a wet tea towel and let rise 30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

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