Cheesehorns

Cheesehorns are soft yeast rolls shaped around a slice of cheese and a scatter of dried herbs, then baked into golden crescents. A half batch of honey-sweetened whole wheat flour and white flour dough rolls out thin, gets cut into squares, rolled, and bent into little horns that puff and brown in a 325°F (165°C) oven.

The cheese melts inside the dough during the bake, creating a gooey center that’s still contained by the bread wrapper. Mixed herbs (anything from Italian seasoning to a fresh mix of thyme, oregano, and parsley) pressed into the cheese before rolling flavor each bite without needing a spread or dip.

A quick brush of milk before baking gives the tops a soft golden sheen without the heavier gloss of an egg wash. These are weekend bread-basket material, school-lunch filler, or the kind of snack to set out at a cocktail hour with a chilled white wine.

Kitchen Tips

• Mix whole wheat and all-purpose flour. All whole wheat makes a dense, heavy horn; all white loses the nutty depth.
• Roll the dough as thin as you can manage without tearing. Thick dough bakes into dry, hard horns with not enough melted cheese per bite.
• Use a semi-firm melting cheese like cheddar, Gouda, or Havarti. Very soft cheeses leak out during baking; very hard cheeses don’t melt properly.
• Let the rolled horns rise a second time before baking. Skip this and they stay dense and tight instead of pillowy.
• Bake on parchment paper, not a greased sheet. Melted cheese drips will scorch on a bare pan and stick to greased pans.

Variations

• Add a thin layer of Dijon mustard or pesto to each square before the cheese for extra zing.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds over the milk-brushed tops before baking for crunch.
• Use a sharp flavored cheese like smoked gouda, blue cheese, or sharp cheddar for a punchier flavor.