Hefeknoten mit Käse und Schinken (yeast knots with cheese and ham)
Soft yeast rolls wrapped around a strip of ham and cheese and tied into a simple knot before baking, so the filling stays anchored through proving and baking instead of leaking out. A good savoury alternative to a sweet breakfast roll, best eaten still warm when the cheese is molten.
Prep30 min
Cook20 min
Rest90 min
Oven190°C
Servings10
Christoph's savoury yeast knots, the ham and cheese tied inside the knot itself so it stays put through baking.
Ingredients
Units
Temperature
Servings
Dough
- 400 g flour rounded
- 7 g instant dried yeast rounded
- 20 g sugar rounded
- 6 g fine salt rounded
- 220 ml warm milk rounded
- 50 g butter, softened rounded
Filling
- 150 g cooked ham, in thin strips rounded
- 150 g grated semi-hard cheese rounded
- 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Whisk the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together. Add the warm milk and softened butter, mix to a shaggy dough, then knead by hand for 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Cover and prove in a warm place for 60 minutes, until roughly doubled.
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll each into a rope about 30 cm long. Lay a strip of ham and a scattering of cheese along the length of each rope, then fold the rope over to enclose the filling and roll gently to seal.
- Tie each filled rope into a simple knot, tucking the ends underneath; the knot both looks the part and physically traps the filling inside as it bakes.
- Arrange on lined baking sheets, spaced well apart, cover loosely, and prove 30 minutes.
- Brush with beaten egg and scatter any remaining cheese over the top.
- Bake at 190°C for 18 to 20 minutes, until deep golden brown and the cheese is bubbling at the seams. Cool 5 minutes on the tray before serving warm.
Method in the Thermomix
Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers only kneading the dough; filling, shaping and baking are as in the hand method.
- Flour, yeast, sugar and salt into the bowl. Mix 5 sec / speed 5. Add the warm milk and butter. Knead 3 min / dough mode.
- Tip out, prove and continue by hand from step 3 of the hand method.
Notes
- Fold the dough fully over the filling before tying the knot, rather than leaving the ham and cheese exposed on the surface. A fully enclosed filling stays inside as the roll bakes; an exposed one tends to spill out through the knot.
- Do not overfill each rope. A thin, even layer of ham and cheese wraps and knots cleanly; too much filling makes the dough hard to seal and it leaks out during baking.
- They are best eaten warm, ideally within an hour of baking, while the cheese is still soft; they firm up considerably once fully cooled.
- They keep for 2 days in the fridge and reheat well in a moderate oven for 8 minutes, though the crust softens on reheating.
Ingredient substitutions
- Cooked ham can be turkey ham, or a scattering of sautéed mushrooms for a vegetarian version.
- Semi-hard cheese can be any good melting cheese; Emmental or Gouda both work well.
- A little wholegrain mustard brushed inside before rolling is a good addition if you like a sharper filling.
From Christoph Mayer