how to: make cheesymite scrolls

I make these at least one a week, firmly convinced that it is far easier to put together a very simple dough mix and produce some scrolls with about ten minutes effort on my part than it is to drag three children around a supermarket. And once you've eaten them warm from the oven, it's difficult not to become an instant convert.

This dough is the dough I use for most of my baking- cheesymite scrolls, cheese and bacon scrolls {I'll tell you how to do that, too}, pizza and calzone dough....there's nothing to stop you, I suppose, from using it to make bread if you felt like it.

To make the dough, you'll need:

1 x 7g sachet yeast
1tsp sugar
1 cup tepid water
3 cups flour {white, wholemeal, or a combination of the two}.
2 tbs vegetable oil + an extra spoonful to coat the bowl
1 tbs salt

Optional: a tablespoonful or two of sesame/poppy/chia seeds.

Combine the yeast, sugar, and water in a small bowl and leave for five minutes or until foamy.

In a large bowl {or the mixing bowl of your stand mixer if you also happen to have a dough hook}, combine the other ingredients. If you want the scrolls to stay fresh for the next day- we never seem to have that strange thing called 'leftover scrolls', add in a tablespoonful of instant mash. It sounds vile, I know, and it has to be the rare exception to my rule of no instant anything, but it works.

Once your yeast mixture is foamy, add that in to the flour mix, and knead with your hands or with a dough hook until smooth and elastic. Depending on the weather and the sort of flour you use you may need a little extra water or flour- add it in a tablespoonful at a time. If you're being virtuous and using exclusively wholemeal flour, you will almost certainly need more water. 

When the dough is ready, leave it in a clean, oiled bowl {I use the mixmaster bowl with a spoonful of oil poured in}, tossing once to coat in the oil. Cover with cling-film or a clean tea-towel and leave for an hour until doubled in size.

To turn the dough into cheesymites you'll need:

1/2-3/4 cup vegemite
2-3 cups grated cheese

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, and tear it into two pieces. It's easier to roll, and creates smaller, kid-sized scrolls. {Also, if you want to do half cheesymites and half cheese and bacon, for example, this is the way to go}. Roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface- or a piece of baking paper, until it's quite thin- say, 1cm thick or less.

Spread on the vegemite and sprinkle over the cheese, then roll up tightly. Slice the rolled up dough into rounds 2-3cm thick, place flat-side-down on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and cover with a clean-tea towel again for another 20 minutes. {If you're really desperate for time you can skip this, but they're better if you don't}. While they have their second prove, switch the oven on to 180.

When your oven is pre-heated and that twenty minutes is up, slide them into the oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Variations:

Cheese and bacon scrolls: use the same dough as above, substituting the vegemite for diced bacon

Cheesymite pullaparts: place the {uncooked} scrolls into a loaf tin (or a 20cm square tin} lined with baking paper, pressing them together to fit. Bake for 25-35 minutes {depending on how squashed-together they are}.

Sweet scrolls: reduce the amount of salt in the dough to 1tsp, and add an extra 2tsp of sugar to the flour mixture. Ideas for sweet scrolls- Nutella and crushed hazlenuts, jam, tinned caramel..... endless, really.

And so on.

Don't forget- this is a marvellous pizza dough, and one that can be used to make-your-own pizza pockets or calzones, depending on the maturity of who you're feeding.