Salami and cheese rolls from a fantastic recipe source

I might be the owner of too many cookbooks, that is true, and still one of my favorite sources for great food is Gourmet Traveller: the photos are crazy beautiful and the recipes are delicious and never disappoint. With a long holiday ahead and the urge to bake bread I went straight to GT’s website for some inspiration and there I found the perfect recipe: it was yeasted, as I wanted, and it called for cheese and salami, two ingredients I had in the fridge that needed to be used with some urgency. While the bread was in the oven my husband – the salami eater of our house – kept telling me how good it smelled, and after tasting one of the rolls he told me that next time he bought salami he would bring home some extra on purpose so I could make these rolls again. Indeed the bread turned out fantastic but I would do two things differently next time: amp up the amount of cheese and double the recipe – 8 rolls were gone in no time. :D

Salami and cheese rolls
adapted from the always stunning Gourmet Traveller

Sponge:
1/8 teaspoon dried yeast
pinch of sugar
125g all purpose flour

Dough:
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, finely diced
1 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast
pinch of sugar
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (300g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon table salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
30g unsalted butter, softened
70g salami, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, coarsely chopped
100g fresh mozzarella, grated

Make the sponge: combine the yeast, sugar and 1 tablespoon warm water in small bowl, stand for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add 1/3 cup (80ml) warm water and the flour and stir for 2 minutes or until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 3 hours or until doubled in size. Starter can be refrigerated at this stage and brought to room temperature before using.
In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until fragrant and beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Dough: combine yeast, sugar and 2 tablespoons warm water in the large bowl of an electric mixer and stand for 10 minutes or until foamy. Add starter and, using the dough hook, mix for 4-5 minutes or until smooth. Add butter and combine. Add onion, salami and oregano and mix until well combined. Add the flour, salt and pepper and knead for 3 minutes or until shiny and elastic. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap stand for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Lightly brush with oil a 25cm (9in) round cake pan.
Knock back dough, turn onto a floured surface and roll out dough to a 50x30cm (20x12in) rectangle, scatter the mozzarella over the dough, then roll into a cylinder beginning with the longer side. Cut into 8 pieces and place, cut-side down, onto the prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 30-40 minutes, then bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. These are delicious warm drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and reheat really well – keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Makes 8