Chilli Cheese Garlic Dough Balls

“Garlic bread? Garlic? Bread? Not in my lifetime son!”

I’d like to think my Chilli Cheese Garlic Dough Balls would win over the most conservative, plain eating person in the world – even Peter Kaye’s dad as he talks about in one of his early stand-ups.

Super soft dough balls filled with sharp, chilli flecked cheddar cheese (my favourite) and a little nugget of mozzarella, then brushed with a buttery mix of garlic, chilli flakes, oregano and a final sprinkling of parmesan cheese; these little guys are so tasty, you will feel satisfied eating them as dinner by themselves.

Essentially a pizza dough in essence, dough balls are a popular high street pizza and pasta restaurant side dish and for good reason. They are beyond moreish with their salty, cheesy, savouriness. However the ones you buy from supermarkets and sadly, even some restaurant versions are a bit disappointing to eat. These are the easiest thing to make if you are new to bread and like my pizzas, I often make the dough in the morning and bung it in the fridge until dinner time.

Using mozzarella bocconcini along with a nugget of sharp but buttery cheddar which has red chilli already in it give you that cheesy stretch but a little extra summin’ summin’ from the chilli. Something a bit magic happens when you take the rolls out the oven as the crust will be crisp when tapped and  you will panic but fear not – I promise once brushed with the garlic butter, they become the softest little pillows of savoury delight!

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Chilli Cheese Garlic Dough Balls

Super soft dough balls filled with gooey cheese and painted with a garlicky, spicy butter. You can make the dough and chill in the fridge until dinner time, just give them an extra10 minutes to come to room temp and rise once shaped.

: 999 kcal

Author: Just Jo

Ingredients

For the dough balls

• 150 g strong bread flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 80-100 ml water
• 7 g dried yeast
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 12 mozzarella pearls drain on kitchen roll before using
• 12 chunks chilli cheddar 1cm cubed in size

For the butter

• 20 g soft butter
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1-2 tsp grated parmesan
• Sea salt to season optional, if liked

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, oil, yeast, salt and enough water to have a soft and slightly sticky dough. Beat with a dough hook in a stand mixer until it just about cleans the sides - a little bit of sticking is just fine.
2. Grease the bowl and cover, allowing to rise (which will be under an hour unless your kitchen is freezing).
3. Punch the dough down lightly and divide into 12 even sized pieces of dough. Lightly grease a small baking tray or I use an enamel disk with a little extra olive oil.
4. Take a piece and flatten to a disk shape just under 1cm thick. Take a piece of the chilli cheddar and a mozzarella pearl (bocconcini) and press into the centre of the disk, then fold up the edges to cover the cheese completely. Place on the baking tray/in the dish you are using and repeat with the remaining dough. Leave about 1cm between them.
5. Cover lightly with cling film (grease the inside and make sure there is a seal around the edges) and allow to rise - if the dough is room temp, this should be no longer than 30 minutes and they will double and touch the neighbouring dough balls.
6. Preheat the oven to 200˚C and once at temp, bake 13-15 minutes until well browned and when tapped on top, the crust will be crisp and there will be a hollow sound. Panic not - they will soften up with the butter topping!
7. Meanwhile, melt the butter and stir in all the remaining ingredients bar the parmesan. Brush over the dough balls as soon as they come out of the oven and grate over the parmesan. Sprinkle with a little sea salt if liked.
8. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating as the cheese will be molten and you don't want to burn your mouth!

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