Cheesy Pull Apart Mini Balls

A simple and easy to make cheesy balls recipe, which is ideal for your kid’s tiffin box or for that small choti-choti bhook. No many ingredients, no maida makes it ideal for a cheesy indulgence. I am giving small measurements to make it easier for newbies to try out. Actually, the recipe was made from the left over dough of an earlier recipe of whole wheat footlong bread. Vary the stuffing and use your creativity to make out new and interesting stuffs. If you do not have milk powder, worry not. Simply omit it. You can add fresh cream or malai if you wish to. Make it entirely with whole wheat flour or a combination of wwf and apf (maida) or simply maida. The key lies in kneading it well, using a good quality yeast and your perseverance to bake a good bread. Just try and keep experimenting. Its not about a recipe… all recipes are more or less same. Your understanding of the science behind bread baking is more important. Read a lot about bread baking, invest some time on it and then start baking. Good luck.

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour 125 gm
• Chirotti rava 25 gm (2 tbsp)
• Salt as required
• Sugar 1 tsp
• Instant yeast 1/4 tsp
• Milk powder 1 tsp
• Lukewarm water plus milk 1/4 cup
• Grated cheese 2-3 tbsp
• Oregano as required
• Chilli flakes as required
• Coriander leaves as required
• Olive oil 1-2 tsp

Method:

• Mix all the dry ingredients and knead into smooth and soft dough using the lukewarm milk and water mixture. Sprinkle oil in between and knead till you get a soft and elastic dough.
• Keep it in a well oiled bowl and cover it with a cling film. Keep it aside for 40-45 minutes or till it almost doubles in size.
• Punch the air by gently knocking the dough and knead it again for a minute or so. I got around 220 gm of dough.
• Divide the dough into equal sized small balls of around 10-12 gm in weight.
• Flatten each ball into a disk of diameter around 2 inches.

• Fill each disk with he grated cheese, a dash or oregano and chilli flakes and roll it into a smooth ball.
• Arrange it in a greased cake tin. Repeat with the other balls too.
• Apply milk wash and keep it covered with a soft cloth for around half an hour.

• Now bake it in a preheated oven at 180 degree celsius for 15-16 minutes. Add some finely chopped coriander leaves and sprinkle some left over cheese on top and bake for 1-2 minutes more.
• Remove from the oven and apply butter on top. Allow it to cool on a wire rack for some time.
• Enjoy it warm with any dip or sauce of your choice.

Notes:

• You can add finely chopped garlic and other herbs too along with the cheese to make garlic cheese bombs/balls.