Halloumi & Mint Bread Whirls

The recipe for these tasty halloumi bread rolls was inspired by one I tried in a Greek restaurant in Sydney, Australia. I don't know the actual recipe used, so I adapted my standard bread recipe and tried out a few variations.

When making a large loaf with raw halloumi, I ended up with a 'soggy bottom'! I found that I needed to cook the cheese first, to remove the excess moisture, and then had to cool it before adding to the dough.
So, I tried adapting my pizza whirl recipe instead, and it worked a treat using raw halloumi, as the moisture could evaporate.

For the bread base

• 1 cup cold water
• 3 cups strong white bread flour 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 sachet fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt

For the filling

• 200g halloumi, finely diced
• ½ cup chopped fresh mint, or around 2-3 tsp dried mint
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Put all of the dry bread ingredients in a bowl (or bread maker) add the wet ingredients.

Mix well until you have a smooth dough (on dough setting in bread maker).

Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Cover the bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes.

Dust a large board or clean table with a little flour.
Roll the dough into a rectangle, approx 25cm x 40cm. 

Sprinkle the halloumi and mint over, leaving a border at the front and sides.

Roll the dough lengthwise, as tightly as you can (like a Swiss roll).

Making sure the dough roll is seam-side down on the board, cut slices approximately 1.5cm thick.
Place on a greased baking sheet, with a little room to expand.
Drizzle with the olive oil.

Cover loosely with cling-film or a clean tea towel and allow to rise for a further 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/190C Fan/Gas 6 .

Bake for around 10-15 minutes, or until well-risen and golden.

Place onto a wire rack to cool.
Serve warm, with dips, as part of a meze, or instead of a sandwich in a packed lunch.

I'm linking this post to November's Cooking With Herbs challenge

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