Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns

This is from Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perelman.  Tara from Smells Like Home adapted it.  I went back to Deb's dill (Tara used thyme) but I did warm the milk as Tara did, but Deb did not.

I think we killed the yeast, because these didn't rise, but that didn't matter one bit.  Heavenly rolls, good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Ingredients:For the roll dough:

• 3 cups (13 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp table salt
• A few grinds of black pepper
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) instant yeast
• 1 cup of milk, slightly warmed
• 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm plus 1 tbsp extra for brushing the rolls

For the filling:

• 1/2 medium onion, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, minced, or 1 tsp dried dill weed
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• A few grinds of black pepper

Instructions:

1. To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, black pepper, and sugar; stir together on low speed with the paddle attachment.  In a 1 cup liquid measuring cup, whisk the yeast into the warmed milk until it dissolves then pour the milk mixture and the melted butter over the dry ingredients.  Mix everything together on low speed until they form a shaggy mass of dough.
2. Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for 6 minutes on low speed, until the dough is smooth and slightly sticky.  Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand for about 8 minutes.  Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise in a warm spot (like a barely warm oven) until it doubles, about 2 hours.  While the dough rises, make the filling; chill it until you’re ready to use it.
3. To form the buns:  Transfer the dough from the bowl to a well-floured counter top or work surface, sprinkle the dough with a little more flour, and pat it down into a rough rectangular shape.  With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 12×16-inch rectangle.  Spread the filling out evenly over the dough to within 1/2″ of the edges of the dough.  Starting at the short end (or the long end if it’s 6 am and you’re still half asleep like I was), roll the dough tightly up into a log.  With a serrated knife, cut the dough into twelve 1-inch rolls (or 1 1/2-inch rolls if you rolled it from the long end).
4. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans or a 13×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper with baking spray.  Arrange 6 buns evenly spaced apart in each pan or all 12 in the large dish.  Melt the additional tablespoon of butter and brush the tops of the buns with it.  Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let the buns rise in a warm place until the buns just about double in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  When the buns have almost doubled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes (remove the plastic wrap first) until the buns are golden brown and the cheese is bubbling up.  Serve immediately.  The buns will keep, covered, at room temperature for 2-3 days.  Reheat any leftovers (ha!) in a 250 degree F wrapped in foil until they are just warmed through.