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Crispy ham and cheese bread rolls

10.18.2023 (Updated: 10.18.2023) in Breakfast, Snacks

Trimmed and flattened bread slices are filled with ham and cheese, rolled, dipped in egg, covered with panko and deep fried for ten seconds. A fast and lovely snack to put you in a good mood.

Crispy ham and cheese bread rolls

It is a variation of the pepperoni and cheese French toast roll-ups in the archive. There are three differences though:

  1. Salty ham instead of pepperoni is used here.
  2. The cheese is aged cheddar, not Monterey Jack.
  3. Panko forms the outermost coating for added crisp.

Is this recipe better than the older one? I like them both, to be honest. Omitting panko makes the prep easier and faster, but I have to admit that the added texture and bulk that panko provides has its appeal.

Cheese sticks and trimmed bread

So… Start by taking a block of cheese, cutting it into half-inch slices then cutting each slice into sticks. Set the cheese aside and trim the bread to remove the crusts. Why remove the crusts? To make the next steps easier.

Flattening bread and smearing with butter

Using a rolling pin, flatten each slice of bread. If you hadn’t removed the crusts, the edges would be thicker and you definitely don’t want that. You want the bread slices to be of even thickness. Once the bread slices have been flattened, smear one side of each slice with softened butter.

Filling a bread slice with ham and cheese

Lay a slice of ham on the buttered side of the bread, place a cheese stick on top, then roll the bread as tightly as you can without tearing it.

Filled and rolled flattened bread

Repeat until all the bread slices have been filled and rolled. Place the rolled bread on a plate, cover tightly with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (the chilling part can be overnight if you want to serve the bread rolls for breakfast). Chilling firms up the cheese and lessens the chance that it will soften too fast and ooze out of the rolled bread during frying.

Coating rolled bread in egg and panko

Once your bread rolls have been sufficiently chilled, heat oil in a frying pan or wok. How much oil? Two-and-a-half to three inches deep. Take the bread rolls out of the fridge. Roll each one in beaten egg then cover with panko.

Ham and cheese filled bread coated in egg and panko

While the egg should seal the rolled bread and keep it from unrolling during frying, I prefer additional assurance. Wooden toothpicks. Push a couple inward near the seam. Don’t push all the way through. You want a portion of the toothpicks to remain visible so that you can pull them out easily after frying.

Frying ham and cheese filled bread

Fry the bread rolls in hot oil. Just for ten seconds, really. Drop, count five seconds, roll them over, count another five seconds then scoop out. Obviously, oil temperature is crucial. If the oil isn’t hot enough, it will take time for the panko to turn golden brown and crisp. By that time, the cheese would have oozed out. On the flipside, if the oil if too hot, the bread will brown too fast before the cheese gets hot and gooey.

The ideal temperature is 350F. But that’s for people who use a thermometer. I don’t. I just drop a pinch of panko in the oil to test. If the bits of bread sink, the oil isn’t hot enough. If they brown immediately, the oil is too hot. The panko bits should float and turn golden after a few seconds.

Crispy ham and cheese bread rolls
Crispy ham and cheese bread rolls
Connie Veneracion
The cook time below says one minute because there is no option in the recipe plugin to set it to 10 seconds which is really the accurate cooking time. The cooking time really is 10 seconds. If you cook the rolled bread in two batches, then make that 20 seconds.
To serve the fried rolled bread, you will want to cut them into bite-sized pieces. To make neat cuts and to avoid squishing the bread, use kitchen shears instead of a knife.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 minute min
Chilling time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 41 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine International
Servings 6 people

Equipment

  • 12 pieces wooden / bamboo toothpicks

Ingredients
  

  • 6 slices loaf bread crusts cut off
  • 3 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
  • 6 slices ham
  • 150 grams aged cheddar cut into thick fingers
  • cooking oil for deep frying
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 1 ½ cups panko

Instructions
 

  • Flatten each slice of bread with a rolling pin.
  • Smear one side of each slice with softened butter.
  • Place a slice of ham on the buttered side, top with a piece of cheese, then roll to seal. Repeat until all the bread slices have been filled and rolled.
  • Place the rolled bread on the plate, cover with cling film and cill for 30 minutes (up to overnight).
  • Start heating the oil in a frying pan or wok.
  • Roll each piece of bread in egg then cover with panko.
  • Secure each rolled bread with toothpicks.
  • Drop the bread rolls into the hot oil, count five seconds, roll them over, count another five seconds and scoop out.
  • Pull out the toothpicks and discard.
  • Cut the bread into thick slices and serve immediately.
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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, the blog owner earns commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

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Connie Veneracion, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Home cook and writer by passion, photographer by necessity, and good food, coffee and wine lover forever. I write recipes, cooking tips and food stories. No AI is used in creating content for this blog.

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