cheesy croque monsieur rolls garnished with fresh herbs

Last year I made cinnamon rolls to wrap up and give to family for Christmas gifts. It took a couple days to get them all prepped and proofed and baked and iced. My house smelled like a bakery. It was bliss. There’s just something about about a beautiful, soft and chewy filled dough that I cannot get enough! Afterward, my head was spinning with ideas for other variations!

I came up with the idea for this savory roll that combines the concept of a cinnamon bun with another familiar brunch cornerstone. A croque monsieur is a French ham and cheese sandwich that is topped with béchamel then toasted until crunchy and golden. These brunch rolls are filled with smoky ham, garlic and sharp white cheddar. (I Americanized it a little.) The dough is flavored with fresh thyme, parmesan and black pepper. The rolls are then covered in béchamel ‘icing.’ They are decadent and savory and cheesy and chewy!

Equipment you may need:

Here’s what you need for the dough:

Between making the dough, the filling and sauce, there are quite a few steps and a lot of ingredients so do yourself a favor and read through the process first and have all your ingredients measured out before starting.

Make the dough.

Whisk together the 4 cups of the flour, salt, pepper and thyme and set aside. Reserve the other 1/4 cup of flour in case the dough is too sticky while it is kneading.

Activate the yeast.

Stir the yeast with warm milk and sugar, then cover it with a kitchen towel for ten minutes while it blooms. If it doesn’t look like this after ten minutes, the yeast is dead and you may as well toss it and go buy another jar.

Once bloomed, add the eggs and the melted (and cooled) butter to the yeast and give it a whisk.

Pour the bloomed yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and turn onto low. Add the flour mixture a little at a time. The dough will start off looking shaggy at first, but will begin to work itself into a ball. It should be tacky but not so wet that it sticks to the bowl. If it is, add a tablespoon or two more of bread flour. Set the speed to medium and allow to knead for eight minutes. You could also be knead by hand, I’m just being lazy.

After eight minutes, pour in the parmesan and knead for another minute or two just to incorporate. I add this last because I don’t want the heat from the milk to melt the cheese.

Place the ball of dough into a large bowl and proof for an hour and a half.

My preferred, fail proof way to proof dough:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the oven on the middle rack. Place a baking dish on the rack just below it. Then, pour an entire kettle of boiling water into the baking dish and immediately shut the oven door. This creates a perfect warm and moist environment for the dough to proof.

Proof until doubled in size.

Dump onto a floured surface and use a rolling pin to work the dough into a rectangle.

dough ready to be rolled on a floured surface

Now, roll the dough out to a flat rectangle measuring nineteen inches across. (It needs to be eighteen inches across to cut into a dozen one and a half inch rolls, but I find that the ends are always a bit wonky, so I give myself a half inch slack on either side to cut off.) The short side should be close to a foot wide. Using a baking mat to measure out the dough makes this process so much easier.

dough rolled into a big rectangle, ready for filling

Here’s what you need for the filling:

the filling for the croque Monsieur rolls

Heat the butter and garlic on low for a few minutes to melt the butter and soften the garlic. The garlic should be cooked through so you don’t have bits of raw garlic in the center of your rolls, but you also don’t want to burn the butter in the process, so low heat.

Brush the garlic butter all over the rolled out dough.

brushing the dough with melted garlic butter

Now, just arrange the ham in a single layer, covering the entire surface of the dough, but leave about a quarter of an inch border. Cover with half of the cheese. The other half will be for melting on top.

lots of ham and shredded cheddar cheese for the filling

Score the dough at every inch and a half then use a very sharp knife to cut through, using a gentle sawing motion so the ends don’t become pinched together.

Arrange the rolls on a sheet tray covered in parchment. Cover these loosely with plastic and proof for another hour and a half until they have risen.

rolls arranged on a sheet tray for the second proofing

Once they have risen, turn the oven on to 375 degrees then bake for 20-25 minutes until they are slightly golden around the edges.

While the rolls are baking, make your béchamel.

Here’s what you need for the sauce:

Whisk the butter and flour together over medium heat to make a roux. Cook for a couple minutes until it no longer smells like raw flour.

While whisking, slowly pour in the milk and continue to whisk until smooth and thickened. Add a pinch of nutmeg and salt to taste.

milk whisked into the rough to make a smooth sauce

Spoon the béchamel ‘icing’ onto each roll and cover with the remaining cheddar. These are definitely a cheat day treat!

baked rolls topped with the béchamel and more cheddar

Place under a broiler or in a very hot oven until browned and bubbly but keep an eye on them! They go from golden to burnt pretty quickly.

Enjoy your brunch rolls hot, right out of the oven for a gooey, cheesy treat. They are also delicious at room temperature, which makes them a great for entertaining or packed up for a lazy weekend picnic!

croque monsieur rolls topped with fresh herbs and ready to be enjoyed

Other recipes to try:

Print Recipe

Croque Monsieur Rolls

Prep Time40

Cook Time30

proofing time3

Total Time4 10

Course: Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine: American, French

Servings: 12 servings

Author: the town tarte

Ingredients

For the Dough

4-4 1/4 cup bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
6 tbsp butter melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs room temperature and beaten
1/2 cup parmesan shredded

For the filling

3/4-1 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1 pound shredded white cheddar cheese divided into 2 cups for the filling and 2 cups for the topping
2 tbsp butter melted
2 cloves garlic minced

For the Béchamel

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cup milk
pinch ground nutmeg
salt to taste

Instructions

Make the dough

Whisk together 4 cups of flour, salt, pepper and thyme in a bowl and set aside.
Heat milk to 110 degrees. Pour it into the bowl of an electric mixer with the yeast and sugar then whisk to combine. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave it to bloom for about 10 minutes
Once the yeast has bloomed add the eggs and melted butter to the bowl and whisk. Fit the dough hook to the mixer and turn onto med-low. Slowly add the flour mixture. The dough will be shaggy at first but will come together quickly. The final dough should be tacky but not too wet. If it is too sticky, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour one tablespoon at a time. Once all the flour is in, turn it to medium and allow to knead for about 8 minutes then finally add the parmesan and knead it for another minute or two until the cheese is well incorporated. Dump out the dough and form it into a ball and place it into a large, greased bowl. Proof the dough for 1 1/2 hours.
My preferred method for proving: Cover the bowl with the dough with plastic wrap then place in on the middle rack of an oven. Place a large baking dish on the lower rack. Fill a tea kettle with water and bring it to a boil. Pour the boiling water into the baking dish then close the oven door. This creates the perfect environment for proofing.

Filling and Baking the Rolls

Heat the minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan and slowly simmer until the garlic has cooked through and the butter is melted but not browned.
Dump the risen dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a rectangle with your hands. Roll the dough out to a 19×12 inch rectangle.
Brush the rolled dough with melted butter and garlic, then evenly arrange the sliced ham over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle with half the cheddar.
Carefully roll the longest side of the dough into an even and tight roll. Use a sharp knife and trim off the edges. (About a half inch on each side.) Score the dough every 1 1/2 inches with the knife then slice, using a gentle sawing motion into 12 rolls.
Place the rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet into 4 rows of 3 with about an inch space between each roll to allow for more rising. Cover loosely with plastic and proof for another 1 1/2 hours
Bake rolls, uncovered at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden.
"Ice" each roll with the béchamel and top with remaining cheddar and place under a broiler or in a very hot oven until the cheese melts and becomes golden brown.

For the béchamel

Whisk the butter and flour together in a small saucepan on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and simmer for 2-3 minutes more or until the sauce is thick. Add salt to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.