Stroma Bakes' Isle of Mull Cheese Straws
I’m Stroma Sinclair (@stromabakes) and I’m a pastry chef, working at Leila’s shop in Shoreditch. When I was developing these cheese straws, I had to "mull" over which cheese would work best. I tried Caerphilly and Ashcombe, but neither were speaking to me. I needed something a bit punchier, so my thoughts turned to cheddars. Isle of Mull, married with wholegrain pastry, provided that perfect Scottish cheesy zing I was after.
What makes these cheese straws extra delicious is the wholewheat flour, as it pairs so beautifully with cheese. So, if you can, it's best to make wholewheat rough puff yourself. I like the addition of mustard, but it also works well with cayenne pepper. You can prep these a day ahead, and then bake them when needed. The dough also freezes well, which is ideal when unexpected guests arrive over the festive season and you need to get something on the table, quick! Trust me, you won’t want to be without these this winter.
Ingredients (Makes around 30 straws)
750g wholewheat rough puff or puff pastry (preferably homemade)
300g Isle of Mull cheddar (or strong cheddar style cheese), grated
Mustard (optional)
1 egg
Black pepper
Method
1. Roll your pastry out into a rectangle around 20cm wide and 45cm long. You will be folding it into 3, so map out your thirds, and mark them out by denting lines with my thumb. Make sure the pastry is positioned with the longest edge facing you before adding the other ingredients.
2. Spread mustard (if you’re using it) onto the middle third, then top with about 50g grated cheese and some cracks of black pepper.
3. Bring the right-side third over the middle third and then repeat with mustard and cheese and cover with the left side, press down and seal the edges.
4. Keep the pastry facing the same direction and then roll out again to your 20x45cm rectangle and repeat the mustard, cheese and pepper folds.
5. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6. Roll out again into a rectangle about 20cm wide and ½ cm thick, then cut into strips 2cm wide.
7. Brush with beaten egg and top with the remaining grated cheese.
8. Bake at 180c for 20-25 mins.
NB. These are best eaten on day, but will keep for a bit in airtight container. If they appear a tad soft after storage, simply pop them into a hot oven to re-crisp.