A hearty, savory treat with soup, salad, or on its own. These buns disappeared from our kitchen as quickly as warm chocolate chip cookies!
Mix, then knead together all of the ingredients except the ham and cheese, making a dough that's smooth and resilient.
Knead in the ham and cheese.
Gather the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 hour, or until it's noticeably puffy.
Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 7 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball.
Place the dough balls in a lightly greased 1 ½-quart baker or 9" round cake pan.
Cover the pan and allow the dough to rise until puffy, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Near the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 325°F.
Bake the buns for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. Remove them from the oven, turn them out of the pan, cool completely, and serve.
Yield: 7 buns.
