The softest and fluffiest tuna cheese rolls that you'll ever taste. They're made in the air fryer and the bottom is cooked properly! We're not talking semi-raw texture here, nope.
If you haven't made any breads in your air fryer, then you're missing out on this magical thing! I'm using my air fryer not only for our daily meals but even for bakings and breads. It's easier, cooks the meals faster and doesn't heat the whole house if I were to use the oven.
And of course, I'm going to show you how to properly cook the bottom of your bread rolls in the air fryer.
This dough recipe is so versatile that you can use it for savory and sweet. The filling for these rolls is a blank canvas. I also used it for my pesto bread rolls.
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Recipe Highlights
Texture and flavour - Super soft and fluffy rolls (yes, believe me), with savoury tuna, onion, parsley and that melting mozzarella cheese. The ingredients are so simple yet you get this delicious goodness!
Size - 12 cloud-like rolls.
Level - Easy. I knead the dough using my stand mixer, let it rise, assemble and let the rolls rise again in the air fryer baskets before cooking.
Occasion - Perfect for breakfast, tea, snacks (pack them individually), or to bring for family gatherings or to work. Freezer-friendly.
Lets Talk Ingredients
Bread flour - Or also known as high protein flour. It's not all-purpose flour, alright? Bread flour is going to make our rolls rise high with a beautiful structure.
NOTE: Although I don't recommend using all-purpose flour, if you really want to use it, you'd need to adjust the amount of water as all-purpose flour absorbs less liquid. See the video below to know the dough's consistency, to get an idea of how it should be. The cooked rolls won't be the same though, just saying.
Honey - Is one of my secrets in making any bread have that extra soft texture.
Egg - Another ingredient that I like to use to achieve that cloud-like soft rolls texture. I've tested this recipe without the egg and the rolls came out not as soft and fluffy as I wanted.
Tuna - I use canned natural tuna in olive oil. You can use whichever you like. Just make sure to drain it good because we don't want the filling too liquidy and makes our rolls soggy.
Mozzarella - I love the stringy effect that mozzarella gives. Of course, you can use whatever cheese you prefer, just make sure that it melts easily.
How To Properly Cook The Bottom Part Of Bread Rolls In Air Fryer
Although air fryer can cook basically anything. But there's this one huge problem with bread in the air fryer. The bottom part doesn't cook properly, right?
Well, I've tested many ways that you can imagine to solve that.
- Without parchment paper - Bottom still raw. The filling, in this case the cheese, started oozing out through the holes of the air fryer basket and fall to the bottom. So, nope.
- Parchment paper with holes - Bottom still raw. More work for nothing. So, nope.
- Parchment paper - Bottom still raw, but with some twists we're going to change that!
So I've finally found the solution! The secret to making bread, in this case, our rolls cook perfectly at the bottom! Here's what you do:
- Line air fryer basket - Cut 2 parchment papers that just fit the base and runs extra on 2 sides. Reason being, we want to grab on to the extra sides when we want to remove our rolls later. Line one paper in the basket and reserve the other one for later. No need to poke any holes in them.
- Rise rolls in air fryer basket - Do the second rise in your air fryer basket, on the parchment paper.
- Cook - Cook the rolls long until they're almost cooked. Long enough for them to have beautiful golden colour on top. Cooked enough so that the sides have formed crust and give the rolls structure.
- Flip - Now grab the 2 extra high sides of the parchment paper, lift and place the rolls on a rack. Place the reserved parchment paper on top, and flip (like you would flip a cake). Remove the top parchment paper. Be gentle as the bottom of the rolls are soft and raw.
- Cook - Now grab the sides, place back in the air fryer and cook until the bottom (right now it's the top) are golden brown. Once cooked, simply flip the rolls back and serve!
More Air Fryer Recipes
- Healthy apple cider donut cake
- Crispy chicken katsu with spicy ramen
- Healthy apple cinnamon muffins
- Whole wheat donuts
Watch How To Make These Rolls
📖 Recipe
Softest tuna cheese rolls in air fryer
Ingredients
The Dough
- 2 ⅔ cup bread flour , use spoon and level method (340 g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast (7 g)
- 1 large egg , room temperature
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ cup butter (60 g), melted
- ⅔ cup warm water (160 ml)
The Filling
- 1 cup drained natural tuna (180 g)
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley , with some extra to sprinkle on top
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 small onion , diced
- 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella (140 g)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon butter , softened
Instructions
The Dough
- Add all ingredients into the stand mixer bowl. Knead for 10 minutes. The dough will be on the softer side. Cover with cling film and rise the dough until double its size.
The Filling
- Mix all ingredients except for cheese and softened butter. Set aside.
Assembling
- Prepare 2 parchment papers that just fit the base and run extra high on 2 sides. Line the air fryer basket with 1 parchment paper, set aside the other one for later.
- Roll the dough on a floured working surface into a 14 ½ inch (35 cm) square. Spread softened butter on it, leaving 1 inch at one side. Spoon and spread the filling evenly on top. Sprinkle cheese.
- Roll the dough tightly and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place in the air fryer basket. Cover with cling film. Leave until the rolls rise double their size.
Cook
- Sprinkle some more parsely on top. Use "Air fryer" setting, set the temperature to 360ºF (180ºC) and cook for 12 minutes. Grab the parchment paper on the sides, lift and place the rolls on a rack. Place the other parchment paper on top and flip (like you would flip a cake).
- Remove the parchment paper that sticks to the raw bottom of the rolls, be gentle. Again, grab the sides, place the rolls back in the air fryer basket and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
- Flip the rolls back and serve!
Notes
- Make sure to drain the tuna really well to avoid the filling being too liquidy and making the rolls soggy.
- Adjust the cooking time if you need to, since it also depends on the size of your air fryer basket. Cook until the rolls are almost cooked (beautiful golden colour on top and have structure) before flipping. After flipping, proceed to cook until they're fully cooked at the bottom.
- Last up to 1 week in the fridge. Reheat for a few seconds in the microwave to bring them back to life.
- Last up to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature and reheat.
Karen says
How do you make these in a regular oven?
Is there. Recipe somewhere?
Bea & Marco says
Hi Karen! Yes, you can. Use the same temperature and cook the rolls for 20-30 minutes or until you see them golden brown and fully cooked. Hope it helps!