My ultimate Seeded Mustard Cheese Straws

I have become some what obsessed with the Gail’s cheese straws. They’re flaky but not too flaky, cheesy but not too cheesy, and massive! I have been wanting to recreate them for a long time. I found a video on their Instagram and proceeded to watch it fifty times to try and suss out what makes them so good.

After much research, I landed on these beautifully flaky, golden mustard cheese straws. You start by making a super buttery rough puff pastry before sandwiching it with a mixture of wholegrain mustard, marmite, paprika and cheddar. Don’t be put off if you don’t like marmite, it just adds a lovely salty umami flavour. Once shaped they’re rolled in a mixture of sesame seeds, poppyseeds and comte.

The finished product is a hefty cheese straw with crisp cheesy edges and a soft middle chock full of mustardy salty cheese. I love the crunch they make as you snap into them and that nutty flavour from the toasted seeds.

Ingredients - makes 12
Rough Puff: - original recipe from Erin Mcdowell
335g plain flour
3g salt
250g unsalted butter, 1cm cubes
85ml cold water, plus more as needed

Spread filling:
20g wholegrain mustard
20g marmite
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
100g cheddar, coarsely grated
50g comte, finely grated
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Method
For the rough puff; place the plain flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter and toss in the flour to separate the pieces. Press the butter between your fingers to create mostly large, flat pieces and some smaller. Make a well in the middle and add in the cold water. Mix and add more water, a tbsp at a time, until you have a dough. It shouldn’t be completely smooth as it will continue to hydrate in the fridge. Lightly press it together until you have a ball. Pat it into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Once rested, roll the dough into a 1cm thick rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Dust any excess flour off of the surface and fold in half. Fold the dough in half again so that it is in quarters. Repeat the rolling and folding before wrapping in clingfilm and refrigerating for 30 minutes. Roll and fold the dough again (twice) as you did before, so that you have rolled it four times total. Wrap the ruff puff and refrigerate overnight.

The next day; prepare two baking trays with baking paper and set aside. Combine the mustard, marmite and paprika together in a bowl. Warm the mixture if needed until spreadable. In a bowl, mix together 55g of the grated cheddar, grated comte, sesame seeds and poppyseeds and set aside.

Take the rough puff from the fridge and roll it into a 40x35cm rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Using a pastry brush, spread the mustard mixture over the bottom half. Sprinkle over the remaining 45g of grated cheddar. Fold the top half down over the top and press down to seal. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into twelve strips.

To shape the cheese straws, twist each strip in opposite directions at each end. Lightly roll it into the cheese/seed mixture before placing it back onto the worktop and rolling against the worktop with your palm to push the seeds and cheese into the dough. Don’t be afraid to really roll them so they don’t unravel during baking. Place onto the prepared baking trays, leaving plenty of space between them.

Place the cheese straws into the fridge for 20 minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 190°C. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Leave to cool for 20 minutes before eating. Best eaten on the day they’re made.