Cheese Baps: Cranking Up The Memories

Filling, cheesy and delicious, there’s nothing quite like cheese baps for lunch. If you like a good cheese sandwich, these wholemeal rolls are brilliant. The cheese is already inside the bread, so all you have to do is cut one in half, butter it and add a goodly sized portion of cress or other salad greens.

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Updated September 2025 to include enhanced images, clarifications, a contents section and a why make section.

Mention the word Cranks to any of my old school mates and they will most likely heave a wistful sigh and start waxing lyrical about cheese baps, homity pie and date slices. It was the 70s and a new and trendy veggie café opened its doors in our very rural location and replaced the fusty dusty old fashioned teashop into which visiting parents would usher their offspring for a somewhat formal treat.

Dive Right In

• Why You’ll Want To Make These Cheese Baps
• Cranks
• Cranks Cookbooks
• Cheese Baps
• Do You Need A Mixer To Make Wholemeal Rolls?
• Cheese Baps In Memory
• Tiger’s Milk
• Other Cranks Recipes You Might Like
• Keep In Touch
• Pin It
• The Recipe

Why You’ll Want To Make These Cheese Baps

If you’re hesitating, here are a few good reasons as to why you’ll love these cheese baps:

• Adaptable – use different cheeses, add herbs or sprinkle seeds on top for variation.
• Batch-friendly – make once, freeze the extras and enjoy later for easy lunches.
• Cheese baked right in – no need to pile extra cheese on top, there’s already cheesy goodness in every bite.
• Crowd-pleasing – loved by adults and kids alike.
• Easy-to-make – only one knead and one rise required.
• Nutritious and filling – wholemeal flour brings fibre and substance, while cheese adds protein and flavour. They’re fresher, tastier and more satisfying than shop-bought rolls.
• Quick lunch solution – just slice, butter and add cress or salad for a delicious ready-to-go sandwich.
• Soft and fluffy texture – wholemeal bread that’s hearty but still light, perfect for sandwiches.

Cranks

Out with the old, in with the new. Rustic furniture, brown pottery bowls, wild flowers on the tables and flares on the customers. Of course the rather more sophisticated London pupils were already familiar with Cranks, which first opened its doors in Carnaby Street back in 1961. I was not one of them. A trip to Plymouth was as sophisticated as it got.

My friend Jenny remarked, when I reminded her of Cranks recently:

“hours were spent there with friends and it was so far removed from the usual fare to be found in cafes at the time.”

I wasn’t a bone fide vegetarian back then, but our school food was so awful, it pretty much put me off eating meat. I already ate a whole food diet at home so the more exciting fare on offer at Cranks played a significant part in my vegetarian whole food journey. With limited pocket money, I could’t afford much, but cheese baps and other healthy snacks supplemented my rather poor school diet.

I may have left school, but that hasn’t stopped me visiting Cranks many many times. Now known as Cranks Kitchen, it’s moved along a little bit – quite literally. The Cider Press at Dartington has undergone quite a few changes in the years since I left school and although Cranks is in the same building, it now occupies a different spot.

It has new owners too, but continues to innovate and come up with fresh tasty treats while retaining its whole food ethos. The cooks prepare nutritious slow food from scratch each day. Old stagers like me needn’t worry however: many of the original dishes are still on offer.  Cheese baps may have given way to paninis now, but I’m glad to see homity pie still holds a place on the menu.

Cranks Cookbooks

Cranks influenced our home life too. A Cranks cookery book was a firm favourite, although I no longer remember which one it was. I had a rifle through my mother’s cookbook collection when I was visiting last week, but sadly couldn’t find it.

Homity pie used to make a regular appearance on our table and it’s still one of my favourite pies ever. I’m also pretty sure it was a Cranks recipe I used to make my own wholemeal bread when a student in London. Yes I did, finally, make it to the metropolis.

You’ll find recipes for cheese and leek pudding, an aubergine dip and apricot buns here on Tin and Thyme. All adapted from one of the Cranks cookbooks.

I have a hardback copy of the original The Cranks Bible by Nadine Abensur. The author is an accomplished vegetarian cook who worked with Cranks for many years. Needless to say, I have used it a lot over the years.

In fact I now have a copy of the recently published paperback version too. Why? I have my very own recipe for cashew nut butter brownies included in it. You can imagine how thrilled I was and still am. If you fancy getting your hands on one, here’s my affiliate link: The Cranks Bible.

Cheese Baps

Inspired by writing this post, I had a go at making my own cheese baps for the very first time. I can’t understand why I’ve never tried before. They did, after all, receive an Evening Standard award for the best sandwich in London. I was experimenting with a new cheddar cheese when I made these and they came out a brighter yellow than I’d expected.

That first time I cut down the amount of cheese that was in the original recipe. It seemed rather excessive. But I followed the rest of the recipe to the letter. Since then, I’ve made cheese baps a few times and have perfected the recipe as well as making it easier, clearer and more precise. I also only use proper white cheddar cheese, usually mature Cornish.

Cheese baps make a great sandwich for packed lunches. Once you’ve made them, very little effort is required. As long as you use ordinary wholemeal flour rather than strong bread flour, these baps don’t require much kneading.

Almost as soon as they’re baked, I excitedly split one, butter it and stuff it with mustard and cress, just like they were always served at Cranks. They’re always totally scrumptious and taste exactly as I remember them.

If you fancy making everything from scratch, here’s my guide on how to make homemade butter.

Do You Need A Mixer To Make Wholemeal Rolls?

You can make these cheese baps or any wholemeal rolls by hand or with a stand mixer. It’s entirely up to you. Because the flour is ordinary wholemeal rather than strong wholemeal, it doesn’t require much in the way of kneading. I’m lucky enough to have won a red kitchen aid a few years ago and it does a great job for this sort of bread.

Originally I used the method stated in the book. That is to say, on a board or work surface flatten the dough out roughly with your hands to form a rectangle. Cover two thirds of the dough with a third of the grated cheese. Fold the uncovered third into the middle, then fold over again to cover the remaining cheese. Seal the sides, turn the dough ninety degrees, then repeat the process.

To be honest, this is a bit of unnecessary faff. Now I just add the cheese to the dough whilst my mixer is kneading it. But if you’re kneading by hand you might want to follow the original method.

Cheese Baps in Memory

For conformation of their superior quality, when I asked Mimi for a Cranks memory back in the day, cheese baps were very much to the fore:

“My favourite, favourite thing were the cheese baps. So simple and delicious! The melted Cheddar on the top crust and the crispy cress inside made such a welcoming environment for a seriously whole grain bap, loaded with flavour and personality.”

When I asked Debbie for a memory, she not only reminded me of the legendary Cranks flapjack but also of our cheap food day at school. We used to eat basic food only, so the money saved could be given to charity. We all approved of the idea of course, but as she said:

“somehow the watered-down tomato soup and single slice of limp white bread wasn’t enough to silence the call of a Cranks Cheese Bap”.

Tiger’s Milk

Tiger’s Milk was a rather unusual drink I remember with great fondness, but I’ve not had since leaving school. For some reason, when I hitched to Spain and tasted horchata a few years later, I was convinced it was the very same Tiger’s milk.

However, when I acquired the Cranks Recipe Book by David Canter a couple of years ago, I was surprised to find I was entirely mistaken. Originally a Gaylord Hauser recipe, it’s a concoction of orange juice, milk, brewers yeast and molasses. I had to try it of course. I think I must have enjoyed it for the weirdness factor. Put it like this, it’s an interesting drink or as CT said “it takes some getting used to”.

Other Cranks Recipes You Might Like

• Apricot buns flavoured with vanilla
• Aubergine dip
• Cashew nut butter brownies
• Cheese & leek bread pudding

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these cheese baps, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like even more yeasty recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.

Choclette x

Cheese Baps. PIN IT.

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5 from 2 votes

Cheese Baps

Filling, cheesy and delicious, these baps are brilliant for lunches. The cheese is already inside the bread, so all you have to do is cut one in half, butter it and add a goodly sized portion of cress.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Resting Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: British

Keyword: bread, buns, cheese, vegetarian, wholemeal flour

Servings: 8 good sized baps

Calories: 363kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Equipment

• stand mixer (affiliate link) optional

Ingredients

• 15 g fresh yeast or 3 tsp dried active yeast (7g instant yeast)
• 1 tsp muscovado sugar
• 300 ml lukewarm water
• 500 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat)
• ¾ tsp sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 250 g mature cheddar cheese grated
• milk for brushing
• butter for spreading
• mustard & cress for filling

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• In the bowl of your mixer, or a large bowl if making by hand, stir the yeast, sugar and 150ml of the water together. Cover with a tea towel and leave to ferment for fifteen minutes.
• Add the flour, salt, egg and remaining 150 ml water. Either mix together with your hands, or use the dough hook on your mixer. Knead for about five minutes.
• 1. If using an electric mixer, add roughly two thirds of the cheese and let it knead for a further minute or until all of the cheese is incorporated.

  2. If kneading by hand, on a board or work surface, flatten the dough out roughly with your hands to form a rectangle. Cover two thirds of the dough with a third of the grated cheese. Fold the uncovered third into the middle, then fold over again to cover the remaining cheese. Seal the sides, turn the dough ninety degrees, then repeat the process.
• Cut the dough into eight equal pieces and form into balls. Don’t worry if bits of cheese fall out, just scoop them up with the dough as you form the baps.
• Place well apart on a greased or oiled baking tray. Flatten a bit with your hands. You want flattish baps rather than rolls. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for thirty minutes or until they've nearly doubled in size. How long it takes will very much depend on room temperature and the quality of the yeast and flours.
• Meanwhile heat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan, 400℉, Gas 6).
• Brush with milk and scatter the remaining cheese over the tops.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the baps are lightly browned and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped.
• Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
• When you're ready to eat them, slice in half and spread with butter. Place a generous amount of mustard & cress on top of the bottom half and sandwich with the top half. Eat with relish.

Notes

As long as you use ordinary wholemeal flour rather than strong bread flour, these baps don’t require much kneading.

They keep well for several days and make a great packed lunch sandwich.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used. Butter and cress filling not included.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 279mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 374IU | Calcium: 272mg | Iron: 3mg

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

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National Vegetarian Week

It’s National Vegetarian Week next week, 16th to 22nd May. Hosted by The Vegetarian Society, it’s a great time to dip your toe in vegetarian waters as there will be plenty of inspiration, tips and new recipes shared during the week. I’ve already got into the spirit of things and developed these Asparagoose Tarts specifically for the week of celebrations; if you fancy a picnic, these tarts, complete with seasonal asparagus and a hidden pesto layer, are for you.

Cranks have teamed up with The Vegetarian Society this year and are asking for your vegetarian stories and recipes. Just use the hashtag #NVW16 on social media or upload your story directly on the National Vegetarian Week website. This is my vegetarian story – or one of them anyway!

I am excited to be working with Cranks who are sponsoring National Vegetarian Week this year. They have commissioned this post. Opinions are, as always, my own. Thank you for your support of the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.