THB : Italian Cheese and Herb Pinwheels

This week at The Home Bakers (THB), Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids has selected Italian Cheese and Herb Pinwheels, our bake no. 25.

Three types of cheeses are used in this recipe, Romano, Asiago and Monterey Jack. I do not have all these three cheeses and have replaced with a mixture of Emmental and Cheddar. Four types of fresh herbs are used, parsley, chives, basil and oregano. I have replaced the oregano with rosemary from my garden and was happy to use fresh basil and chives, both from my potted garden too.

I have used the bread machine to knead the dough and at the end of the first rise, took out the dough and proceed with the shaping of the bread. Originally, this bread is made into a long loaf, where the dough is rolled out and the filling is scattered along the centre, roll it up and snip at 1-1/4-inch intervals, and then pull and twist each cut piece to lie flat on alternate side.

I have made this bread into pinwheels rolls instead.

1. The herbs, rosemary, parsley, chives and basil.
2. Roll out dough and sprinkle the mixture of cheeses and the chopped fresh herbs over.
3. Sprinkle some garlic powder all over, my own addition. Just love garlic powder!
4. Roll the dough up, and cut to 14 slices. (the two slices from each end can be baked in a smaller pan).
5. Place the remainder 12 slices in a 9" square baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and leave for about 40 minutes until doubled in size
6. Brush the top with the balance of the beaten egg and bake at 180C for about 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

Freshly baked Italian Cheese and Herb Pinwheels Rolls. 

It smells so cheezy nice and garlicky while these are baking.

These Pinwheels Rolls are yummy! The cheese, fresh herbs and the garlic powder makes it a very fragrant bread. Once these are cooled down, I kept the rolls in a container and each time, when the container was opened (and it was opened many times!), we can get the whiff fragrance of the cheese.

Great with a cup of tea.

It has a very soft and moist texture. I've made this with the intention to have it for breakfast the next morning, since it was a school week, but by the next morning, there were only 2 rolls left!

Maybe next time, I'll add some chopped ham together with the cheese and herbs! 

Can you see the soft texture of the bread? Yums!

For the full recipe, please visit Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids and to view other members' bake, drop by The Home Bakers (THB).

Here is the measurement for half a recipe, for my own record, with some changes I've made, using the bread machine.

Italian Cheese and Herb Pinwheels

(adapted from "Coffee Cakes", Lou Seibert Pappas)
For the dough :
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water
60gm butter, softened
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups bread flour
1 large egg (for the dough)

For the filling :
1/2 egg
100 gm mixed grated cheese (Emmental and Cheddar)
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, chives, basil and parsley)
some garlic powder

For glazing :
1/2 egg

To use the bread machine :

Place water, egg and butter in the bread pan. Spoon bread flour all over. Place salt in one corner of the bread pan, sugar in another corner. Make an indentation in the middle of the flour and place active dry east. Select Basic Dough Cycle. Press Start.

At the end of the Cycle, (mine took 1 hour 35 minutes, up to the first rising), remove dough, roll it out to 10" x 16" and sprinkle the mixed cheeses and herbs all over, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Roll it up and pinch edges to seal. Cut off about 1" from each ends. (You can bake these two pieces as separate buns later). Cut the log into 12 pieces and place on greased 9" square baking pan (make sure you grease the pan really well, as the cheese can be sticky when melted), cut side up, with 3 rows of 4 rolls each. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until doubled in size. Brush with egg wash and bake at 180C for about 30 minutes until golden brown. 

#97/100

We are a group of home bakers who are currently baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas, until each recipe from this book has been baked. This is our bake no. 25 and we have 35 recipes more to go. If you are interested to be a member and join in our bakes, you may drop me an email at kitchenflavours@yahoo.com.