Cheese Pinwheel Rolls

May 20th, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments
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pull apart cheese rolls

Sooner or later, all my conversations inevitably turn to food.

Don’t believe me? Call me up sometime and try to, say, sell me some insurance. I guarantee that before we get off the phone, I’ll be giving you my recipe for blackberry jam. I can’t help it. It’s just how I work.

Perfect example: I was in a meeting a few weeks ago at the office. We finished up our conference call, started chatting as we wrapped up—and somehow wound up talking about stuffed breads. (Really. I have a recipe loosely jotted on the cover of a folder.)

What was the best way to make them? What kind of dough should you use? How can you keep them from bursting, etc.

soft inside of roll

Ah, the Frankenroll

This recipe borrows heavily from two fairly unrelated things. The stromboli, that rolled and stuffed bread extraordinaire—and the cinnamon bun.

To make these rolls, spread pizza dough liberally with melted butter, sprinkle it with cheese and spices, roll it up like a stromboli—then slice and bake like a pan of cinnamon buns.

unbaked cheese rolls up close

The result? The rolls are soft, savory, and totally buttery and delicious. They’re topped with a layer of crispy, brown cheese, and shot through with molten cheese.

Fill them however you like

The best part about these rolls? You can stuff them with anything you like. Different cheeses (use any that melt well). Chopped pepperonil, olives, and spinach. Fresh herbs. Bits of leftover bacon or ham.

This is what I always refer to as a Sliding-Scale Recipe. Basically, that means it’s a recipe that works whether you put in a lot of effort—or hardly any at all.

You can toss it together with a ball of pre-made dough and a bag of shredded cheese from the grocery store—or you can go all out and make the dough from scratch and grate your favorite cheeses by hand. It’ll be delicious either way.

freshly baked rolls with cheese

I like to throw these rolls together on a weeknight. All you need is a ball of pizza dough (grab one at the grocery store or from a local pizza joint) and a bag of shredded cheese.

It’s a great way to get fresher-than-storebought bread on the table when you have kids running around—or, say, a brand new puppy—or have just had a long day and are in the mood for some carb-laden goodness with dinner.

So, this one’s for you, Scott. It’s not *exactly* a stromboli, but it’s definitely a delicious first cousin.

Cheese Pinwheel Rolls

1 ball pizza dough
2 Tbls. butter
1 – 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese, grated
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
garlic powder

Makes about a dozen rolls

Lightly grease an 8-inch x 8-inch glass baking pan. Set it aside.

Roll out the pizza dough

Grab your dough (homemade or store bought).

ball of pizza dough

Plop it on a lightly floured board.

pizza dough on floured board

Smoosh it flat and roughly in the shape of a rectangle.

flatten the pizza dough

Roll it out in a rough rectangle.

roll the pizza dough out

(Be sure to make your junior kitchen staff feel included.)

penelope and the rolling pin

Spread the dough with butter & cheese

Melt the butter. (I do this in the microwave. About 20 seconds on high usually does the trick.)

melted butter in a measuring cup

Pour it in the center of your rolled dough.

melted butter and pizza dough

melted butter on dough

With your hand or a spatula, spread the butter to cover the dough.

spreading butter on dough

dough coated in butter

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

dough sprinkled with parmesan

Sprinkle the dough with an even layer of finely shredded cheese. I used a mix of mozzarella and cheddar.

sprinkling cheese on pizza dough

You want to lay it on thick (cover the Parmesan so you don’t really see it), but not too thick.

dough covered in cheese

Sprinkle with a little kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and garlic powder. If you want to add other ingredients (herbs, olives, etc.) add them in a thin layer now.

seasoned cheese

Roll up the dough

Roll the dough up like this, so you wind up with a long tube. Tuck the cheese in as you roll, like you would when rolling a burrito or a spring roll.

roll the pizza dough

rolling the dough into a log

tuck and roll the dough

making cheese rolls

roll of cheese stuffed dough

Next, whack it into about 12 pieces.

cut the cheese rolls

I make them about an inch or so wide.

thickness of dough

The end pieces will be kind of scrawny. That’s just fine. You’re going to stick them together in a corner of the pan to form one roll.

dough cut into 12 pieces

Take one roll carefully, so that it doesn’t unroll. Set it in the corner of your prepared pan.

single cheese roll

Repeat with the rest of the rolls, until you’ve nestled them all in.

cheese stuffed roll

Stick the ends into a corner together. They’ll sort of bake together into one roll.

pan of cheese rolls

cheese rolls waiting to rise

top view cheese rolls

Let rise for 3o minutes

Cover with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

dough covered with plastic wrap

They won’t poof up much after 30 minutes.

risen rolls

Bake the rolls

Pop into your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

cheese rolls in the oven

They’re done when the dough is lightly browned, and the cheese has bubbled up and formed a nice, golden brown crust.

fresh baked cheese rolls

cheesey bread

browned cheese on bread

(Here are those ends you stuck together.)

three small cheese rolls

The bottoms should have a similar, golden brown cheese thing going on, as well.

bottom of cheese rolls

Cool them in the pan for about 10 minutes.

cheesey rolls hot out of the oven

Then airlift them out with a spatula or two. Serve warm, or let cool to room temperature.

fresh bread

Pull apart. Serve and enjoy!

single cheese roll

gooey cheese filling

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