Sourdough Pinwheels with Ham & Cheese [easy + delicious]

Simple sourdough pinwheels filled with ham and cheese - you and your family will love these buttery bakery snacks.

You can use sourdough starter or sourdough discard, I've included instructions for both options here (you'll see them further down the page).

These sourdough pinwheels can be made in advance, the fillings changed to your tastes (or whatever you have in the fridge) and can be frozen!

What is a Pinwheel?

A pinwheel refers to a savory snack that can be made using dough or puff pastry. It is usually filled with cheese and other fillings like grated vegetables, diced meats, herbs or spreads.

They are called pinwheels because of their round shape and the spiral that is made when you roll them up. You might also hear them referred to as scrolls depending on where you live.

Pinwheels can also be sweet - but are often referred to as "rolls" or "buns" in this instance. For example a cinnamon roll is a type of sweet pinwheel but they are generally more "doughy".

Pinwheels make great on the go snacks and are popular lunch box fillers.

How To Make Sourdough Pinwheels

Making sourdough pinwheels is much like making sourdough cinnamon rolls in that you're making a dough, filling it and rolling it before baking.

Spreading the dough with butter before adding the ham and cheese is the secret to ensuring you don't end up with dry pinwheels. The butter is like the secret sauce, trust me!

To make the dough:

1. Warm the milk to around 37C (99F). Add the warm milk, water and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until the sugar has thoroughly dissolved.
   
2. Now add your sourdough starter, salt and flour and use your stand mixer to knead into a rough dough. This shouldn't take too long (around 2 to 3 minutes). Leave the dough to rest in the stand mixer bowl for around 30 minutes to one hour.
   
3. Add the butter and knead into the dough until the dough is smooth and fairly elastic. You may need to increase the speed of your stand mixer to allow the butter to be incorporated (see notes below for tips on adding butter and or kneading by hand).
   
4. Transfer to the dough to a bowl and allow to bulk ferment. You want the dough to rise a little (around 30%) and feel soft to the touch. This needs to happen at room temp - not in the fridge. The time it takes will depend on the strength of your sourdough starter and the temperature of your kitchen.
   
5. Once the dough has finished rising, you will need to fill and shape ham and cheese pinwheels.

Rolling and Filling the Dough

1. Turn the dough out on to the counter. It shouldn't be sticky and be easy the handle.
   
2. Gently roll the dough out into a rectangle. 60cm x 30cm is a good size to aim for. It doesn't have to be perfect, but the bigger you an get it, to more perfect swirls you will get.
   
3. Brush the butter over the rectangle of dough, leaving a 10cm gap on one of the long edges. You need to leave a gap so that dough will stick to itself when you roll it.
   
4. Now sprinkle over the mozzarella, parmesan and diced ham so that it covers the area of dough spread with the butter.
   
5. Once the filling is spread, roll the dough into a log, starting on the opposite long edge to the gap you've left.
   
6. Roll the dough into a tight log, using the unfilled dough to seal the log. You can spray a little water on the part where the dough joins if you want to - but the dough should stick to itself without it.Lay the log out with the seam underneath.
   
7. Cut the log into approximately 12 pieces (you can measure and divide by 12 if you want them to look even - or just go freehand if you're not too fussed). Using dental floss to cut them will help you keep their shape and give the pinwheels a flat surface.
   
8. Place the pinwheels onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can also make these in a cast iron skillet if you prefer, but they will join together.

Second Rise (Proofing)

1. Cover the baking tray with a plastic bag or tea towel and allow the pinwheels to get puffy. The dough is enriched, so it will take a little longer than normal (especially since we are dealing with sourdough).
   
2. Once the dough is puffy, you can bake them straight away - or see baking timeline below to extend the second rise and hold them in the fridge overnight.

Baking Sourdough Pinwheels

1. Once the rolls are puffy, it's time to bake them. Preheat your oven to 180C/356F.
   
2. Before the sourdough pinwheels are placed into the oven, you need to brush them with melted butter.
   
3. Bake rolls for 20 minutes at 180C/356F (or until golden brown).
   
4. Once they've finished baking, remove from the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool.

Best Tips for Making Sourdough Pinwheels

Here are my best tips for making sure you get successful sourdough pinwheels every time!

• Try to close up the edge when you roll the pinwheels. If you can close the seal with a little water or even by pinching it, it will ensure that the ends of your pinwheels don't pop open when they're cooking.
  
• Use dental floss to cut the pinwheels into rounds. You'll get a flatter surface and you won't squash them by using a knife.
  
• Give the pinwheels plenty of time to puff up on the second rise. If you don't allow them to get light and puffy they will be dense when you cook them. You want them to be fluffy and light inside with a nice golden, cheesy outer.

Bakers Timeline for Sourdough Pinwheels

These sourdough pinwheels can be made really easily around a busy schedule. You can use cold ferment to hold them and bake them the next day.

If you're really pushed for time, I would advise you to look at the notes I've made on using discard and yeast.

But, this is the timeline I use to get these ready to take on a picnic or for morning tea.

Time	Process
8.00am	Mix and knead dough for sourdough pinwheels.
9.00am	Cover dough and allow to bulk ferment.
5.30pm	Roll out dough, spread filling and roll. Cut into individual rolls and place onto baking tray.
6.00pm	Allow pinwheels to sit for around an hour before covering in plastic wrap and placing into fridge for the night.
6.30am	Take pinwheels out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature.
8.00am	Bake sourdough pinwheels for 20 minutes.
8.30am	Allow rolls to cool on a wire rack.
9.00am	Enjoy!

Sourdough Discard Pinwheels

If you would prefer to use sourdough discard in these pinwheels, you will need to swap the active starter for the same amount of discard. You'll also need to add 7g of commercial yeast.

The yeast is added with the sugar to the milk at the beginning. Add the discard at the same time as you would the sourdough starter.

You'll also need to adjust the rising times to accomodate for yeast - so it will be much quicker to rise (unless your home is really cold).

I've added further notes on this in the recipe notes at the bottom of the recipe card.

Other Filling Ideas

I've used ham and cheese to fill these sourdough pinwheels, but there's no end to the filling options you could choose.

I generally keep the meat and cheese weights the same - so 250g of any cheese and 150g of any deli meats. For other things you might need to experiment.

Here are a few ideas!

• Spread the dough with basil or red pesto (instead of the butter) and then sprinkle on a mix of cheddar and parmesan cheese.
  
• Use pepperoni or salami instead of ham.
  
• Spinach and feta is a great combination.
  
• Diced jalapeños (I wouldn't go above 50g) and cheddar cheese. You could even spread them with this spicy jalapeño honey butter instead of sprinkling on jalapeños.
  
• Spread with pizza sauce (instead of the butter) before you add ham and cheese (or pepperoni) for delicious sourdough pizza pinwheels (sourdough pizza scrolls).

Freezing + Storage Instructions

These sourdough pinwheels are best eaten within 24 hours of baking. They will be light and fluffy when taken out of the oven, but as there are no preservatives, they won't stay fresh like store bought items.

You can freeze these easily. Let them cool for one hour after removing from the oven and then place rolls into a zip loc bag or plastic container. They will best best if consumed within 8 to 12 weeks of freezing. After this they may change in texture once defrosted.

To defrost, just leave at room temp until soft again. You can also microwave for a short burst to freshen them up if you like.

I put into my kids lunchboxes frozen and they are defrosted and ready to eat by lunchtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

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