Pizza Pinwheels

These swirly pinwheels with a pizza filling delight young and old alike. They are fun for a child’s birthday party, terrific in lunches, and fun as an adult appetizer. Feel free to change up the filling to suit your taste. You can roll the dough thin if you like more filling, slightly thicker for a more doughy interior. You can bake, freeze and reheat. The options are endless.

Makes 24-30 pinwheels

Prepared bread dough* (defrosted store-bought frozen dough, or follow the recipe below)

Bottled pesto sauce

Your favourite Italian cooked or fresh tomato sauce**

250-300 g grated Monterey Jack cheese

100-200 g crumbled feta cheese

Divide the dough in half. On a floured board, roll one half to a rectangle about 18” x 14”, or larger if you want the pinwheels with more filling. Spread with the pesto leaving the top 1” of dough clean, then spread on the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese and the feta. Roll up from the bottom into a long sausage. Pinch closed. Slice into ½” – 1” thick slices. Don’t press down with the knife. Be patient and let the knife do the work so your pinwheels are round. Set each pinwheel on a parchment lined cookie sheet leaving about 1 1/2” space between each pinwheel. Repeat with the other half of dough. While pinwheels are resting, preheat the oven to 375°F. Once the oven has come to temperature, place the cookie sheets in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve warm.

*White Bread Dough

Makes 25-20 pinwheels, or two 8.5” x 4.5” loaves

1 package/1 tbsp dry yeast

Pinch sugar

½ cup warm water

2 cups warm milk

4 tbsp soft butter or oil

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

6 ½ - 7 cups all-purpose flour

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and the pinch of sugar in water. In a mixing bowl, stir together the milk butter or oil, sugar, salt and 3 cups of flour. Stir in the yeast and the rest of the flour to make a soft dough. Knead 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk. Remove dough from the bowl and proceed with the recipe above.

If making two loaves, divide dough in half, form into two logs. Place in greased loaf pans. Let rise until 1” above the rim of the loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

** Fresh Tomato Sauce

28-oz can diced tomatoes

1 fresh tomato, diced

3-4 cloves garlic minced

1/8 cup olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a food processor, process the canned tomatoes until almost smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir. Taste and adjust seasonings.