When I was in high school, my friends and I would go to the market, buy a loaf of french bread and 1 pound of spinach artichoke dip and go to town. We didn't even slice the bread or heat up the dip. It was an addiction. Even today, I still love a good spinach artichoke dip with crusty bread, although now I take the time to cut up the bread. While trying to think of a new bread roll to prepare, I couldn't resist combining my favorite dip with my favorite pizza dough to make spinach artichoke pinwheels. I mean, how can you go wrong?
Spinach Artichoke Pinwheels
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup warm milk 100-110 degrees F
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Spinach artichoke filling
- ½ cup grated parmesan divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup cooked spinach
- ½ cup artichoke hearts quartered
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Prepare the dough. Dissolve 2 teaspoon active dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1 cup warm milk and let sit for 10 minutes or until mixture becomes creamy.
- Combine 2 ½ cups flour with 2 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Add milk yeast mixture and mix until dough forms. Knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Combine ¼ cup grated parmesan with 1 cup mozzarella, 4 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup spinach, ½ cup artichoke hearts, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Dust clean work counter with flour. Punch down the dough and roll it into a ¼ inch thick rectangle. Spread the spinach artichoke filling in an even layer and roll the dough the long way into a log. Cut the log into 10 equal pieces.
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and sprinkle 2 tablespoon parmesan on the bottom. Arrange the rolls in the baking dish with the cut sides facing up. Leave space in between the rolls allowing them to rise. Loosely cover and let proof for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoon parmesan on top of the rolls and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
If you love spinach artichoke dip, you'll love this bread. Heck even if you like the dip, you'll probably enjoy this savory treat. The total time to make this bread is 2 hours but 1 hour and 20 minutes is spent waiting for the dough to proof and 20 minutes is for baking so it's actually very easy to make.
Start by activating the yeast in warm milk. The milk should be around 110 degrees F; too cold and the yeast will not activate, too hot and it will kill the yeast. While you're waiting for the yeast to bloom, prepare the dry ingredients. Once the milk-yeast mixture becomes foamy, add it to the flour mixture and mix until combined. Knead until the dough comes together and let it rest for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
I don't know about you but whenever I make spinach artichoke dip, I go with the frozen spinach and jarred artichoke route. That, to me, is what a spinach artichoke dip is all about, no freshly blanched spinach here! However, if you do decide to use fresh spinach, make to squeeze out all of the excess water before adding it to the filling. If the spinach has too much water, it'll make the filling too runny and will make the rolls soggy.
Roll the dough into one large rectangular shape, about ¼ inch thick. Spread the filling, roll the dough into a log and cut it into 10 equal pieces.
Now for the secret touch: spray a baking dish with cooking spray and sprinkle grated parmesan on the bottom. When the rolls bake, the cheese on the bottom will create the most beautiful parmesan crust. It is heavenly.
Let the rolls proof once more, sprinkle some more parmesan and bake until golden brown.
And now it's time to dig in. These spinach artichoke pinwheels are best served warm, while the cheese is still nice and gooey inside. I gotta tell you, these rolls are fantastic. The milk in the dough makes the rolls oh so soft while the filling is, well, terrific as expected. A great snack or side for any occasion!
For more savory bread inspiration check out this sundried tomato pesto swirl bread!
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