Day 108: Garden Vegetable Pinwheels

I hope everyone is having as beautiful a Sunday morning as we are. Spring is the best time of year in my book. It has made cooking outdoors a pleasure! It also means yeast breads. My kitchen is too cold in the winter to make much in the way of yeast breads. The only time I even go in there in the winter is if I'm cooking, it is just too cold.

So, today's recipe is, once again, from the World Championship Cook Off cook book. If you haven't bought your copy yet, go to the International Dutch Oven Society's web page and order yours. It's worth it even if you only dutch oven a few times a year, since all the recipes can also be made inside. The recipes are, for the most part, really easy! Today's recipe is the bread made by George and Carolyn Dumler during the semi final round of the cook offs.

Garden Vegetable Pinwheels

14" dutch oven

Dough:

5-6 cups flour

2 Tbs. active dry yeast

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 cups scalded milk (120*)

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

2 eggs

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

3 cups broccoli florets

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, cut into quarters

3/4 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

4 green onions, sliced

Topping:

1 stick butter, softened

1/2-1 tsp. garlic garni

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt and blend well. Mix in warm milk, egg and melted butter and mix thoroughly. Mix in remaining flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until dough becomes elastic and sticky. Roll dough generously in flour, then cover and place in a warm area to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, mix eggs, cream cheese and 1/2 cup shredded cheese until well blended; stir in vegetables

Punch the dough down, then roll into a rectangular shape about 9 inches by 13 inches. Spoon cheese mixture evenly over dough; sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over the top. Roll dough lengthwise jelly roll style and cut into 1 inch rolls.

Place rolls in a 14 inch DO that has been lightly greased with vegetable shortening. Cover and let raise for about 20 minutes. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden, using 10 coals on the bottom and 16 on top. Brush with garlic butter while hot. Serves 10.

The finished Product

What I Learned

This is something I already knew, but a lot of people don't. When you're cutting something like cinnamon rolls or these pinwheels, there is an easy way to do it. I just use dental floss or clean fishing line. Take about a 10 inch length, slip it under the roll of dough and then cross it over the top of the dough and pull until it cuts completely through. It cuts perfect rolls without squishing them.

The Review

These were really good and really easy. I will be making these again. I used straight Parmesan cheese instead of the Italian blend. But when you make these, use the blend of cheeses. Mine didn't have as much flavor as they should have, and I know some of the problem was using just Parmesan. I didn't know what garlic garni was, so I didn't use it. I was just going to use minced, fresh garlic in the butter for the topping. Then I totally forgot to put the topping on! The garlic would have made them great. We loved them even with all the mistakes I made. I can only imagine how much better they would taste if I had actually followed the directions properly. Grade B+.