Basil Pesto Spiral Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

Welcome to The Storied Recipe Podcast, a podcast about food, culture, and love. 

This recipe for Basil Pesto Pull-Apart Rolls came from my podcast guest, Danielle Ellis (who is a World Bread Awards Judge!). Make sure you listen to her episode, Making Bread The French Way while you make these Basil Pesto Spiral Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls!

Danielle is a highly accomplished bread maker, some of her accomplishments include being a Read Bread Campaign Ambassador, a Judge of the World Bread Awards, and a private bread-making teacher. So the first thing I can safely say is the recipe for these pesto rolls is *excellent*, informed by science and experience.

Personally, these pesto dinner rolls hit all the right spots for me. The zip of fresh herbs, the saltiness of the Parmesan, and the richness of the oil permeated the perfectly soft dough and made for a rich and flavorful roll. My family also loved the pesto rolls this tray vanished rapidly! 

These rolls make the perfect side dish for any occasion, but are perfect on any holiday table, especially an Easter party since they have a distinctive and beautiful green swirl pattern!

P.S. Looking for more bread recipes? Check out this recipe for Mini Bread Rolls (Soft, Adorable Dinner Rolls) or this recipe for Crusty Chewy Czech Chleba Bread!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Dry Ingredients

• Strong white flour - This is the same thing as bread flour, just a different name. This flour has a high gluten level meaning that the dough will be sturdier, so if you substitute with regular all purpose flour your rolls might be soft and not hold their shape as well.
• Rapeseed oil - Substitution: extra virgin olive oil
• Active dry yeast - Substitution: instant yeast

Pesto

• Herbs - Such as fresh basil, chives, thyme, lemon balm, coriander, or marjoram.
• Nuts - Such as pine nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, or pistachios.
• Parmesan cheese
• Olive oil 
• Garlic

Variations on Recipe

I'm sure that these rolls look familiar to you even if you've never heard of them. Essentially they are savory cinnamon rolls. If you want cinnamon rolls instead of these savory rolls, simply swap out the homemade pesto filling with a cinnamon sugar filling and you will have delicious homemade cinnamon rolls!

Substituting With Store-bought Pesto

If you are crunched for time and want to buy it from a grocery store, that is completely fine. Since it is the highlight of the dish, make sure you buy high-quality, delicious pesto.

Instructions

Dough

• Put the flour in a stand mixer. Add the salt and yeast while keeping them apart.
• Add the oil and water.
• Stand mixer: low speed for 3 minutes, medium speed for 3 minutes. The dough should detach itself from the sides of the bowl.
• Cover, and set aside in a warm place. 

Pesto

• Toast your nuts. Set aside.
• Roughly chop the nuts/herbs/garlic, add half of the oil, and parmesan to the food processor. Pulse until smooth. Set aside.

Assembly

• Heat oven 200°C / 400°F.
• Roll the dough into a long rectangle.
• Spread the pesto over the dough.
• Roll the dough up tightly. Place in the fridge. 
• With a sharp knife, cut equal pieces of dough. Set aside.

Different Shapes

• In a loaf tin: Place five dough pieces on the bottom of the loaf tin. Place four more buns on top. 
• For pull-apart savory rolls (like in the pictures): place dough rolls in a shallow, circular tin.

For All Shapes

• On top of the dough, brush with a beaten egg, then prove again.
• Brush again with the beaten egg then place in the oven. 
• Bake until golden brown. Place a piece of baking parchment paper on top if browning too quickly.

Equipment

• Bread thermometer
• Stand mixer with a dough hook attachment OR large bowl
• Food processor
• Dough scraper (optional)
• Rolling pin
• Bread tin (optional)
• Pie dish 
• Pastry brush

Storage

• If you have extra pesto leftovers, you can store it in a jar or airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it for 2-3 months.
• You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• You can freeze already-baked pesto rolls for up to 3 months. You should individually wrap each roll in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze. Once frozen, you can take them out and put them in freezer bags for up to 3 months.

More Bread Recipes

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Recipe

Basil Pesto Spiral Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

• Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

The zip of fresh herbs, saltiness of Parmesan, and the richness of oil permeate the perfectly soft dough for a rich and flavorful roll.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Dough

• 300 gr strong white flour
• 180 ml water
• 30 ml rapeseed oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 7 gr fresh yeast (or 5 grams of instant dry yeast (*See Note 1))
• 6 gr salt

Pesto

• 50 gr herbs (basil, chives, thyme, lemon balm, coriander or marjoram)
• 50 gr nuts (toasted (pine nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, or pistachios))
• 50 gr parmesan cheese (grated)
• 100 gr olive oil ((approx))
• 1 clove garlic

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

Cue Up The Episode!

1. Make sure to listen to Danielle on The Storied Recipe Podcast, Making Bread The French Way while you make her Pesto Rolls recipe!

Dough

1. If you have a bread thermometer, check the temperature of the water before mixing it with the yeast. This water should be around 20°C (68°F), and it will feel cooler than you would imagine. (*See Note 1)
2. Weigh the flour out into the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are making it by hand). Add the salt and yeast keeping them well apart from each other.
3. Add the oil and water.

Stand Mixer

1. Mix on the lowest speed for 3 minutes, then increase to medium speed for a further 3 minutes. The dough should detach itself from the sides of the bowl. It will be smooth and elastic. It should be between 24 and 26°C (75 to 78°F)

By Hand

1. If mixing by hand, rub in the yeast then use a dough scraper to mix all the ingredients together and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes).
2. Cover the bowl and set aside for one hour, room temperature is fine. After an hour, if you are not ready to make the rolls, cover the dough and put it in the fridge. You can leave it there 8-12 hours.

Pesto

1. Lightly toast your nuts and set aside to cool.
2. Roughly chop the nuts, herbs, and garlic, grate the parmesan, and add into the food processor bowl. Add approximately half of the oil and pulse until smooth (you can also do this by hand). It will be very thick. Add more oil until it becomes a spreading consistency. Set aside.

Assembly

1. Set your oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas 6.
2. After an hour, your dough will have risen and when prodded will be soft and should bounce back without any noticeable marks. If you’ve put it in the fridge, you can roll it out cold.
3. Roll the dough out to about 3 mm (1/4 inch) thick into a long rectangle. You will be rolling up the long edge. You’ll use this method for all the different options you can make.
4. Spread the pesto all over the dough.
5. Roll the dough up tightly into a long sausage. Place in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour. This will ensure both the filling and dough are the same temperature and will be easier to cut.
6. With a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut slices that weigh 80 gr. You want them all to be the same weight. Set aside until you have cut the dough into equal pieces.

Tear and Share in a Tin

1. Place five slices of dough cut side up on the bottom of the loaf tin. Place four more buns on the top row avoiding placing them exactly on top. When proved, the rolls will merge into each other.

Spiral Pull-Apart Rolls

1. Place the rolls in a shallow, circular dish a finger width apart in a circle. The rolls will merge as they prove and bake.

For All Options

1. Brush the dough with beaten egg and leave for 45 minutes before baking. You’ll note how they have expanded.
2. Brush the dough a second time with the beaten egg before placing in the oven.
3. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden. Check after 15 minutes. If it is browning quickly, place a piece of baking parchment on top.
4. Gently remove the bread from the tray when cooled a little and place on a serving platter. These are best served just warm.

Notes

• Note 1:  Dry Yeast comes in two forms, instant dry yeast, and active dry yeast; instant yeast means that you will not have to activate it before using it, you can simply use it right away. Active yeast means you will need to activate it by dissolving it in warm water (and adding a little sugar for the yeast to feed off of). Fresh yeast, on the other hand, has to be refrigerated and has a shorter shelf life so make sure to check if it is dead (if you add it to water with a sprinkle of sugar, and if it doesn't bubble after 10 minutes it is dead).
• Make sure to listen to Danielle on The Storied Recipe Podcast, Making Bread The French Way while you make her Pesto Rolls recipe!

 

• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Baking, Bread, Breakfast
• Cuisine: British

Nutrition

• Calories: 346
• Sugar: 0.2
• Sodium: 407
• Fat: 21
• Saturated Fat: 4
• Carbohydrates: 32
• Fiber: 2
• Protein: 7
• Cholesterol: 5