Arugula Pesto Pinwheel Bread

We love arugula in this house. We have it in so many forms and arugula pesto is one of our favourite pestos. The nutty, earthy, slightly bitter flavour of arugula makes it such an amazing addition to any food. And what’s not to love about an arugula pesto bread pinwheel?

Ingredients for Arugula Pesto Pinwheel Bread

Pesto can be enjoyed with so many things. We use it for pasta, pizza, dipping sauce, and this arugula pesto pinwheel. Pesto is easy to make with just a few ingredients.

The Ingredients List for Pinwheel Bread

• Arugula pesto
  • 3 cups fresh arugula
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup blanched sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup parmesan
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
  • 1/4 cup good quality olive oil
• Bread dough
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use 2 cups regular and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)

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Arugula Pesto for the Pinwheel Bread

The first step to making the pinwheel bread is to make the pesto.

• Put 3 cups of fresh arugula, 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup parmesan, 1/4 cup blanched sliced almonds, salt, and pepper into a food processor.
• Blend to grind the arugula. You might need to push the arugula down once so all of it gets processed.

• While the processor is running, slowly pour 1/4 cup of olive oil over the arugula and let it continue to run.
• Pouring the oil slowly makes a more homogenous pesto.
• Once it’s ready, pour it into a bowl and pour a little extra olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) just on top of the pesto. This ensures that the pesto doesn’t become discoloured.
• If you don’t put the oil, the very top of the arugula pesto becomes oxidized and darkens a little. It will still taste fine, but you want it to look and taste the best it can.

The Yeast

The next step is the dough. In order to get a good dough, we need to bloom the yeast.

• Heat 1 and 1/4 cup of water to 110 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl or a measuring cup, pour 2 teaspoons of yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar. Mix well.
• Pour the water into the yeast and mix well so the yeast is evenly distributed.
• Set it aside for about 15 minutes. The yeast needs to be activated and the sugar and the perfect temperature of the water help it bloom.

The Dough for Pinwheel Bread

This bread dough is similar to pizza dough. Let’s get it going.

• In a large mixing bowl, add 3 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour.
• To the flour, add 1 teaspoon of salt and mix well.
• By now the yeast should have bloomed. Add all of the yeast liquid to the flour.
• At the same time, add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and 1/4 cup of melted butter to the bowl.
• Mix well to form the dough.

Kneading and Rising of the Dough

To get a good soft, playable dough, we must knead it well.

• Sprinkle some flour on a clean counter and knead the dough for about 5 minutes.
• Put it back into the bowl and pour a little bit of oil on it.
• Cover it with a damp tea towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down a little to push out the air bubbles. Divide the dough into two equal parts and roll it into two 12 inch circles.

Making the Arugula Pesto Pinwheel Bread

Now on to the pinwheel bread.

• Line a 12 inch round baking tray with parchment paper and place one layer of rolled dough on it.
• Pour about 1 cup of the arugula pesto on the dough and spread it all over – all the way to the ends.

• Place the second rolled dough circle on top of the pesto layer, and press down slightly to ensure that it adheres.
• Now, let’s turn this into an arugula pesto pinwheel bread. To make it into a pinwheel, you will need to cut the circle into 24 equal strips. But remember not to cut it all the way to the center. I leave about a 2 inch circle in the center that will help hold the pinwheel together.

Now comes the fun part. This is the part my kids love most. They argue over who rolls the best.

• To make the pinwheel, you need to twist each of the strips three times.
• Gently lift each strip and roll it 3 times.
• Continue to roll each of the strips until you have rolled all 24.
• Make sure to twist each strip in the same direction.

Baking the Arugula Pesto Pinwheel Bread

Now to bake the pinwheel bread so you can enjoy it.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the baking tray on the middle rack and bake it for 5 minutes.
• Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F. This allows the bread to crisp up and then bake so it’s soft inside and crisp outside. Bake it for about 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow it to cool down for 2 mins on the baking tray, then remove and cool on a cookie rack.

• I use the leftover pesto as a dipping sauce. I just add a little more olive oil to the pesto to make it more like a dip and we all love it.
• This pinwheel is a great accompaniment to pasta.

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