Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

The perfect balance of sweet and savory, these Ham and Cheese Pinwheels are delicious bites of heaven! Soft, tender homemade bread wrapped around a creamy honey-mustard filling, melty cheese, and salty ham, you’ll want to make these pinwheels any chance you get!

I have zero restraint when it comes to these Ham and Cheese Pinwheels.

Truly. Zero restraint.

Lately I haven’t had a ton of time to develop recipes involving bread dough, which makes me sad because your girl love bread. Making bread, eating bread, smelling bread- all the bread things. And these little pinwheels are no exception to my love and really hit the spot when I was itching to develop a bread-forward recipe.

These ham and cheese pinwheels are the perfect combination of a lot of great things: sweet, savory, creamy, salty, buttery, tangy, soft, melty, crunchy…literally, all of these adjectives accurately describe these pinwheel rolls. The bread is super soft and tender, lightly sweet, and is so easy to work with. The honey-mustard filling is equally creamy, tangy, and sweet and serves as the perfect companion to salty ham and melty cheese. Finished with some melted butter and poppy seeds and you’ve got yourself a winner, folks.

Speaking of cheese, I used Swiss and Gruyere cheese for these pinwheels, and holy smokes was that a great choice. These cheeses in particular add a little nuttiness, a little salt, and a little sweet. Are you sensing a theme here? We’re going for the right balance of all the good flavors. You can swap out other cheeses if you like, but be sure that they are a hard cheese that can be easily grated. White cheddar, asiago, Pecorino Romano, etc.

Hoping and praying you make these Ham and Cheese Pinwheels ASAP because you 100% will not regret it. They’re perfect for just about any occasion. Let me know if you also experience the same level of non-restraint.

Happy baking!

What you’ll need to make ham and cheese pinwheels:

Active dry yeast: Yeast is the key player in fermentation. The yeast feeds on the sugars in the dough and produces carbon dioxide, which gives the dough it’s rise. The yeast also helps strengthen the dough and gives it flavor.

Honey: Honey adds a deeper flavor and sweetness to the pinwheel rolls, and gives them a beautiful golden color.

Whole milk: The fat content of whole milk creates a richer, softer roll, while the sugar in the milk helps tenderize the dough and activates the yeast.

Bread flour: For structure. The higher protein content in bread flour makes it stronger, which allows this dough to stand up to shaping and heavier filling.

Sugar: Sugar of course adds sweetness, but also helps tenderize the dough and activates the yeast.

Kosher salt: For flavor and balance.

Egg: For structure and binding.

Butter: Using melted butter in the dough adds richness, moisture, and flavor to the pinwheel rolls.

Sour cream: Sour cream makes these rolls extra soft, adds moisture, and helps create a tender texture.

Cream cheese, honey, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard powder, kosher salt, black pepper, Swiss and Gruyere cheese, and deli ham for the filling.

Melted butter and poppy seeds for the topping.

How to make ham and cheese pinwheels:

These delicious bites start with a homemade bread dough that’s super soft, tender, and all-around easy to work with!

Here’s how it starts. First, add the yeast, honey, and warm milk to a small bowl and stir briefly to combine. Set this aside for 10 minutes or so until the yeast is activated and the mixture looks foamy.

Next, add the bread flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on and let it combine the dry ingredients together. To the dry ingredients, add the foamy yeast mixture, one egg, melted butter and sour cream. Turn the mixer on medium-low speed and mix until a shaggy dough forms (this takes about 2 minutes). It should look like this.

Switch to the dough hook attachment on your mixer and turn the mixer on to medium speed, kneading the dough for about 12 to 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should feel tacky at this point, not super sticky.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl that’s been sprayed with non-stick spray, and turn the dough a few times so that it’s coated in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it’s doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Once your dough has doubled in size, punch it down to remove all the air. Let it rest for 5 minutes or so while you prepare the honey-mustard filling (i.e. stirring all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy 🙂 ) and spray a 9×13″ baking pan with non-stick spray. If you don’t have a 9×13″ pan, prep two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a 14×12″ rectangle. Spread the honey-mustard filling evenly over the dough, being sure to cover the entire surface.

Next, sprinkle both of the cheeses over the filling. Then arrange the slices of ham in a single layer over the cheese.

Time to roll! Starting from one short end of the dough, roll it into a tight jelly roll.

Use a very sharp knife (I prefer a serrated knife), cut the jelly roll log into 12 equal rounds. I found the rounds cut cleaner and easier by using a back-and-forth sawing motion with the knife.

Arrange the rounds in the prepared pan, making sure to space them out evenly to give them a bit of room to grow. Lightly cover the pan with plastic wrap and leave them to rise again in a warm, draft-free place until they’re puffy and beginning to crowd each other, about 45 minutes. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 375°F.

After the second rise, brush the pinwheels with melted butter and sprinkle some poppy seeds on top!

Pop the pinwheels in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the bready portion of a pinwheel reads 190°F. They should look (and smell) super delicious, like this:

I mean, can you even?! I cannot tell you how GOOD these ham and cheese pinwheels are. They’re best warm from the oven, so eat up!

FAQs:

Why is this recipe primarily listed in grams? I develop my recipes in grams because weighing your ingredients is the best, most accurate way to bake. Baking is a science and precision is key to success! Measuring cups are not standardized, and what’s more, the way each baker uses them varies drastically, which ultimately gives you inconsistent (and sometimes negative) results. For instance, did you know that scooping flour out of a cannister can give you 50% more flour than what’s called for in the recipe? By weighing your ingredients rather than using measuring cups, you can confidently know that you are using the correct amount of each ingredient, giving you greater success & delicious results. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale, like this one when you bake. Plus, it makes clean up a lot easier!

Can I use different cheeses? Yes, but be sure to use firm cheese that can be grated and melts well. I like the balance of Swiss and Gruyere, but you could try other cheeses like parmesan, asiago, or white cheddar!

How do you know when these are done? These don’t take too long to bake- only 20 to 25 minutes. You’ll know the pinwheels are done baking when the rolls are golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the bread portion of a roll registers 190°F.

A few notes before you bake:

If you don’t have a 9×13” baking pan, you can divide the rolls between two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans.

Serving ham and cheese pinwheels: These are best eaten fresh from the oven! If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container and pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before enjoying.

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