Pizza Pinwheels (Pizza on a Stick!)

Pizza Pinwheels on a Stick | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Today is the first day of school for my two boys. It is always bittersweet. They are excited to see their friends, but the prospect of all that structure and homework has them just a touch apprehensive. I’ll miss them running around the house and yet I look forward to the quiet. I also have another year of coming up with lunches that they will be excited about. The first day of school deserves something particularly special, like something on a stick. This week is also the MN State Fair, where all things edible are on a stick. For some reason everything tastes better balanced on the end of a pointy skewer?

Last year Jeff and I did a baking demo at the FAIR and put cinnamon buns on a stick. One might think pizza is the perfect food as it is, but I think I may have found an improvement, at least for those under the age of 20. Pizza pinwheels on a stick!

Pizza Pinwheels

Makes about 24

1 pound (grapefruit size) piece of dough (I used the Master recipe (page 25), but Olive Oil dough (page 134), Whole Wheat (page 74-9) or even Brioche (page 189) would be great!)

1/2 cup pizza sauce or crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

pepperoni or other favorite toppings

preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Set up 2 0r 3 baking sheet pans with parchment or Silpats, set aside.

Pizza Dough | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thick rectangle, using enough flour so the dough doesn’t stick.

Assembling Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

layer on the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Leave some of the cheese exposed so that it can melt and act as a glue, to hold the pizza rolls together.

Rolling Pizza into a Roll | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Roll the dough into a log, starting at the long end.

Cutting Pizza Pinwheels with a kitchen shears | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Using kitchen shears, cut the dough into 1/2-inch thick buns. (I only baked 16 and then wrapped the rest of the log, refrigerated it and will bake it later this week. You can also cut and freeze the individual pizza rounds to thaw and bake within the next 2 weeks.)

Pizza Pinwheels on a Pan Before the Oven | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Place them on the prepared sheet, leaving plenty of space for them to expand when they bake. Allow them to rest on the counter for about 15-20 minutes.

Baked Pizza Pinwheels | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown and the cheese has melted and caramelized a bit.

Pizza Pinwheels on a Stick | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Put them on a stick or let them cool and pack them in a lunch box!

A Pizza Pinwheel with a bite out of it | Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

They are tasty and fun. Enjoy!

118 thoughts to “Pizza Pinwheels (Pizza on a Stick!)”

  1. Greetings Zoe and Jeff and everyone “listening”. I would like to share my recent experience with the European Peasant bread. I think I know what I goofed on but maybe you could assess the problem. The bread tasted great! 1) I forgot to score the top of the bread…I had pots on the stove that needed tending…with no score there was no room for the steam to excape? 2) I used a Corelle pie dish for the bread…it worked before in a Pyrex pie dish…When I took out the bread the bottom was very moist; as it was cooling a puddle of water formed under the cooling rack. I’ve been cooking and baking for 40 years and have never had that happen! The bread remained soft over the next two days, which was OK as it tasted good. But what happened here?
    Another question: I have a clay bread pan (same material as the pizza stone) that I would like to use for some of the loaf recipes…what do you think? I don’t own a glass or metal or non-stick one.
    Observation: I don’t have a pizza peel yet, I tried the cookie sheet and that was unweildy, so I rest my loaves on large paper plates w/cornmeal on the bottom. Sometimes the dough sticks as I’m sliding it to the pizza stone so I’ve been able to gently lift the dough onto the stone with my hands. Seems to work just fine…I’m careful not to burn my fingers.
    I love this website and have taken the time to view your videos…good info and a great way to know that what I am reading is how it should be done! Great support.

    1. Hi Rosalie,

      I think that the wet dough when baked on a non porous surface, such as the glass or Corelle will result in a soggy crust. What you can do it bake it in that dish and then remove it and finish baking it for the last 10 minutes right on the oven rack, with nothing under it. This will allow the bottom crust to get a bit crisper and I think your issue will be resolved.

      I’ve never used the clay bread pans, but I’m sure it will be lovely. my only concern is that the wet dough may want to stick to it. Be sure to grease it very well and you may even consider putting a piece of parchment on the bottom.

      When you are forming your loaves, you may want to let them rest on a sheet of parchment paper instead of the paper plate. You can just slip the bread and the parchment right into the oven to bake on your dish. Then remove the paper to let it finish baking on the oven rack as I mentioned above.

      Thank you and enjoy the bread! Zoë

    2. Hi
      “1 pound (grapefruit size) piece of dough (I used the Master recipe (page 25), but Olive Oil dough (page 134), Whole Wheat (page 74-9) or even Brioche (page 189)”

      Where do i find those recipes?

      1. If you found the “Master” on page 25, you must have our first book, which came out in 2007 (https://amzn.to/NKKma7 on Amazon), because that’s the book that has the Master on that page. If so, then those other page numbers are exactly right, you’ll find the listed recipes on those pages. If you have the revision of that book (the New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, from 2013, the pages will all be different– this is an old post! Or am I misunderstanding your question?

  2. thought I would try this. bought supermarket pizzzza dough . results very disppoining too flourly outside and fatty iniside.

  3. so, no rest/rise between cutting slices and baking? I usually do when making cinnamon rolls with the brioche dough…

    it’s grabahunk-roll-fill-roll-slice-bake for pizza rolls?

    1. Hi Sue,

      You don’t absolutely have to let them rest, but I usually let them sit for about 15-20 minutes before baking. It makes the dough lighter in texture. I have also done it with no rest and they are still tasty, but the dough is much chewier.

      I added the rest step in the directions on the post! Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

      Zoë

  4. I am making my menu for Christmas day and want to make some rolls. Tradition is a fairly soft roll so I’m wondering which dough would work best. I’m thinking about the WW crescent rolls without the cinnamon. I’d also like to prepare as much as possible ahead of time. Will the refrigerator rise work for rolls? If so, what kind of timing would you suggest? Thanks so much for your timely reply to posts! Happy holidays!

  5. The Pizza Pops look delightful, but perhaps just as delightful is the fact that Dorie Greenspan included HBin5 in her Books by Friends: 2009 Baking Edition on her website recently! Now that’s high praise and totally deserved! Way to go Zoe and Jeff! Love the company y’all are keeping, so to speak! Congrats!

    1. Wow LaJuana,

      I didn’t realize Dorie had done that, how absolutely wonderful. She is one of my baking and writing mentors so that means so much! 🙂

      Thanks, Zoë

  6. Yumm!!! I baked these the other day for my son the other day, they did not last long. Today I made them with a non fat refried black bean and olive tapenade filling, half I added mexican blend grated cheese to, with guacamole and salsa for dipping for lunch. Fantastic!!!!

  7. I just wanted to thank you for posting this recipe online. I heard about your books and was on the library’s waiting list after hearing good words from some blogs. First of all, I am so cursed with bread, it’s become a running joke in our family. Well, I found your site and tried this recipe and it actually rose (my bread never rises)! Then I made these and they were a success! I am so thrilled I said forget the library and ordered HBin5. It’s my Christmas present to myself and my whole family. Thank you so much for creating something that even those who are baking challenged can make!

    1. Hi Kris,

      That is wonderful! Bread should not be so intimidating and I’m thrilled that you are baking!

      Enjoy and happy holidays! Zoë

  8. Thanks Jeff! I will definitely try it both ways. I figure it will be perfect to have in the freezer for the kiddos. I can just grab as many as I need and warm them up!

  9. hi i dont think i can do this with my master recepi coz the dough is very soft,how can i roll it its very sticky.
    it worked nice for he bread but not sure it will work for the pizza

    1. Dina: I’m guessing that you ought to just make it a little drier so you can handle– just increase the flour a bit, maybe a quarter-cup.

      Meanwhile, bet you can dust with lots of flour so that you’ll be able to roll this out… Jeff

  10. I did this yesterday and i had little problem rolling it and my kids went crazy about it…..what a brilliant idea.
    100000 thanks .

  11. Baking some Pizza lollipops in the oven as we speak and they smell absolutely wonderful. I absolutely love this Idea Zoe. This is our trial batch for my sons fifth birthday party. He is really excited about them. I am using the olive oil bread dough recipe with basil pesto and mozzarella cheese.

  12. super idea – I made these and some white basil pizza rolls with grated parm in the pizza dough – fab baby! Best tail gate food ever!

  13. These remind me a dish called “Pepperollies” that a pizza chain in my home town sells, but only at Christmas time. Now I can have them all year! I made a batch last night and they came out very similar to the real thing. The only changes I made were adding both Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese, and brushing the tops of each roll with garlic butter before baking. Not as healthy, but very very good!

  14. I just made 2 batches of these (without the sticks) for a garden party tomorrow. Since they are for adults I added some crumpled Gorgonzola cheese and some fresh chopped herbs for more intense flavors. They came out beautiful and the entire family loved them. Teenage son says they are “Mad Good”! To be sure they make it to the party I had to lock them in the trunk of my car!!!

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Antoinette,

      That is fantastic! This is the first time I have heard of someone hiding the bread in the trunk of their car to keep people from snatching it! LOL!

      Thanks, Zoë

  15. I was thinking about doing this over an open fire when camping. Do you think you could prepare the log ahead of time, put it in a cooler, cut it into slices when you get to the campsite and cook it on a stick over a wood firepit?

  16. I’ll give it a shot. I will probably not be doing it while camping for real until the fall, but I can see how it works in my backyard firepit!

  17. This is a fantastic and very creative recipe. I can imagine the eyes of you boy’s friends in school when the opened their lunch box. 🙂 Not as boring as a sandwich…

  18. I noticed page numbers were mentioned for the dough recipes, I’m just wondering which book they came from??

    1. Hi Katie,

      This post was written when we only had the one book! I was referring to the recipes in Artisan Bread in Five, but you could certainly do this with the whole grain recipes from Healthy Bread in Five. If you make them with the healthy doughs, increase the rising time and baking times.

      Thanks! Zoë

  19. Will this work with the GF dough and what do we need to do differently from the directions here? (Is that what you were referring to in your answer to the last poster?) If so, how much do we increase rising and baking times?

    1. Polly: It may work– problem may be that GF doughs, even when baked, have less structure and may be prone to break off the stick. Try the mini-pizzas first, see how they feel when well-baked. If they have the structure, try the stick!

  20. I made these for a granddaughter’s birthday party. I ended up making two more batches as the party went on. Needless to say they were a hit ! So later this month her sister will have a birthday and this is what she requested. I have been searching for days to find the recipe idea again. I’m so thrilled to see it today. THANK YOU.

  21. Hi Zoe, What a fantastic idea. Nevermind the under 20’s … I’m more than twice that and I love those pizza “lollipops.” I made them with thin slices of roasted chicken breast, red and yellow peppers with a touch of garlic and a huge handful of herbs and halved cherry tomatoes from the garden and of course cheese. Oh yeah – I used mashed butternut as the base sauce just to be healthy :-). The really under 20’s loved them – and so did all the over 20’s. 6 each were gone in 10 minutes flat!

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