Cheddar Bacon Pinwheels

These were some of the yummiest rolls I've ever made, and I have to thank blogger extraordinaire Pattie Tierney of Olla-Podrida. Along with a richly varied collection of tempting recipes and beautiful table settings accompanied by well-written narratives, Pattie consistently presents the most beautiful breads on her blog, and many of them are made using her bread machine. This recipe is adapted from her Ham and Cheddar Rolls.

I started making yeast breads when I was a newlywed, and through the years I have made countless cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, kringles, loaves of bread, and pizza dough. I resisted buying a bread machine because I felt that my hands and mixer were more than adequate to the task of mixing and kneading. As I grow older my desire to bake and cook is waning as I long to spend more time quilting and creating in my loft. But we do still love homemade bread!

I was intrigued by the endless supply of delectable looking breads that Pattie attributed to her Sunbeam bread machine, so I asked her a few questions about using it. Last week (with Pattie egging me on) I just decided to do it, and my husband said "go for it", so I ordered it from Amazon, and it arrived Tuesday evening. Yesterday I threw the ingredients for the rolls into the machine, set it to "Dough", and away it went. One and one half hours later I had risen dough. I rolled it out, filled it with goodies, let it rise, and baked it. So easy!

Be sure to visit Pattie's tutorial with photos. Pattie made her rolls in a muffin tin, and I baked mine on a baking sheet to resemble cinnamon rolls. I changed the recipe slightly, adding some self-rising cornmeal and using whole wheat pastry flour instead of wheat flour. I love adding cornmeal because I love the texture and flavor it lends to a bread recipe. I forgot to buy ham, so I crumbled a couple pieces of cooked bacon over the dough, and I had no scallions so I used what I had on hand - dried chives. What resulted was a tender, buttery, savory, melt-in-your-mouth roll that rivaled any I've made in the past 40 years. My goal is to try every bread on Pattie's blog.

Cheddar Bacon Pinwheels
Adapted from the original Ham and Cheddar Rolls
My version produced 16 rolls

Dough:
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup 1% milk
6 tablespoons shortening
3 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup self-rising cornmeal
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pkg dry yeast
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 extra-large eggs

Filling:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
crumbled bacon bits
2 tablespoons dried chives

Place dough ingredients into work bowl of bread machine in order suggested by manufacturer. Set machine on "Dough" setting and press "Start". When machine has completed dough-making cycle (90 minutes on mine) remove dough to lightly floured surface and roll into large rectangle. Spread with butter; sprinkle cheese evenly over buttered surface and top with bacon and chives. Beginning at long end, roll up as tightly as possible, pinching seam to seal. Slice into 1" thick pieces. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet in warm spot and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 40-50 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and leave in pan for 5-10 minutes before carefully removing to a wire rack to cool completely.