Steak and Pesto Pinwheel Bread

I do believe I have already established my love of the Great British Bake Off and so once again we return to a show inspired dishes.  During Season 5, Richard made a Pesto Pinwheel Bread that, according to the judges, looked and tasted quite good.  The look of it is in fact rather intimidating but, I decided I was up for the challenge. 

However, I wanted something a bit heartier than Richard's original recipe.  I wanted something that I felt confident I could just tear off a couple twists, take to work for lunch, and feel completely satisfied.  This is why my version is made with steak.  This bread can be made with anything though.  Pick a few items that entice your own taste buds and make a great party appetizer or fun lunch item for the week.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 lb 2 oz white flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 oz superfine sugar
10g quick-rise yeast
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 eggs - beaten
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. warm water
olive oil for greasing

Filling:

1 lb stew beef - quarter each cube
1 red onion - quartered and sliced
1 red bell pepper - sliced
5 Tbsp pesto
olive oil for drizzling
1 egg - for egg wash

Directions:

The night before, marinate stew beef in 2 Tbsp pesto.

For the dough:

Put the flour, salt, yeast, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, and 1/8 c. of warm water in your stand mixer.  Using a bread hook, mix until just combined.  Add 1/8 to 1/4 c. of warm water and mix again.  Continue adding portions of the water and mixing until you have a soft dough. 

Turn out the down onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead for approximately 10 minutes.  You want the dough to be smooth and elastic.  Put the dough into a greased bowl and let rise for one hour.

The vegetables:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper - one for onions and the other for bell pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 15 minutes.

Putting it all together:

Turn out the risen dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for 20 seconds.  Split the dough in half, set aside one portion.

Roll out the dough into a circle with a diameter of approximately 12 inches.  Let rest for 5 minutes and then roll again to diameter of 13 inches.  Place on a pizza tray.

Spread remaining pesto onto the bread then layer with beef, onions, and peppers.

Repeat the above rolling instructions for the top layer.

Wet edges of bottom layer with water then lay down the top layer and join together.

Place a small bowl in the center of the pinwheel and cut 16 equally sized striped coming out from the bowl.

Twist each strip twice.

Set aside to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Brush the top of the pinwheel with a beaten egg.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

The dough is a bit on the sweeter side, which surprised me at first but I really like.  Don't worry about the sturdiness of the twists, I have not had a problem with the filling falling out once they are ripped off the pinwheel.  It should turn out to be a sturdy bread and it can handle heavy fillings.  Finally, if you cannot find superfine sugar, do not despair.  Use a blender or coffee grinder to turn granulated sugar superfine.  Just a couple of pulses should do the trick.

I wish you the best on your own pinwheel experiment!