Holiday Pesto Pinwheel Rolls

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water. Then add 1 Tablespoon of sugar and let the mixture stand for 5 minutes until yeast foams.

Then stir in the warm milk, butter, brown sugar, salt, and wheat flour. Add bread flour gradually and mix to make a stiff dough.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead in the remaining flour until dough is smooth, about 10 minutes.

In another mixing bowl, place 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Place dough ball into the bowl, and turn over to grease the top of the dough. Cover and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled—about 1 1/2 hours.

While dough is rising, combine all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor and mix until a smooth puree is formed. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

When dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into two pieces. On a lightly floured surface roll out each piece into a 1/4″ thick rectangle. Spread pesto evenly onto each rectangle, being sure to get close to the edges. Roll up the dough tightly, rolling lengthwise. Use a sharp knife to slice the dough rolls into 1 inch pieces and arrange the pieces on two lightly greased baking sheets about 1″ apart. Let rise until doubled—about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk together the egg and milk. Lightly brush the tops of each roll with the egg wash. Bake rolls on the middle racks of the preheated oven until golden—12 to 18 minutes.