These sourdough ham and cheese rolls are as delicious as they are beautiful. Savory ham and melted cheese are rolled inside homemade rolls to make perfect pinwheels with a golden brown crust. Make these ahead of time for a picnic lunch or a delicious addition to a summer gathering.
I love when something looks like it took hours of work but was actually so simple to make.
That’s one of the many reasons these sourdough ham and cheese rolls have become a staple at the farmhouse this summer. It’s a great way for me to get lunch on the table without spending too much of my morning prepping.
Besides the bulk ferment time for the roll dough, these pinwheels come together quickly and easily. I highly recommend brushing the hot rolls with a melted butter and parsley mixture. It’s an elevated take on a simple ham and cheese sandwich.
These are great for a variety of occasions. Keep this recipe in your back pocket to use when needed.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Great recipe for small gatherings – While this can be a recipe for a lunch any day of the week, it’s also great for small get togethers or parties.
Make it your own – Experiment with different types of meat and different cheeses to make these sourdough pinwheels your own. Add other toppings like caramelized onion or pickles, too.
Simple to make – These rolls are so simple to make. If you have an active starter, a few pantry staples, and your favorite sandwich filling, you are good to go! Plus, the hands-on time of this recipe is only about 30 minutes.
Tips
- For the best results, melt your butter and allow to slightly cool before adding to the stand mixer. You don’t want to accidentally burn your starter. Same goes for the water: it should be warm, but not hot.
- Be careful to not let your dough over ferment. You’ll know it is over fermented if your dough turns into a wet, sloppy mess. In the summer time, it won’t take your dough as long to double in size.
- If you want to bake the pinwheels right before enjoying, you can put the pinwheels together and then keep covered in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
- You need an active starter for this recipe. Learn how to make a sourdough starter here.
Ingredients
Dinner roll dough
Sourdough starter, active and bubbly
Sugar
Water
Butter
Salt
All-Purpose Flour
Sandwich Filling
Yellow mustard
Deli ham – We like to use honey ham, but there are so many different types of deli meat you could use.
Cheese – We prefer cheddar cheese, but you can use whatever you prefer. Swiss cheese, Pepper Jack, or Colby Jack would all be good, too!
Butter & Parsley (optional for topping)
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Tools You May Need
Stand Mixer – If you don’t have a stand mixer, no worries! You can knead by hand as well.
Kitchen Scale – You can also use volume measurements with measuring cups and spoons.
Rolling Pin
Bench Scraper
How to Make Sourdough Ham and Cheese Rolls
Make the Roll Dough
4-12 hours before starting the dough, feed your sourdough starter. You want the starter to be active and bubbly. Learn how to do the sourdough float test here.
Add all of the ingredients for the rolls into a the bowl of a stand mixer.
Using a dough hook attachment, knead the bread dough on medium for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough becomes elastic and smooth.
You will know it is ready once it passes the windowpane test. Take a small amount of dough and stretch it between your fingers. If you can stretch it to the point where it’s thin enough to see through, then it is ready.
Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes.
Place in a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to double in size. I typically allow it to sit overnight, about 8 to 12 hours. The time this takes will vary on many factors, including the temperature of your home and the maturity of your sourdough starter. Be careful not to over ferment.
Prepare the Pinwheel Rolls
The next day, place dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick rectangle.
Brush with mustard.
Add a layer of ham slices or your sliced deli meat of choice.
Sprinkle cheese on top evenly.
Roll it up. Cut into 12 even slices. A bench scraper works great for this.
Place the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1-2 hours. It should get nice and puffy. Alternatively, you could cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 12-15 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
While baking, mix melted butter and parsley in a small bowl. Brush the freshly baked rolls with melted butter and parsley if desired.
Baker’s Timeline:
This can be started or made at any time. I like to start doughs at night time so they can rise all night. In the morning, they are ready to shape and bake.
Feed sourdough starter with flour and water.
If the sourdough starter is mature, then proceed to creating the dough. This will depend on how mature your starter is and how warm your house is.
Roll out the dough. Add the sandwich filling and roll dough to create the pinwheels. Cut into 12 even slices.
Preheat the oven. Bake (Alternatively, you can put the unbaked pinwheels in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap for 12-15 hours).
Storage
Store these pinwheel sandwiches in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The pinwheels will be best if enjoyed within 3 days.
How to Serve
These are delicious served warm, but also work at room temperature.
These make a great, easy lunch on any old week day. Yet, these are also perfect for gatherings, like bridal or baby showers. I like to serve them with homemade sauerkraut or fermented pickles. These days, we also enjoy them with a salad with fresh garden lettuce.
FAQ
Sourdough is the process of fermenting grains, allowing the natural yeasts to raise the bread and break down the naturally occurring phytic acid and gluten in the grains. This phytic acid breakdown increases some nutrients, like folate, and also makes other nutrients more bio-available. The breakdown of gluten is what makes sourdough easier to digest. Some people that have gluten sensitivities (not celiac disease) may be able to tolerate long-fermented wheat products.
You can totally make these your own! Feel free to use any type of deli meat you or even roast beef or rotisserie chicken. You can also experiment with the cheeses. If you are looking for sweet rolls, check out my Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls or Double Chocolate Roll recipe.
Yes! Organic cane sugar, honey, or coconut sugar will work. Honey will leave you with a stickier dough, though.
Self-Paced Online Course
Simple Sourdough
What’s in this course?
- Make your own robust starter
- Bake your first loaves of sourdough bread
- Understand sourdough better
- Expand your sourdough bread repertoire
- Download my Complete Recipe Book
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Easy Sourdough Lemon Cake
- Sourdough Cheddar Biscuits Recipe
- Quick Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Irish Soda Bread
- Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies With Discard
- Sourdough Garlic Knots
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Easy Sourdough Ham and Cheese Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer Optional
- 1 Kitchen Scale
Ingredients
Dinner roll dough
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter active and bubbly, 113 g
- 1/4 cup sugar , 50 g
- 3/4 cup warm water , 177 g
- 1/4 cup melted butter , 56 g
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 2 g
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , 350 g
Sandwich Filling
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 6 ounces deli ham, or more
- 2 cups cheese
Butter Topping
- 1 tablespoon butter melted + a pinch of parsley, optional topping
Instructions
Make the Roll Dough
- Add all of the ingredients for the rolls into a the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Using a dough hook attachment, knead the bread dough on medium for about 10 to 15 minutes or unti the dough becomes elastic and smooth. You will know it is ready once it passes the windowpane test.
- Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes.
- Place in a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Allow the dough to double in size. I typically allow it to sit overnight, about 8 to 12 hours. The time this takes will vary on many factors.
Prepare the Pinwheel Rolls
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick rectangle.
- Brush with mustard.
- Add a layer of ham slices or your sliced deli meat of choice.
- Sprinkle cheese on top evenly. You can also use slices of cheese as well.
- Roll it up. Cut into 12 even slices. A bench scraper works great for this.
- Place the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to double in size (about 1-2 hours)
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Brush the freshly baked rolls with melted butter and parsley if desired.
Notes
- For the best results, melt your butter and allow to slightly cool before adding to the stand mixer. You don’t want to accidentally burn your starter. Same goes for the water: it should be warm, but not hot.
- Be careful to not let your dough over ferment. You’ll know it is over fermented if your dough turns into a wet, sloppy mess. In the summer time, the time it takes for your dough to double in size will not be as long.
- If you want to bake the pinwheels right before enjoying, you can put the pinwheels together and then keep covered in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for the recipe!!! I was able to use thread to cut them and they were beautiful!
I’m preparing for pre-Thanksgiving snack. Want to make ahead so I’ll be refrigerating them before baking. Should I allow them to do their second rise (1-2 hrs) before or after I put in fridge? And should I sit out and come to room temp before baking?
Lisa! These pinwheels are so easy to make and delicious! Using them for our camping trip with friends for one of our breakfasts. Going to add egg scramble! My friends are going to love them I’m sure!
So easy to make & my kids loved it. Will be making this often!
I’ve been making these once a week for quick homeschool lunches. I double the dough recipe to make one ham & cheese roll & one roll with pizza topping ingredients! My kids love them! They are wonderful served with a side of pickles or sauerkraut. AND…they freeze beautifully! Thank you Lisa for such a great recipe, the possibilities are endless with this one!
These were so simple and my kids LOVED them! Thanks for another great recipe, Lisa!
It was easy to make and turned out really well. I will definitely make it again. Thank you!
This may be a newbie question but I’m making this recipe and every time I have to proof overnight with a towel my dough has a hard crust on the outside the next morning. Why is this? And I never feel like I can tell if it’s doubled in size because it always seems to spread out. I think half the time I’m going to the next step before the dough is where it’s supposed to be.
Please help!
Hi Andrea,
It sounds to me like your dough is drying out. I’d recommend dampening your towel first or using plastic wrap. As for being able to tell if your dough is risen – 2 things, I started using a smaller bowl so there was less spreading, and that seemed to help! Also, another good way to tell if your dough is properly proofed and ready for the next step is to poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly but still leave behind a slight indentation. Hope this helps!
Thankyou!
My family can’t get enough of these rolles.
Wonderful to hear!
Made these tonight . Nice for a change. Should be good for bfast or anytime. I have found with Lisa’s recipes, they work better if I measure & not weight ingredients.