Homemade Pesto Dinner Rolls
No more bland dinner rolls, these soft homemade buns taste amazing, with a little help from some pesto. Choose your favourite Pesto and make some delicious Homemade Pesto Dinner Rolls.
A few weeks ago I made some homemade Pesto with Arugula. It was so good I knew I had to use it for more than just pasta! And use it I did. The first time I tried Basil pesto I was on the fence about, I just didn’t understand why everyone was loved it.
But then I came to my senses. I started to make my own and I was converted. Especially when I made a Red pepper pesto. I just love the stuff. I was even eating it by the spoonfuls right out of the jar!
Recipe Ingredients
- Water – lukewarm water, make sure the temperature is between 98-105F
- Active dry yeast
- Granulated sugar
- All purpose flour or bread flour
- Salt
- Pesto – your choice I used arugula pesto for these rolls
I like to use active dry yeast but you could also use instant yeast, for every teaspoon of active dry yeast substitute with 3/4 teaspoon of instant.
How to make Homemade Dinner Rolls
In a small bowl add the water and sprinkle on the yeast and sugar. Let sit then stir to combine.
In a large bowl of a stand up mixer add the flour and salt and whisk together, make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture and pesto. Mix with the hook attachment until smooth.
Remove dough from the bowl and knead a couple of times to form a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, place in a warm draft free area and let rise until doubled.
Remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down, divide into balls, place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and cover with tea towel, let rise. Brush the buns with a little milk, then bake until golden and baked.
Once I started to experiment with it, I discovered so many delicious recipes to make. I think one of our favourites were a Pesto Pizza I made with fresh tomatoes and Mozzarella.
But then I thought why not bread? My house in Italy is quite cool in the winter so making homemade bread can be a challenge. But once the sun warms up the house its bread making time for me. There is nothing like homemade yeast breads, such as Soft Dinner Rolls. So why not make some Pesto Dinner Rolls too!?
I can tell you these were gone in a day. I served these Dinner Rolls at lunch (the Italian needs his bread) and I used them as hamburger buns for dinner. They were perfect.
How to tell when Dinner Rolls are done
The inside temperature of the roll measures 190-200F / 88-100C or knock on the bottom of the roll and if it sounds hollow it is done.
More Pesto Recipes you may enjoy!
Can the dough be made by hand?
Yes you can make the dough without a stand mixer, the dough will have to be kneaded for about 18-20 minutes by hand.
There really is nothing difficult about making bread, you just need time. Time for the dough to rise, time for baking and if you have a good mixer that kneads the dough even better! So let’s make some Dinner Rolls with Pesto. Buon Appetito!
Homemade Pesto Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water (150 grams total, if you double the recipe, double this amount)
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour or bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons pesto (basil, arugula, parsley or your favourite) (I used arugula pesto)
Instructions
- In a small bowl add the water and sprinkle on the yeast and sugar. Let sit for approximately 5 minutes then stir to combine.
- In a large bowl of a stand up mixer add the flour and salt and whisk together, make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture and pesto.
- Mix with the hook attachment until smooth, approximately 10-15 minutes. (stop in the middle to scrape down the sides and the hook).
- Remove dough from the bowl and knead a couple of times to form a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, place in a warm draft free area and let rise until doubled about 2 hours.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down, divide into 8 balls, place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and cover with tea towel, let rise one hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C).
- Brush with a little milk, then bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until golden and baked. Enjoy!
Notes
How To Store Bread Rolls
Dinner Rolls should not be refrigerated as this will dry them out. They should be stored in an air tight bag or container and kept at room temperature. They will last up to 5-6 days at room temperature. Anything longer than that and they should be frozen. Place in a freezer safe bag or container and freeze. They will last up to six months in the freezer.How To Reheat Them
Place the rolls on a baking sheet or wrap in foil and warm in a pre-heated 325F (160C) oven. Heat for about 5-8 minutes or until warm.Nutrition
Updated from June 26, 2018.
I would like to make smaller rolls like 16 vs 8 ~ a side for soup & salad buffets along with other rolls & breads. Love pesto & bread.
Hi Di, great idea, bake for a little less time. Take care!
Can I make these rolls without pesto? My family is not very keen on pesto, but the rolls look very good…. Would I have to change the amount of some ingredients?
Hi Gabriela, I would recommend trying these dinner rolls instead, https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/soft-dinner-rolls/ , I hope you like them. Take care!
These sound amazing. At what speed do you knead the dough?
Hi Gwen, I always knead the dough on speed #2 except when at the very beginning when I add the flour and I do that on speed #1. 🙂
OMG!! Bread and pesto? What a fantastic combination. I’ve made pesto with basil and Italian parsley but never with arugula. I bet the peppery bite to the arugula makes it fantastic. And don’t even get me started on bread — it’s a weakness. The aroma. The taste! WOW! I’ll have to try this out.
Hi Marisa, thanks so much. And yes the peppery bite of arugula is so good! Let me know how it goes.