Onion Pinwheels

Name: Onion Pinwheels
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: Manitoba flour 4 cups; Fine salt 1 ¾ tsp; Whole milk lukewarm 5 tbsp; Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp; Water 1 cup; Fresh brewer's yeast 1 tsp; Sugar 1 ¼ tsp; Red Tropea onions 3; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Butter 3 ½ tbsp; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 50 min
Serving: 6
Cost: Low
Note + 2 1/2 hours rising time

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Sebastian Fitarau

Onion Pinwheels built on a homemade leavened dough hold their own at an aperitivo spread, a dinner table, or a picnic basket. The filling does most of the work: cipolle rosse di Tropea — a red onion variety prized for its natural sweet-and-sour character — are cooked slowly until they collapse into something soft, sweet, and irresistibly juicy. That jammy depth is what separates these from generic savory rolls, and it comes through in every golden, pull-apart layer. There is nothing fussy about the process, but the result tastes like it took more effort than it did.

The leavened dough gives these onion pinwheel rolls a tender, slightly chewy crumb that holds the filling without turning soggy — which also makes them reliable travelers. Serve them warm straight from the oven as a snack for a crowd, set them out as an appetizer before a relaxed dinner with friends, or pack them whole for an outdoor picnic and they still deliver at room temperature. Unlike the puff-pastry or shortcrust versions you might have seen elsewhere, the bread-style dough is what gives them that rustic, satisfying bite that keeps people coming back for one more.

INGREDIENTS

For the dough: Manitoba flour 4 cups (500 g); Fine salt 1 ¾ tsp (10 g); Whole milk 5 tbsp (75 g) - lukewarm; Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp (25 g); Water 1 cup (225 g); Fresh brewer's yeast 1 tsp (5 g); Sugar 1 ¼ tsp (5 g)

For the filling: Red Tropea onions 3; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Butter 3 ½ tbsp (50 g); Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Onion Pinwheels

To make the onion pinwheels, start with the dough: in a bowl add the sugar and the fresh brewer's yeast 1, pour in the lukewarm water 2 and stir 3.

In a separate, larger bowl add the Manitoba flour, the lukewarm milk 4, the salt 5 and the oil 6.

Also add the yeast dissolved in water 7 and knead by hand in the bowl 8 to bring the ingredients together. Then transfer the dough to the work surface 9.

Continue kneading until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous dough 10. Place it in a bowl 11, cover with plastic wrap 12 and let it rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled.

In the meantime, clean and slice the onions 13. In a skillet heat the oil and butter 14, then add the onions 15.

Salt 16, pepper and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, or until soft 17. Retrieve the risen dough 18.

Roll it out on the work surface first with your hands 19 and then with a rolling pin 20 to form a rectangle. Fill with the stewed onions leaving about 3/8 in from the edge 21.

Roll the dough up from the long side 22 to form a log. Seal the edge well 23, dust with a little flour and then cut into pinwheels about 1¼–1½ in wide 34.

You should get about 12 pinwheels 25. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spaced well apart 26 27.

Cover with plastic wrap 28 and allow to rise again for 30–40 minutes. Once the second rise is complete, bake the pinwheels in a preheated conventional oven at 392°F for 25–30 minutes, until golden 29.

Storage

Store the onion pinwheels in the refrigerator in a closed container with a lid for up to 2–3 days, and reheat them in the oven before eating!

Tip

If you want to make these pinwheels even more indulgent and melty, add a few cubes of well-dried smoked provola or some grated Parmigiano on top of the onions before rolling the dough.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.

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