Spanakopita Rolls

I was looking for a snack idea, and Glenn suggested I might make spanakopita. I started thinking about that, and made "Spanakopita" Rolls.

 

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/4 cup milk
  
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 8 ounces sourdough starter
  
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 3.25 cups (406 gr) flour
• 1/4 cup powdered milk
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
  

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil,
• 1/2 a large Vidalia onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
  
• 5 ounces (150 gr) baby spinach, chopped (I added in a handful of kale leaves as well)
  
• 9 ounces (270 gr) cottage cheese, drained for an hour or so 
• 4 ounces (120 gr) feta, crumbled
• teaspoon fresh basil, sliced
  
• teaspoon fresh oregano, sliced
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Mix up the dough in your bread machine's dough cycle. (I put the wet ingredients in the bottom, sprinkled on the yeast, and then added the rest of the dry ingredient and let it go.)
   
2. Lightly grease 24 standard muffin tins with cooking spray.
   
3. About 10 minutes before the dough cycle ends, saute the onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil  in a large 12" skillet.
4. Add in spinach, and saute until spinach wilts and releases moisture. Let cool a bit.
   
5. Whirr drained cottage cheese, feta, basil, oregano, pepper and garlic together in a food processor.
6. Add in spinach and onion mix, whirr until mostly smooth.
   
7. Once the dough has risen, place it on a work surface. Divide into two equal size pieces.
   (Mine were about 480 grams each.)
   
8. Roll or pat each piece of dough out into a 12" x 18" in rectangle.)
   
9. Spread half of the spinach filling on each rectangle, leaving 1/2 inch edge on one short side for sealimg.
   
10. Working from 12" side, roll up each rectangle into a ~12" log.  Seal the top seam of the log.
    
     
    
    
11. Cut each log into 12 even pieces.
    (I like to score the dough with a knife where I plan to cut it, and use a piece of dental floss to cut off rolls.)
    
     
    
    
12. You could try to deal one end of each piece by pulling up and pinching the outside layer together.
    (This would keep some of the filling from leaking to the bottom of the pan, but I find this was pretty difficult with the spinach filling)
    
13. Place each roll in a muffin pan well.
14. Let the rolls rise for  about 45 minutes to 1 hour until they have puffed up, and are about 1/2 inch over the top of the pan.
15. About 45 minutes into the rising time, pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
16. Once the rolls have puffed up, place first pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes,
    
17. After 15 minutes, move first pan down, and place second pan in oven.
18. Remove first pan after a total of 30 minutes in oven. Let the second pan cook for another 15 minutes.
19. Let the rolls cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes.
20. Carefully remove the from the pans, finish cooling on a wire rack. (Scoop filling leaks back on top of the roll.)
    

Carole's Notes:

We liked these! The filling leaks a bit, just scoop it back on top when you bring them out of the oven.

The dough recipe is from https://carolelikesroundfood.blogspot.com/2021/11/brioche-cheese-rolls.html and the filling is adapted from https://carolelikesroundfood.blogspot.com/2015/03/spanakopita-bites.html