After having got a lovely loaf of aata (whole wheat) bread, I wanted to play with more baking with aata. Found this recipe of pesto parmesan skillet rolls here and loved the look of them! Now if you want to make them with Maida/Plain flour, simply follow the recipe as it is. I wanted to make them eggless and whole wheat, so I made some changes to my aata bread recipe and Bingo! A skillet full of yum 😀

Had this heavy cast iron skillet resting on the shelf, which I have never used. It has found its use now.
I whipped up some basil pesto, replacing pine nuts with almonds and cashews for a nice creamy twist. (Find the recipe here) and some of it went into the dough along with half a cup of cheese.

I am going to try making these with our very own ‘Dhaniye ki chutney’ the next time for a very Indian take on these buns. I guess I will add some peanuts to the chutney to make it creamy. Mmmm..Sounds like a plan!

So here goes

Bowl 1
2 ¼ tsp Active dry yeast/ 1 tsp Instant yeast
½ cup warm water
2 Tbsp sugar

Bowl 2
½ cup warm milk
2 Tbsp pesto
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp salt
(1 egg, if using)

Other ingredients
3 – 3 ¼ cup of flour
½ cup of cheese, grated (Parmesan/cheddar/mozzarella or any you have at hand)
More warm water as needed to knead the dough.
Olive oil for greasing the skillet and brushing the buns
Some basil leaves for garnish
More pesto for serving with the buns

Mix all the ingredients of Bowl 1 and let sit for 10-14 minutes till the yeast becomes frothy.
Mix all the ingredients of Bowl 2 and stir well.
In a large kneading bowl take 3 cups of flour and half a cup of grated cheese. Add the ingredients of bowl 1 and bowl 2 and mix well. It will all come together as a rough dough. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Knead for 10-15 minutes adding a little water or flour as needed till you get a smooth dough. It is okay if it is a little sticky. Do not add too much flour.
Cover and let rise till doubled ( It took me 30 minutes). Stick two fingers into the dough to check it the first proof is done. If the indentations remain, the dough is ready for shaping.

Preheat the oven to 190C and grease the skillet (or a heavy baking pan) generously with about one tbsp olive oil.
Deflate the dough and divide into 12-15 equal parts. Roll them into ball shapes. Stick a piece of cheese in like I did to surprise the kids!
Place the prepared rolls on the skillet and brush with olive oil. Cover with a greased cling film and let rise for another 15-30 minutes till they are nicely puffed up.
Sprinkle some cheese and spread some pesto over the rolls.
Bake for 30-35 minutes till the tops are browned.
Serve with soup and more pesto.