Antipasto Scrolls (The 5 minute knead bread)

These antipasto scrolls are the quickest bread I’ve made. I call it the “5-minute knead bread” because all it requires is 5 minutes of kneading and no proofing time (unbelievable!). I was initially a little worried about how this would turn out as I have never made bread this way before. Fortunately, these scrolls are soft and taste delicious with the Parmesan cheese kneaded into the dough. The best part is it’s still soft the next day. 

The great thing about this Italian appetiser (Antipasto means “before the meal”) is that you can fill it up with any of your favourite ingredients. The recipe recommended ham and char-grilled vegetables – I  made a vegetarian version using grilled capsiucums. I could not find any ricotta cheese at the supermarket, so I replaced that with some low-fat cream cheese. I mixed it with some ready-made sun-dried tomato pesto sauce before spreading it over the dough. 

I also added a dash of herbs into the bread dough before kneading for extra fragrance. To make the dough easier to handle, it is best to refrigerate it for a short while (about 30 mins to 1 hour) after kneading to make it easier to roll out and cut.  This is a really a delicious and easy-to-make Italian bread which is great for as an appetizer, breakfast or to take on a picnic.

To make the dough easier to handle, it is best to refrigerate it for a short while (about 30 mins to 1 hour) after kneading to make it easier to roll out and cut.  This is a really a delicious and easy-to-make Italian bread which is great for as an appetizer, breakfast or to take on a picnic.

Antipasto Scrolls (12 servings)

From MasterChef website

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1x 7 g sachet dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 125 g Perfect Italiano Grated Parmesan
• ¾ cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 100 g thinly sliced smoked ham
• 250 g tub Perfect Italiano Ricotta Original (I substituted with 125 g of low fat cream cheese)
• 1 tablespoon basil pesto (I used sun-dried tomato basil pesto)
• 1 ½ cups char-grilled vegetables, chopped (eggplant, zucchini, red capsicum)
• 1 cup Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus (I omitted this as I thought there was too much cheese already)
• 1 tsp of mixed herbs (my own addition)

Method

• Combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt and half the Parmesan in a bowl. Add water and oil, mix to form a soft dough, adding more water if necessary (I added a dash of mixed herbs as well).
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Add a little more flour if the dough is sticky. (After kneading, I refrigerated the dough for about 30 mins to 1 hour to make it easier to fill and roll. Cover the dough with cling wrap to prevent it from drying out).
• Roll dough into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan over dough, top with ham. Combine Ricotta and pesto and spread over ham, top with vegetables and Pizza Plus. Roll up to enclose filling.
• Cut into 12 rounds and place onto a baking paper lined oven tray. Bake at 200°C for 15 minutes, until cooked and golden.

Tip: Use your favourite filling combination, such as ham and pineapple for younger children or semi dried tomato and red onion. A delicious alternative for school lunches. Reduced Fat Option: Try using Perfect Italiano Light Ricotta, Perfect Italiano Light Pizza Plus, as well as reduced fat char-grilled vegetables as an alternative.