Also known as pizza pinwheels, pizza scrolls are a combination of delicious pizza toppings wrapped in fluffy pizza dough. They make a delicious brekky, lunchbox treat or picnic snack.

  • Easy to make.
  • Incredibly customisable – pick your favourite pizza toppings.
  • Super cheesy and delicious.
  • Love by kids and adults alike.
  • Make ahead and freezer friendly.
  • Great for picnics and lunchboxes.
  • Eat them hot or cold.

Perfect for using up leftover pizza dough – all pillowy, soft and tasty – but you can speed things up and use puff pastry instead! Puff pastry will give you a crispier finish so choose what works best for you.

8 pizza scrolls on a baking tray.

Table of contents

Ingredients you’ll need

Ingredients for pizza scrolls on a baking tray.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

For the bread dough

If you can purchase pizza dough, that will certainly work but I find making dough from scratch to be so therapeutic and it’s incredibly tasty too.

  • Flour: Bread flour is all you need. It’s higher protein content helps to get the perfect chewy texture. That said, plain flour (aka all purpose flour) will also work.
  • Yeast: You’ll need instant dry yeast or active dry yeast for this recipe. Always keep yeast stored in the fridge.
  • Sugar: just a touch of sugar feeds the yeast and helps it do its job.
  • Salt: just a touch of salt to season the dough.
  • Olive oil: this adds to the flavour and texture of the dough.

The pizza scroll fillings

  • Pizza sauce: I use my homemade pizza sauce here. It’s so simple to make but you can certainly use store-bought too. If you’re in the US, a marinara sauce is perfect.
  • Ham / Bacon: Diced ham or bacon is traditional but you can replace this with sliced ham or even with something like rotisserie chicken if that’s what you have on hand.
  • Cheese: A good creamy cheddar cheese or the milder mozzarella cheese are perfect here. Choose your favourite but please buy a block and grate it yourself – the pre-shredded style cheese has coatings that prevent it from melting nice and smoothly. You can also use a rich cheese like gruyere or something creamy like gouda. Delicious!
  • Other toppings: The toppings above are the classic ones you’ll find but you can make your pizza your way. Other great things you can add or swap for those above are;
    • Pepperoni (chopped up)
    • Olives (sliced)
    • Pineapple (dry it first and cut it into finer pieces)
    • Spring onion or chives (these are actually fantastic made as a cheese and chive roll).
    • Capsicum / Bell pepper
    • Onion (finely chopped)
    • Sundried tomatoes
    • Mushrooms

Get creative! More filling ideas

Think of all the things you love on pizza and add those in. You can even turn your favourite pizza flavour into pizza scrolls, for instance a bbq meat-lovers pizza, chicken pesto or this tandoori chicken pizza! Why not go for a greek version, adding spinach, feta and a sprinkling of oregano.

You don’t want to overfill your pizza pinwheels / pizza scrolls or they’ll become difficult to roll. I find up to 1 ½ cups works well.

How to make it (step-by-step)

A collage showing how to make the pizza scroll dough.

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

Make the dough

  1. Start by mixing water, sugar and yeast then let it bloom.
  2. Now combine all the dough ingredients and knead. This will take 6-7 minutes in a stand mixer using a dough hook or around 10-12 minutes by hand.
  3. Let the dough rise for around 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
A collage showing how to assemble pizza scrolls.

Assembling the pizza scrolls

  1. Roll the dough out to a rectangle about 25cm x 35cm (10×14 inch).
  2. Spread over the pizza sauce. If you’re making my pizza sauce, it’s a simple process of mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl and it’s ready to go.
  3. Add ham and any other toppings before scattering over cheese.
  4. Roll it up into a log (long side to long side) then cut into 8 even pieces with a sharp knife.
  5. Place the scrolls onto a baking tray – cut side pointing up – then top with a little more cheese.
  6. Brush the sides with egg wash, then bake for around 22-25 minutes until golden.

Tips and tricks

  • Blooming the yeast: Technically, you don’t need to bloom instant yeast but you do with active dry yeast. I take this step every time though with instant yeast so that if it’s no good, I know before I’ve wasted a lot of ingredients and time. The yeast will start to puff up on top of the water after 5-10 minutes if it’s healthy and good to use.
  • Warm water: Still on the yeast, you want to bloom it in warm water – not hot. Hot water will kill the yeast and cold water will just make your dough take a long time to rise.
  • Kneading by hand: If kneading by hand, the dough is sticky but don’t be tempted to add extra flour as it will dry as it develops gluten and become easier to handle. I find when kneading by hand a dough scraper in one hand while kneading with the other is really helpful.
  • Get creative with your flavours: See my fillings section above for more ideas. Pick your favourite regular or even gourmet pizza flavours.
Top down close up of the top of a pizza scroll.

Yield

This pizza scrolls recipe makes 8 large scrolls (a little smaller than your fist). If you want smaller ones, you can either cut the log into 12 instead of 8, or divide the dough into two and roll 2 smaller rectangles, in which case you could get 16-20 mini pizza pinwheels.

Storage and making ahead

The dough

The dough can be made ahead and left to prove in the fridge overnight. You can use it straight from the fridge for fresh pizza scrolls for breakfast.

You can also freeze the pizza dough for another time. Make the dough, then before letting it rise, place it in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw at room temperature (this takes about 1 hour or so).

Making ahead

You can make the entire rolls ahead of time and sit them on the baking tray, covered in plastic wrap, in the fridge overnight. Let them sit at room temperature for ½ an hour before baking.

You can freeze the prepared rolls, prior to baking. Place them on a baking tray and freeze until solid then transfer to an airtight container with squares of baking paper between them so you can take them as you crave them. I find they bake best if thawed first so let them thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.

Already baked

Scrolls that are already baked, will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Let them come to room temperature before serving or zap them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to get them nice and hot again.

A pizza scroll torn open to show the texture of the dough.

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Close up of 8 pizza scrolls on a baking tray.

Pizza Scrolls

Yield: 8 scrolls
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rising time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
5 from 7 ratings
Classic pizza scrolls, just like you’d find at an Aussie bakery. They’re a soft, fluffy bread stuffed with all your favourite pizza toppings. Don’t feel like making dough? You can even use puff pastry!
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Ingredients

EASY PIZZA SAUCE

  • ½ cup passata (tomato puree)
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs (notes 1)
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar

PIZZA DOUGH

  • ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon warm water (not hot) (notes 1)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons instant dry yeast (or active dry yeast)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 260 g bread flour (2 cups / 9.1oz) (notes 2&3)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

FILLING

  • 150 g shredded cheddar (or mozzarella)
  • 1 cup diced ham (or bacon or mixed chopped pizza meats)
  • Up to ½ cup extra toppings to your taste (notes 7)
  • 1 egg yolk, mixed with a dash of water or milk

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • THE PIZZA SAUCE:
    In a small bowl, combine the passata, tomato paste, herbs, onion powder, salt and sugar and mix well. Set aside.
  • FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH:
    Mix the warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It should look frothy on top at the end – if it doesn't you'll need to get a fresh pack of yeast.
  • In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached, combine the flour, salt, olive oil and yeasted water mixture.
  • Mix on low-medium speed for 7-8 minutes until smooth and elastic. See notes for kneading by hand.
  • Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside, flipping until it's lightly oiled all over. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for ½ an hour or until it has doubled in size – see notes.
  • After it has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a rectangle, roughly 25cm x 35cm (10×14 inch)
  • FILLING THE SCROLLS
    Preheat oven 200°C (180°C fan) / 400F. Line a medium baking tray with baking paper.
  • Spread ⅔ cup of pizza sauce over the dough
  • Scatter over the ham (or chosen meats), and other optional toppings. Don't overfill. It's best to keep to 1 ½ cups or less of ham and other filings (not including the cheese).
  • Sprinkle over most of the cheese, leaving a large handful for topping.
  • Roll the dough up (from the longest side) into a long log. Cut the log into 8 even pieces with a sharp knife.
  • Place scrolls onto baking tray approximately 1 inch apart, cut side up. Top with remaining cheese.
  • Brush the sides with the egg wash.
  • Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden on the outside and cooked through.
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. TABLESPOONS: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons worldwide).
  2. FOR BEST RESULTS: you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop)
  3. FLOUR: The bread flour can be swapped for plain / all purpose flour. Bread flour gives a slightly chewier texture to the baked pizza dough.
  4. YEAST: You can use instant dry or active dry interchangeably. If you have rapid rise, the dough may rise quicker than this recipe states.
  5. KNEADING BY HAND: You can knead the dough by hand but it is a little sticky. Please resist the urge to add flour. It will eventually firm up and stop sticking to your hands and bench top. It should take around 10 minutes to get smooth and elastic.
  6. RISING TIME: Normally half an hour will be enough for the dough to double in size (especially if you place it under a warm light or lamp) but it may take up to an hour or longer in winter. Just make sure it doubles in size.
  7. EXTRA TOPPINGS: Try sliced olives, finely chopped pineapple (dried on paper towel), diced capsicum (bell pepper), diced mushrooms, roasted peppers or sundried tomatoes. See the post for more great ideas.
  8. SLOW RISE: For a more intense flavour to the pizza dough, leave it to rise overnight in the fridge. Then simply roll straight from the fridge and assemble your pizza scrolls.
  9. FREEZING DOUGH: You can freeze pizza dough after the first rise. After turning it out onto a lightly floured surface, shape it into a ball, coat with a little oil all over and place in a zip lock bag. Place it straight in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  10. TO THAW: Place in the fridge overnight. Take it out of the fridge ½ an hour before you’re ready to make pizza.
  11. SCROLLS CAN BE FROZEN: Baked or unbaked, the pizza scrolls can be frozen. Place raw rolls on a baking tray then transfer to an airtight container for up to 3 months.
  12. See all the options for making ahead and reheating.
MORE PIZZAS AND STREET FOOD!
Calories: 244kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Australian
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.