Warm the milk to around 37C. Add the warm milk, water and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until the sugar has thoroughly dissolved.You can just warm the milk in the microwave before putting into your stand mixer bowl. You just don't want cold milk in your dough as it will take forever to rise!
Now add your sourdough starter, salt and flour and use your stand mixer to knead into a rough dough. This shouldn't take too long (around 2 to 3 minutes). Leave the dough to rest in the stand mixer bowl for around 30 minutes to one hour.
Add the butter and knead into the dough until the dough is smooth and fairly elastic. You may need to increase the speed of your stand mixer to allow the butter to be incorporated (see notes below for tips on adding butter and or kneading by hand).
Transfer to the dough to a bowl and allow to bulk ferment. You want the dough to rise a little (around 30%) and feel soft to the touch. This needs to happen at room temp - not in the fridge. The time it takes will depend on the strength of your sourdough starter and the temperature of your kitchen.
Once the dough has finished rising, you will need to fill and shape ham and cheese pinwheels.
Turn the dough out on to the counter. It shouldn't be sticky and be easy the handle. Do not use flour when rolling out the dough or it will make the pinwheels tough).
Gently roll the dough out into a rectangle. 60cm x 30cm is a good size to aim for. It doesn't have to be perfect, but the bigger you an get it, to more perfect swirls you will get.
Brush the butter over the rectangle of dough, leaving a 10cm gap on one of the long edges. You need to leave a gap so that dough will stick to itself when you roll it.
Now sprinkle over the mozarella, parmesan and diced ham so that it covers the area of dough spread with the butter.
Once the filling is spread, roll the dough into a log, starting on the opposite long edge to the gap you've left.
Roll the dough into a tight log, using the unfilled dough to seal the log. You can spray a little water on the part where the dough joins if you want to - but the dough should stick to itself without it.Lay the log out with the seam underneath.
Cut the log into approximately 12 pieces (you can measure and divide by 12 if you want them to look even - or just go freehand if you're not too fussed). Using dental floss to cut them will help you keep their shape and give the pinwheels a flat surface.
Place the pinwheels onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can also make these in a cast iron skillet if you prefer, but they will join together.
Cover the baking tray with a plastic bag or tea towel and allow the pinwheels to get puffy. The dough is enriched, so it will take a little longer than normal (especially since we are dealing with sourdough).Once the dough is puffy, you can bake them straight away - or see baking timeline above to extend the second rise and hold them in the fridge overnight.
Once the rolls are puffy, it's time to bake them. Preheat your oven to 180C/356F.
Before the sourdough pinwheels are placed into the oven, you need to brush them with melted butter.
Bake rolls for 20 minutes at 180C/356F.
Once they're finished baking, remove from the baking sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool.
