Pepperoni Rolls

Last fall, Derek & I took a trip to Western Maryland and toured some civil war battlefields.  Along the way at a small family owned bakery we picked up donuts for breakfast and some Pepperoni Rolls for a snack later in the day.  They were just the ticket when we found ourselves wrapping up a tour of Gettysburg at 6 PM and having an hour drive to the place we wanted to eat dinner.

I took one bite and realized it was a handheld version of the pizza bread we used to make in college (don’t ask why I haven’t made it in several years – I’ll have to start making it again) that was basically a cinnamon and raisin swirl bread but with pepperoni and cheese instead.  This was pepperoni and cheese wrapped into a handheld rectangular roll.  I knew I had to try making this at home.  So I had in mind a method to make it when I decided to google it just to check if there were recipes online and realized that this was some sort of regional specialty and there were all kinds of recipes – who knew?!  I ultimately settled on using a Fluffy Dinner Roll recipe from America’s Test Kitchen as my base dough and then tucked in some pepperoni and cheese as I was forming the rolls. And I had a handheld snack that brings back memories of a fun weekend getaway.

Here’s what you need:

I made this bread in a mixer and used the dough hook to knead, so I’m going to focus on that method in my directions versus kneading by hand.

In a microwave safe bowl or large glass measuring cup, combine milk, honey, shortening and butter for 2 minutes or so (depending on your microwave) until butter and shortening are mostly melted.

Allow to cool until about 110 degrees – you want it to be the right temperature for the yeast as well as cool enough to not scramble the egg.  Whisk in 1 egg.

Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook and add to the bowl 5 cups of flour, yeast, and salt.

Turn on the mixer to low speed to mix dry ingredients.  With the mixer still running on low, slowly stream in the milk mixture.

Keep the mixture on low until you’ve incorporated the liquid and dry ingredients and it starts to come together.

Turn the mixer up to medium-low and allow the dough hook to knead the dough for about 8 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic.  After about the 4 minutes the dough should start to clear the sides of the bowl but still be stuck to the bottom.  At first it will alternate between being fully separated from the sides and sticking just a little as it is in this picture, as long as it comes away that’s what you want.  If it doesn’t start to come away, add additional flour about 2 T at a time.

Once the dough is smooth and elastic, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes by hand to form a smooth, round ball.   Place the dough into a large lightly oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl, or in my case a large pot, tightly with greased plastic wrap.  Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size which should take about an hour to hour and a half.  My oven goes down to 80 degrees so I like to use that to let my bread rise.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured counter top and stretch into a rectangle about 10 inches across and 4 wide.  Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 16 pieces –I probably could have made my ends a little more even.

Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, stretch the dough into a rough 4 inch square.  In the middle of the dough overlap 3 pieces of pepperoni, 2 times for a total of 2 layers and 6 slices of pepperoni.  Top pepperoni with about a tablespoon or so of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Fold the long sides of the dough up and over the pepperoni and then the short ends.  Gently press together to seal.

Place each roll on a parchment lined pan, I used a half sheet pan and put 8 rolls on a pan, giving them enough space to rise. Cover rolls loosely with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled about 45 minutes to an hour. You can test the rise with your knuckle – press it into the dough and it should barely spring back.

Beat 1 egg with a tablespoon of water and brush over the top of the rolls.  This will help them to brown.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden, about 28 to 30 minutes.

Cool rolls on pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer (just slide the whole parchment sheet) to a wire rack to finish cooling.

If you can’t stand waiting you can try one once the rolls are still warm but not too hot to pick up and hold.  Because if the roll is too hot to hold, think of the cheese inside.

Once the rolls are cool, wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in a plastic bag.  As will most fresh bread these are best eaten in the first few days after making them.

Pepperoni Rolls

 

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Prep time

3 hours 30 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

4 hours

 

A great snack roll that is stuffed with pepperoni and cheese.

Author: Gravel & Dine

Recipe type: Bread

Serves: 16 rolls

Ingredients

• 1 ½ c whole milk
• ⅓ c honey
• ¼ c vegetable shortening
• 3 T unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 5 – 5 ½ c flour
• 2 ¼ t instant/rapid-rise yeast
• 2 t salt
• 1 6 oz package sliced pepperoni
• 8-16 oz mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. In a microwave safe bowl or large measuring cup, combine milk, honey, shortening and butter and microwave for about 2 minutes until the shortening and butter are almost melted. Whisk together to finish melting.
2. Allow to cool to about 110 degrees and then whish in one egg.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add 5 c flour, yeast and salt. Turn mixer on low to mix dry ingredients together.
4. With mixer on low, slowly stream in the milk mixture. Continue mixing on low until the dry ingredients are mixed in with the wet and a dough forms.
5. Turn mixer up to medium-low and knead dough for about 8 minutes. After about 4 to 5 minutes the dough should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl while remaining attached at the bottom (don’t worry if it pulls away, grabs on and pulls away again). If you don’t see this start to happen add more flour, 2 T at a time. Continue mixing until the dough is smooth and elastic.
6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to form a smooth round ball. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise in a warm place for an hour to an hour and a half until doubled.
7. Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured counter and stretch into a long rectangle about 10 inches by 4 inches. Use a pastry cutting to cut dough into 16 equal portions.
8. Working one piece of dough at a time, stretch dough into a 4 inch square. In the middle of the square overlap 6 pieces of pepperoni, 3 at a time leaving a half inch at the top and bottom. Top pepperoni with 1-2 T of mozzarella cheese.
9. Fold the sides of the dough over the pepperoni, then tuck the top and bottom ends up, pressing to seal. Place dough seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.
10. Cover rolls lightly with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Allow to rise in a warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.
11. Beat remaining egg with a tablespoon of water. Brush egg over top of rolls.
12. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 28 to 30 minutes until golden.
13. Cool on baking sheets for about 10 minutes and then slide parchment onto a wire rack to cool completely. When cool wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in a plastic bag.

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