Pepperoni Rolls

MEAT! 

Meat plus bread = MAN FOOD!

These pepperoni rolls were taught to me by my awesome friend, and it is such a versatile recipe to keep in your repetoire. It is sufficient for a meal in itself, it is a great accompaniment to a meaty main course or a hot bowl of soup, and it is a mean snack any time of of the day. (And great with beer, says Michael)

The dough is enriched with an egg and a bit of oil, so it is soft, fluffy, and tasty. The pepperoni and cheese get all meaty and melty and happy together in multiple layers. I don't really like pepperoni by itself or on pizza, but I am a big fan of these rolls!

Figure 2. Second layer of pepperoni and cheese before folding the last flap over

Figure 3. Place rolls seam side down for proofing and baking

Pepperoni Rolls (original source unknown, as taught to me by my friend Shannon)

Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon yeast (I used active dry)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

4 cups flour, more if needed

pepperoni slices (approx. 6 thin slices per roll, so about 100 will do)

~2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions:

In a large bowl (the bowl of your stand mixer if you plan to use it), combine the water, yeast, salt, sugar, garlic, egg, and oil. Let the yeast bloom in the mixture for five minutes. 

Add 1 & 1/2 cups of flour and stir in with a wooden spoon or your dough hook attachment on your mixer. Mix in the rest of the flour a cup at a time and mixing until the dough has coalesced into a cohesive mass and doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl. This may take more than the stated 4 cups of flour. If you cannot hypothetically knead the dough on a floured surface without it sticking to everything, you need to add more flour (add about 1/4-1/2 cup at a time if you've exceeded the original 4 cups). Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Place dough into a large oiled bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel or saran wrap. Let rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled (exact time will depend on the ambient temperature).

Deflate dough, divide in half. Using a kitchen scale you can measure the weight of all the dough and divide into 16 equal portions, or you can roll each half out into a large rectangle approximately 8x12 inches and cut into 8 equal portions (16 total). For each portion that is rolled out into a thin rectangle, put ~3 slices of pepperoni in the middle third and a sprinkle (~1-2 tablespoons) of shredded mozzarella. Make sure to keep the filling within 1/4 inch away of the edges of the dough. Fold over one side over the middle like folding a letter, then top with another layer of pepperoni and cheese. Fold the remaining unadorned third flap of dough over the top of the second layer (see Figure 2 above for reference). Pinch the seam and ends closed, fold the ends down onto the same side as the seam, and place roll on a lined baking sheet with the tucked ends and seam side down (see Figure 3). Repeat with remaining dough and pepperoni. If you have any leftover pepperoni, you can decorate the tops with them, but they don't stick very well to the bread, as we found out.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Let rolls rise again for 30 minutes, covered with a damp towel. Bake pepperoni rolls for 20-30 minutes, depending on how much you stuffed them. They should be nice and puffy and golden brown.

Cool and enjoy! For long term storage, you can put them in a sealed container or bag and freeze them. They defrost and heat up in the microwave wonderfully.