West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls, two ways #BBB

 

Our local specialty for this month's recipe, hosted by Feeding My Enthusiasms, is found in various convenience store gas/food stops in West Virginia. A simple snack food with a simple filling; just a dough and some pepperoni, almost a little mini Stromboli. I grew up with delicious pizza pockets at the local convenience store just a half mile from the high school. They had a somewhat more pastry like crust, but were otherwise similar except that they were fried. Makes a difference, oh yes.

 

So fluffy!

I remember those childhood pizza pockets fondly, so while I did make some of the pepperoni rolls as called for in the oven, I also fried up one roll to try and made the rest of the dough into pizza pockets. One thing I found was that you can't really fry the rolls, they don't get done in the middle, but also that this is a fabulous dough for frying.  And leftovers reheat very nicely in an air fryer or toaster oven.  Really nice with a salad.

Baked or fried, if pizza flavored breads appeal, give these a try! We would love to see your variations this month and share how it turned out! New recipes are posted every month on the 16th. Check out our Facebook group to see the participants' baking results during that time.  If you would like to be a recognized buddy, send our host kitchen an email with the URL of your post and a photo, plus a short description of your bake. Deadline is Jan. 29th. plachman *at* sonic *dot* net. You'll get a Buddy badge and be included in the round-up.

 

Recipe may be halved!

 

Pepperoni Rolls 

 - similar to what is found easily at convenience stores  and gas stations in West Virginia, U.S.A.

Yield: 20 rolls

Ingredients

1 cup [240g] warm water (100ºF/40ºC)
½ tsp [2g] granulated sugar
1 (.25 oz.) package [7g] active dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
5 cups [625g] all-purpose flour
3/4 cup [150g] granulated sugar (nope - even 2/3 reduction was a bit much.  Safe to omit or just add 1 tbsp [6g])
2 tsp [12g] salt
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup [113g] butter, melted
1 (8 oz.) [227g] package sliced pepperoni

Dissolve the ½ tsp sugar in 1 cup warm water in a small bowl. Whisk in yeast and let stand for 5-10 minutes until yeast 'blooms'.

Mix flour, 1 tbsp sugar (optional), and salt in a large bowl. Add flour and eggs into yeast mixture to form a shaggy dough, then add butter and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, either by hand or machine.

Cover dough and let rise in a warm place (80 to 90ºF, or 27 to 32ºC) until doubled in volume, about 1½ hours.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Punch down the dough, and divide it into 20 equal pieces, about the size of a golf ball. Using hands or a rolling pin, flatten each piece into a small rectangle, about 4 inches square. Place 3 slices of pepperoni down the center of each dough square, overlapping the slices. Place another row of 3 slices next to the first. Roll the dough around the pepperoni slices, pinch the edges closed, and place the rolls on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. until the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops are barely golden.

I brushed with oil, would suggest an egg wash.

 

First attempt to fry, middle not done
but dough fries very well otherwise.

 

Eat while still a little bit warm, but do allow to cool enough for the fat from the pepperoni to cool enough that you don't burn your tongue.

Hubby thinks the baked rolls would be very good dipped in warm marinara or pizza sauce. We all really liked the fried pizza pocket version, which was lighter and more moist.

If frying, heat oil to 365ºF and be sure to seal edges very well. Just the smallest amount of sauce and cheese is necessary.

The rest of the Bread Baking Babes

• Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
• Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
• My Diverse Kitchen - Aparna
• Bread Experience - Cathy
• Thyme for Cooking - Katie
• My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
• Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories - Karen