Pepperoni Rolls

In eighth grade we moved from Wexford (suburb of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania to Bridgeport, West Virginia. During lunch on my first day of school, I noticed that a few of my classmates were eating what appeared to be plain bread rolls. I thought it was a little odd to eat a plain roll so I asked what it was. They couldn't believe I had never heard of a pepperoni roll and wondered where I was from! Did I mention that Pittsburgh was only a two hour drive away from Bridgeport?! Anyway, I haven't had a lot of pepperoni rolls in my life, but I do LOVE them!

In my previous post I mentioned the homemade pretzels I made...well I thought I'd try to make a pretzel pepperoni roll (because who don't want even more salt in their pepperoni roll?) I made them for one of our women's events with CRU we had this past weekend, and they turned out pretty good...so I thought I'd share with you!

1. Mix the following with the dough hook (if you have a stand mixer, if not I would assume you can stir to combine): 1 1/2 cups warm water, 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, 1 package active dry yeast, 3 ounces unsalted butter melted...let sit for 5 minutes (look at how bubbly the yeast gets! Kinda fun...almost as cool as hearing Rice Krispie popping when you add milk)

2. Add 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt & 5 cups all-purpose flour. Mix on low (with dough hook) until combined and then increase speed to medium until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl (about 3-4 minutes)

*pretty sure you can do this by hand if you punch it (kneading it), it will just take longer

3. Put some vegetable/canola oil in a bowl and "oil the bowl" with it, take the dough and knead it into a ball, turn the dough to coat with the oil and then put in the bowl, cover with a towel and put in a warm place.

4. Let it rise for at least 1 hour. Look how beautiful!!! (not that I tasted the dough at this point, but I did...and it was yummy)

5. Roll the dough out and then use a pizza cutter to cut into small rectangles (squares, triangles, whatever you prefer). You can make these whatever I size you want.

6. Place a few pieces of pepperoni in the middle (I just bought the cheapest store brand kind, but you could get it sliced from the deli or even use turkey pepperoni).

7. Take two opposite ends and twist, then do the same on the other side.

8. You can make it look prettier than this, but this is what I came up with (I could hear Rachel crying from her room, and Logan wanted juice so I was working as fast as I could).

9. Put 3 quarts water in a large pan and bring to a boil. Then add 3/4 cup baking soda (once again, very fun to watch it fizzzzzz).

10. While the water is boiling (this is important; I turned the stove down and the first few were in water that wasn't boiling and they didn't turn out as good) add a few at a time and leave in for about 30 seconds. Use a spoon to make sure the tops are covered by water too.

11. Take out (use a spoon with holes, or spatula with slits) and put on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with oil (if it's not non stick or stoneware you might even consider using wax paper).

12. Crack 2 eggs and mix with 1 tablespoon of water. Use this egg wash to brush on top of the rolls, then sprinkle salt on top.

12. Bake for 12-18 minutes (until golden brown on top and crispy on the bottom) at 425. If you notice the tops are getting too brown and the bottom is still a little underdone (because the pepperoni is working its' greasy magic) then you can put foil on top the last few minutes.

13. Remove from pan once they are out of the oven. Enjoy!