50 States of MoFo: West Virginia: Pepperoni Rolls

Who knew that Pepperoni Rolls were a West Virginia thing?  But they are, and there are many websites devoted to them.   Here you have buttery, soft, sweet white bread baked around pepperoni.  How could that be wrong?  You could make your own seitan pepperoni, but I used the Tofurky brand from the grocery.

I started from this recipe which I found on a Pepperoni Roll website, and made some modifications:

1. Mix together 1 1/2 c warm water, 1/3 c unrefined sugar, 2 1/4 t dry yeast, 1 t salt, and 1/4 c powdered soy milk.   Gradually add about 4 c bread flour (more or less) until you have a cohesive ball of dough which pulls away from the side of the bowl, while remaining soft and sort of sticky.   (This will be easier if you use a mixer with a dough hook.)  Knead about 5 minutes, let rest 5 minutes, and knead 2-3 more minutes.  Turn the dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled - about 30 minutes to 1 hour.  (Mine was easily doubled in 45 minutes, in a fairly warm kitchen.)

2.  Take a 4 oz package of vegan pepperoni, and chop it into whatever size pieces you want.  Toss with a little olive oil.  (Vegan pepperoni is not greasy enough.  You need to up the fat.)

3.  Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.  Heat the oven to 400 F.

4. Punch down the risen dough, and divide into 12 even parts.   On a floured surface, press each ball of dough out into a rough rectangle.  Cover most of the surface with pepperoni, roll up like a jelly roll, folding the ends under to seal.   Place the rolls on the parchment.  They do not need to rise again.

5.  Brush the tops with a warm mixture of 1/4 c soymilk, 2 t sugar, and 1 T vegan margarine.   Bake for approximately 20 minutes until brown on top.   Immediately after you remove the rolls from the oven, brush the tops with more melted vegan margarine.

If you are trying to bring all the boys to the yard, these might well do it!