pepperoni rolls

after living in Charleston, west virginia for more than 25 years, i came to know many recipes for pepperoni rolls.  being from Michigan, i had never even heard of this lunch or dinner entree.  but, as i came to learn, just about every one of my friends had a pepperoni roll recipe.  the roll is similar to a pizza roll, however; it does not have tomato sauce.it is similar to a cheese biscuit, but is made with bread roll dough.

when my daughter Amy was in junior high home economics class learning about food, she came home with a recipe for pepperoni rolls.  this is the recipe i have used for years for our family when we were off to a game or event without much time for a full meal.  i often serve this during the warmer months with a side pasta or potato salad.

i start with frozen bread dough.  early in the morning, i place one frozen bread loaf in a large glass bowl that has been prepared with spray olive oil.  i cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to thaw and  rise.  this process will take most of the day, at least 6 hours. 

when returning to the dough, i unwrap and divide the dough into 6 even balls.  prepare a sheet pan with olive oil, and then add the ingredients to the dough balls.  i use 4-5 slices of pepperoni and cubes of mozzarella cheese sliced from a block.  this is what the home economics teacher recommended, most likely because block cheese is lower in cost.  when block cheese is not in the refrigerator, shredded mozzarella works just as well.

place the rolls with the seams down on the sheet pan.  i spray the tops with more olive oil and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.  i allow the dough balls to rise again for at least 45 minutes before baking.

bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  watch to see that the rolls do not touch each other on the sheet pan.  these rolls can be saved in the refrigerator in a plastic Ziploc bag and reheated gently for another day.