This classic West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls recipe includes flavorful slices of pepperoni and gooey mozzarella cheese, baked inside soft homemade pizza dough. They are a delicious snack perfect to dip in your favorites sauces, and great to freeze for later!
Set out an electric mixer with a bread hook. Add the yeast, lukewarm water, and sugar to the bowl. Allow the yeast to bloom (foam) for 10 minutes.
Then turn the mixer on and add in the flour, eggs, and salt. Allow the mixer to “knead” the dough for 5 minutes.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it doubles in size. About 2 hours.
Dump the dough out onto a well-floured work surface. Knead the dough into a log shape and cut into 20 equal pieces. (I usually cut it into 5 equal pieces, then cut each chunk into 4 equal pieces.)
Set out 3 baking sheets and line them with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Sprinkle the dough pieces with garlic powder. One at a time, press and stretch each piece into a 6 inch circle. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoon mozzarella cheese over the circle. Arrange 6 slices of pepperoni over one side of the dough.
Stretch and roll the pepperoni side first, toward the other side. Try to keep the dough inside the roll thin, while leaving the exterior dough a little thicker. When you get close to the edge, tuck the ends under to seal in the cheese. Set the rolls on the baking sheet with the seam side down.
Once all the pepperoni rolls are filled and tucked, spray several sheets of plastic wrap with nonstick spray and cover the rolls. Allow them to rise another 30 minutes.
Gently brush melted butter over the top of each pepperoni roll. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Serve warm.
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Notes
Don’t have time to make the dough? You can use 2 pounds of frozen (thawed) bread dough instead! These rolls make fabulous freezer snacks. You can freeze before baking, then thaw and bake, or freeze after baking and reheat later. The rolls need to be room temperature, then stored in an airtight plastic zip bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, allow the pepperoni rolls to thaw in the fridge overnight: Then bake according to the full pepperoni roll recipe if you froze the dough unbaked. Or, for already baked rolls, simply bake in the oven, microwave, or toaster until warm.