I started this last week and it went over really well! I have a new recipe this week. Pepperoni Rolls! Did I mention that this is a 2 for 1 deal?! Not only is this a great recipe for Pepperoni Rolls, but the dough make the most awesome dinner rolls too!
My family loves these. The recipe is my Grandmother’s and my Mom’s. Pepperoni Rolls are apparently really big in West Virginia where my mom went to high school.
Nothing beats the smell of fresh baked Pepperoni rolls, because it was usually an all day baking marathon. She would make fresh bread and Pepperoni Rolls, and sometimes homemade pigs in a blanket. If I was really lucky, she would bring them fresh to school for my lunch!
These are really great for lunch boxes with back to school season coming. Everybody is always trying to figure out something new and exciting out for the lunch box, this is it! These are really great for so many different occasions!
The recipe I am going to give you is for a super easy bread dough. You can use any kind of bread dough. Even the stuff in the freezer section!
Pepperoni Rolls
- 1 cup warm water (105 ° to 115°)
- 2 packages dry yeast or 2 TBSP dry Yeast
- ½ cup (1 stick) melted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 4-4½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 Package sliced pepperoni (Don’t tell mom…she uses pepperoni sticks!)
Directions
- Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand until yeast is foamy about 5 minutes.
- Stir in butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough is too stiff to mix. (I just use a wooden spoon and mix this by hand. Use at least the 4 cups. The dough will still be sticky but hard to mix.)
- Cover and refrigerate 2 hours up to 4 days (I forgot to mention you can totally make this ahead of time and toss it in the fridge)
- Turn the Chilled dough out on a lightly floured board or counter.
- I divide the dough into halves, then quarters and go from there. You can make these any size you would like. Just make sure they are uniform so they bake evenly. I got 10 rolls out of half of the dough.
- Work the dough with your hand on the floured surface. Flour your hands if necessary. Flatten and lay as many pepperoni as desired on top. Roll up and pinch edges shut with fingers.
- Place rolls on parchment lined baking sheet 1-2 inches apart because they will rise.
- Once baking sheet is full cover with dish towel and allow to rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375° and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow to cool. You can serve with Marinara sauce if you desire, or just eat them by themselves.
Now…to show you what wonderful dough this is. I made half the recipe Pepperoni rolls and the over half dinner rolls.
**Dinner rolls was the original intention of this dough recipe. Make dough same as above. Just roll them into rolls and place in a greased pan. 
For half a recipe place in 8×8 or for a full place in a 9×13 bake for the 15 to 20 minutes or until golden! These are so yummy with any meal! I make them on holidays and they are gone so quickly!
***In a first attempt to make these dairy free I used the butter flavored Crisco instead of butter and they turned out really well!***
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
I was born and raised in Morgantown, WV. Pepperoni rolls are a HUGE deal. When we were running late to school, my mom used to stop at the grocery store on the way and buy a bag. Then she'd split them up into sandwich bags and hand them to us kids as we got out of the car. It was a great treat!
When you want a yummy snack w/ little time to spare–try making them w/ Pillsbury biscuits!!
I am from Clarksburg, WV. I can't imagine NOT eating pepperoni rolls. I love making them homeade. When I am in a hurry I have bought the loaves of frozen bread dough and made them. They are so filling.
Yummy!!
Those look soooo yummy!
I wonder…. Can you make these with the pizza dough recipe you have listed? I love the flavor of the pizza dough and this would make it quicker.
You could totally use pizza dough, or the bread dough from the freezer case!
Chiming back in to say that I made these on Saturday and used your pizza dough recipe instead. It was delicious and fast! I love the herbs in this dough. The recipe made about 12 rolls and between four of us, there was only one left. Thanks!!!
I cook your recipes about three times a week. I’m in the repeat stage right now and my sons and husband beg for certain ones now. You’re great!
I use dough I make in my bread machine. Just regular bread dough.
I was also born and raised in Clarksburg, WV and am now living in South Florida. People here have no idea what pepperoni rolls are. I’ve had to make them quite a few times and take to work. Now they all love them. I’m just glad to know that I have my grandma’s recipe to make these… YUM!!!!
How about switching it out with ham and cheddar for the filling? Or turkey, cheddar and broccoli? Ta-dah…homemade hot pockets!
Holy smokes! This blog, and your idea Dawn, just totally made my day! This is my first time visiting (came from moneysavingmom) and I’m impressed!
Thanks for these great recipes. Can’t wait to explore more recipes on your site! Really looking forward to trying out these pepperoni rolls- I’ve never had one and DS loves pepperoni. Do you by chance know if your bread recipe can be put in a bread machine???
I don’t know, but you can buy the frozen bread dough and make them that way too! Either way, they are delicious!
I’m from Clarksburg, WV, as well, and pepperoni rolls are a fixture there. I have to make my own now as well since we live in Texas. However, I always use sticks in mine. That’s how our bakery always made them, and I can’t seem to break away. You just cut from a large pepperoni stick into smaller sticks and put them in your dough as above.
Here’s some history on pepperoni rolls in WV from the NY Times (my fave bakery even gets a mention – D’Annunzio’s):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/dining/30unit.html
Thanks for the inspiration – I’m now going to have to go make some pepperoni rolls!
Wow!!!! I grew up in Texas and there was only one place to get these: Double Dave’s. I now reside in CA, but when I head back to TX I try to stop by Double Dave’s and pick up a dozen for the flight home. (Perfect for those Southwest flights where they don’t feed you.)
This is my first time to your blog (thanks to the link from totallytarget.com) and you’ve got an instant fan just based on this recipe. I like the ideas others have thrown out (ham and cheddar, broccoli….). My initial reaction to reading this post was to try it out with whole wheat dough. I can’t wait!!!!!
Can you put mozz cheese in the center to make cheese rolls? My kids don’t like pepperoni.
Can you use a stand mixer to mix the dough?
Thanks for the great receipe I am going to try to make this weekend.
I use the frozen bread dough from the store then thaw it out…after it rises spread it out on a cookie sheet to fill it. Then add thin sliced ham across the whole surface peperoni,salami and mozzarella. All sliced thin! then let it rise foe a bit then cook in the oven…Deelicious
Do you send them frozen in a lunchbox and then they thaw and kids eat cold for lunch? Or are the supposed to be reheated?
Heidi,
You make them fresh. You can either send them room temperature or cold from the fridge they are good either way. You can heat them, but it isn’t necessary.
just wondering if i have to set the dough for an hour once they are rolled onto the cookie sheet. i didnt see that when i read the directions to begin with and i am starving and i want to eat these like now
after you roll them the recipe says to let them sit 1 hour, I am anxious to cook and eat these too!!
I made the dough in my Kitchenaide but it was REALLY sticky and I wasn’t sure if I did it right. It stuck to my hands, the board and almost everything, I added 4 1/4 c flour but didn’t want to add to much and it is hard to tell since I wasn’t mixing by hand. Is this dough normally pretty sticky and easy to flatten by hand? I am trying a batch filled with peanut butter and jelly. We will see how these turn out for my daughter’s lunches, it may be a disaster but live and learn right?
Kira,
Since this is a refrigerator dough, I have only ever mixed it by hand. The dough is sticky. You will want to refrigerate at least 2 hours before using it and then it is good to go. Just use a floured surface to work with it, but it stiffens as it cools.
Let me know how your PB&J idea turns out.
Thanks, I will. I am going to pass this recipe along to some other moms, and once we do PB&J I will let them, and you, know how they turn out. THANK YOU for all the great recipes!
All I can say is YUM!! They were a little messy and got some PB&J cooked out the side, which I then had to eat off the sheet of course, but they are SOOOOO good and my daughter is sooo excited about having a really special sandwich for school!
I finally tried the recipe out today. I made an herbed whole wheat dough in my bread maker and filled them with canadian bacon and swiss cheese. WOW!!!! My family hasn’t tried them yet, but they are going to flip for these. I did have to blot the canadian bacon because I found them to be too wet. I can’t wait to try these with pepperoni and provolone, and….. I can see this recipe coming back in different flavors quite often. Thanks again!!!
Good recipe. I used the bread maker on the dough cycle. I should have made them smaller and not so thick. The bread is yummy and tasty. It was a long process. I wont do it after work but would make another batch on the weekend.
I was just talking to a friend this week about finding a recipe for these and Walla! here it is. Thanks, they look delish!
Awesome! Making this very soon! Love the rolls!!! Thanks! What a great recipe and so easy!
I made these today and they are AWESOME! Thank you for posting! I’ll be making them again for sure. P.S. I’m from WV.
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