Pepperoni & Olive Rolls

So there’s cinnamon rolls and then there’s pepperoni rolls. These are the second ones and they. are. good. Imagine a roll of fluffy garlic herb bread spiraled with pepperoni, cheese and olives and these exact rolls are what you’ll see. I don’t know if I need to say much else to convince you that they are pretty amazing but I will try!

This is a family recipe! I’ve changed it a bit but the concept is the same. My mom used to make this recipe as twists when I was a kid. I’d get so excited when she was making them, then impatiently wait for them to be ready, then eat wayyy too many.

The Dough

This recipe is a yeast dough and the whole process requires two rises. Yes, it’s well worth the time. Plus, fun fact: the base recipe for this dough is the very same one used for my Eggplant Pizza, Jalapeno Cheese Bread, Garlic Rosemary Crackers and the old classic Perfect Pizza Dough. Cool, huh?

The dough calls for your basic pantry staples: flour, sugar, oil, yeast, garlic powder, dried basil + oregano, crushed red pepper. You will need to mix, then knead, then let it rise for one hour.

The Pepperoni & Olive Filling

When the dough is nearing the end of its first rise, you’ll start prepping the fillings: cut pepperoni into strips, olives into small bits, grate cheese and get your mise en place on. You can use whatever type of olives you like, I used a mixture of Kalamata and green.

The dough should have doubled in size by now and if it hasn’t you can do what I would probably do and just keep going anyways and hope for the best or you can be a patient person and give it a little more time to rise.

Remove the dough from the bowl and roll it out into a rectangle on a lightly oiled surface. I recommend lining a rimmed 13 x 18 inch baking sheet with parchment, then oiling the surface.

Once the dough is shaped to the pan mix half & half and parmesan cheese in a small bowl and spread onto the dough evenly. Sprinkle with pepperoni, olives and half the mozzarella. Now get to rolling! Once it’s rolled into a log, slice 1 1/2 inch circles off the log and place on the same parchment lined baking sheet. It’s fine if they touch. You will have extra room on the baking sheet and that’s fine.

Once cut, cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise forty minutes more. You can skip this step, but your rolls will not be nearly as light and airy as they could be.

Second rise is complete and were almost to the finish line! Top with remaining mozzarella and bake, friends!

We made it guys. Pepperoni rolls are done!

Never a bad idea to dip in some marinara!

Pepperoni & Olive Rolls

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Garlic herb dough spiraled up with pepperoni olives and cheese!

• Author: Becky Schmieg
• Prep Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
• Yield: 9 1x
• Category: Appetizer
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 1/4 cup very warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup pepperoni (cut into strips)
• 1/2 cup olives (black, kalamata, green or a mixture) (chopped small)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp half and half
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)

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Instructions

1. Empty yeast packet into a large bowl and add warm water water. Let stand for five minutes until yeast is foamy. Add sugar and stir. Add oil, garlic powder, basil, oregano, red pepper, salt and then 3 cups of flour. Stir until a sticky dough forms.
2. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour onto a clean work surface. Turn dough out onto work surface and use remaining 1/4 cup of flour to dust hands and sprinkle on top of the dough. Knead until dough comes together and shape it into a ball. It will probably take 7-10 kneads for this to happen.
3. Place in a clean, oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
4. When the dough is close to the end of its rise, prep the fillings if you haven’t already: slice pepperoni and olives, grate cheese.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lightly oil the parchment or spray with non-stick spray. Place dough on parchment and press into pan to form a rectangle flush with pan.
6. Mix the half & half and Parmesan, then spread onto dough evenly. Sprinkle the pepperoni, olives and 1/2 cup of mozzarella onto the dough.
7. Roll into a log, then slice into 1 1/2 inch rounds. You should end up with 9. Place each round on the baking sheet in three rows. It’s fine if they touch.
8. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise 40 minutes more. Remove plastic, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes until cheese is golden and rolls are lightly browned.