Tammy's Recipes

Fluffy Italian bread rolls, filled with seasonings, pepperoni, and cheese

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon oregano*
1 teaspoon basil*
1 cup (packed) coarsely chopped slices of turkey or beef pepperoni
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons grated or shredded parmesan cheese
Warm marinara sauce, for serving (optional)

1. Combine water, salt, sugar, and oil. Add flour and yeast at the same time and mix until thick. Add additional flour if needed, and knead dough for about 10 minutes.

2. Place dough in greased bowl, turning dough over once to grease both sides. Cover and set in a warm place to rise. Allow dough to rise for about 45 minutes.**

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle dough with oregano and basil. Top with the chopped pepperoni and then a layer of the mozzarella cheese.

4. Carefully roll dough, jelly roll style, starting at one of the shorter (12-inch) ends (not at the wide, 16-inch sides). Pinch dough to seal into a "log".

5. Using a piece of dental floss (approximately 18 inches in length), cut log into 8 slices. To do this, slip the strip of floss under the log and then bring both ends up, crossing over to the other side and pulling taut to cut.

6. Carefully place the 8 rolls in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover lightly with a towel and set in a warm place for about 25-35 minutes, until almost doubled in size.

7. Remove towel and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until lightly browned and dough is completely cooked. Cover loosely with foil during baking if dough starts to brown too quickly. Serve with warm sauce if desired.

This recipe was submitted by Katie M. of Ohio. She says that her family loves this dish, which makes a great lighter meal or snack. Katie also writes that this would still be a good meal if you substituted some more healthful ingredients. :)

The original recipe called for frozen bread dough, so I used an Italian dough when I made it, and included that in the recipe.

*Or, use Italian seasoning (2 teaspoons total) in place of the basil and oregano

**Optional: Skip step 2, and instead, just allow dough to rest for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the toppings.

When this recipe was submitted to us, we had never had a "main dish" that looked quite like this. :) Think pizza + cinnamon rolls, and you have this "pepperoni roll" recipe.

It isn't difficult to make, though it was a little tricky to keep the filling from falling out when I cut the rolls. I just held them together as best I could, and what little fell out, I sprinkled on top. It worked out great and we really enjoyed the end result. I liked dipping bites of my roll in warm sauce, but the sauce is completely optional. :)

This is a yummy hand-held snack or lunch recipe! My rating: 9/10.