Pepperoni Rolls

Tonight at dinner time, I was hungry for a taste of West Virginia. WV was settled by several different ethnic groups. Up north, around Fairmont and Clarksburg, there were many Italians who came to work in the mines, so the food of that area reflects that heritage. The miners needed lunch food that was easy to take with them underground. It was between 1927 and 1940 that a local bakery started making pepperoni rolls for that purpose. In modern West Virginia, you can buy pepperoni rolls almost anywhere...gas stations, convenience stores, Walmart, Amish bulk food stores, etc. We found them to be tasty and convenient when we had to travel, or on busy days with little time to cook. We left West Virginia in November of 2008, and have not had a pepperoni roll since.

Since they are not readily available commercially around here, I decided I just better make my own today. I made the dough with yeast, water, sugar, powdered milk, salt and flour, then let it rise until double.


I divided it into 12 pieces then flattened each piece and then put slices of pepperoni down the middle of each piece.



Then I rolled the buns up rather like a jelly roll.



I placed them on a pan, ready to bake. I covered them with a little bit of melted margarine and egg.



Then I baked them for 15 minutes.





Changes I would make when I make them again:
I used the low fat turkey pepperoni as lowfat is best for us. The real WV rolls use regular pepperoni, which often leaves a little orange color from the fat in the pepperoni where the roll is sealed. They are also a little more moist. I think maybe next time I will try adding a teaspoonful of pizza sauce in with the pepperoni. You can also add cheese.

It was a lovely reminder of our time in West Virginia.