Smoky Stuffed Pepperoni Pull Apart Rolls

Post #3 of 5 in my Five Favorite Things for my Five Thousand Foodie Friends series …

#1 was salad. #2 was dip. #3 is BREAD! You might have noticed if you’ve hung around this blog very much that I adore making bread. There’s no better smell in a home than a loaf of fresh bread in the oven …

This time I wanted to stuff some pull apart rolls with pepperoni, but I wanted something kinda different to compliment the pepperoni. So I made up a smoky cheese mixture to compliment the pepperoni. I was SO excited once the idea came to me. It’s got three kinds of cheese, some smoked paprika and basil.

I think baking bread for me is sometimes kind of like art: you have a picture in your mind of what you want it to be, but once you begin making it, it takes on a life of its own. That is exactly what happened here. I had a vague notion, but I didn’t really know what I was going to put in the bread when I walked into the kitchen.

If you wanted to make these meatless, try mixing a steamed vegetable with the smoky cheese mixture. I think broccoli would be nice, or maybe asparagus?

Smoky Stuffed Pepperoni Pull Apart Rolls

Dough ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

Smoky cheese filling ingredients:

• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded smoked gouda cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian blend shredded cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• A small handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped (about 2 Tablespoons)

You’ll also need:

• 12 thin pepperoni slices
• 1 egg white (for brushing the tops)
• Sesame or poppy seeds (for the top, if desired)

Put all the dough ingredients into a bread machine and set it on the dough setting. When the dough is ready, roll it out on a clean surface dusted with flour as thin as you can manage without tearing the dough. Cut the dough into circles with a biscuit cutter or a glass or cookie cutter. It doesn’t even have to be round: you can just cut squares with a knife.

Take a piece of the dough and place a slice of pepperoni on it, then top with a small ball of the smoky cheese mixture.

Place a piece of pepperoni on the dough and top with a half spoonful of the cheese mixture.

Pinch up the sides of the dough, like this:

Then pinch together the other sides to seal in the filling:

Place the little balls of dough pinched side down in a muffin pan sprayed with cooking spray. You should have enough filling to make 12 “muffins”, but you may have some extra bread dough left at the end. You can make that into some plain rolls or a little loaf of bread.

Spray the dough with cooking spray, cover with a clean towel, and let the pan rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or so or till your little rolls are nice and puffy.

Bake rolls at 350 for about 20 – 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown color on top. Serve hot. If there are any leftovers, keep them in the fridge and re-warm in the microwave.

This recipe was shared at Full Plate Thursdays, Weekend Potluck, Fabulous Fridays, and Strut your Stuff Saturdays.