Monday, June 25, 2018

Simple West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls Recipe

Y'all know I am a West Virginia girl!  I bleed blue and gold and I'm a Mountaineer, loud and proud!  On June 20, West Virginia celebrated 155 years of statehood, so here on The Kitchen Wife I felt it only fair to celebrate by sharing some of my state's beloved recipes and it doesn't get any more West Virginian than a Pepperoni Roll.  



Invented in Fairmont, WV as a lunch for local coal miners, the pepperoni roll has been a state staple since the late 1920's.  Here you can find them in just about any gas station and grocery store and now YOU can have them at home.  Its super easy, and I know you're gonna love it so...

Let's Get Started!  



For this Simple West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls Recipe you are going to need three simple ingredients.  


  • Rhodes Thaw, Rise, & Bake Yeast Dinner Rolls.  
  • Pepperoni
  • Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Before we get started, we need to talk about something.  You can certainly make fresh bread dough for this recipe, and I will link my grandma's recipe for yeast rolls HERE, but if you ask just about any West Virginian they will tell you that you MUST use the frozen RHODES Yeast Dinner Rolls.  For one, using the frozen yeast rolls keeps things really simple. And two, people say the Rhodes Yeast Rolls are the closest to the original recipe that you can get.   Who am I to argue with my fellow Mountaineers? So that is what I use. 



To begin, you will need to spray a baking sheet with a little cooking spray.


After that you will place 12 frozen dough balls on the baking sheet.


Cover with cling wrap that has been sprayed cooking spray as well.


Let the dough balls thaw for about three hours.


Once the dough has thawed, I simply flatten it out over my fist to form a circle.


Lay it out on a flat surface.


Then add 4 pieces of pepperoni.

Now here is where the pepperoni roll purists will read me to filth because TRADITIONALLY you would use a pepperoni stick cut into smaller sticks.  HOWEVER, your girl is on a budget and the slices are WAY cheaper.  Either way its pepperoni, so use what you like more.


This is also a preference, but I add a little cheese (about a tablespoon) on top of the pepperoni.  Again, not a traditional thing, but loads of people here do it.  Honestly though, I don't know why you WOULDN'T add cheese.


Now you will roll up the dough into a little cigar and fold the ends inward.


Place the pepperoni rolls seam-side down into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Let the dough rise for about an hour, until it doubles in size.


Once the dough has risen, you can place it into a 350 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.


Once the pepperoni rolls have finished baking, you will remove them from the oven and...


IMMEDIATELY brush with melted butter.

But, if you are lazy like me, you can just rub the stick over them.  lol


Let them cool in the pan and there you have it!  Delicious Simple West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls!


Fluffy, cheese, and slightly spicy these Simple West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls make the perfect snack, lunch (and let's be real) meal.  I know you're gonna love them so get in your kitchen and give them a try tonight!

And as always...

Happy Reading, Happy Eating, and Happy Living,
~The Kitchen Wife~



11 comments:

  1. I'm excited to make these! One of the many things on my list of items to get while home visiting. My husband fell in love with a pepperoni roll in Morgantown that had pizza sauce in it. Would this handle adding sauce to the inside?

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    1. I think that if you kept it at a thin layer it would be fine.

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  2. We love our pepperoni rolls. Yours look absolutely perfect. 💙💛

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  3. Having probably been baking longer than you’ve been alive but have NEVER thought about rubbing the stick of butter over a hot baked good!! That is genius! Thanks so much!

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    1. Hahahaha that's what I call the lazy woman's melted butter trick, but it gets the job done! LOL

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  4. I'm a West Virginia girl and I've been searching for a simple but delicious recipe for a while, thank you ma'am! I bought deli slice pepperoni fro Wal-Mart and used BelGioioso fresh Mozzarella from Sam's. Added a sprinkle of Italian spice and some garlic powder to my melted butter and have mercy! Tonight I'm trying stick pepperoni I found at Sam's. I'm gonna share this recipe and cantvthank you enough for sharing it with us!

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    1. Oh yay! I'm so glad I could help! I love ALL those suggestions! I will have to try the garlic and Italian spice next time I make them! Thanks for the tip!

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  5. I use 8 slices of pepperoni, sometimes add cheese, sometimes don't. Last night I just stacked the 8 slices and made little square rolls and didn't let them rise a lot after forming the rolls, and they are the best ones so far.

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  6. Thanks so much for posting this! I can't believe I haven't seen it before. Everyone here in MD who makes this uses the Rhodes Bread Dough, not the dinner rolls. The bread dough is way too tough in my opinion. So tough in fact, that I've been making my own bread from scratch. I think the dinner rolls will fix the problem.

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  7. I have made these and they are a great hit with grandkids. I add 1/2 slice of Amish Hot Pepperjack cheese. It melts smooth and adds a slight kick to them. Delicious.

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