Sourdough Pepperoni Rolls with Spelt and Rye

These Sourdough Pepperoni Rolls with Spelt and Rye utilize an enriched dough that is rolled around slices of spicy pepperoni similar to how you would spiral cinnamon and sugar for cinnamon buns.  What makes these rolls unique is they are formed into separate rolls instead of rolling out a long jelly roll log and cutting it to form individual rolls.

Pat, of Feeding My Enthusiasms, chose Pepperoni Rolls as the bake of the month for the Bread Baking Babes.

I didn’t even know West Virginia Pepperoni Rolls were a thing, but apparently, they are very popular and easily found at convenience stores and gas stations around the state.

These rolls are so popular the city of Mannington, WV drops an oversize pepperoni roll at Midnight on New Year’s Eve.

My approach to converting the dough to sourdough

When I set out to convert a recipe to sourdough, I typically use 20% sourdough starter to flour.  This is how I approached these pepperoni rolls as well.

The original recipe made 20 rolls but I decided 10 was plenty so I cut the recipe in half and converted the recipe to baker’s percentages.  I based my calculations on 5 cups (the amount called for in the original recipe) of KAF (King Arthur Flour) all-purpose flour because that is the type of unbleached AP flour I typically use.

Five cups of KAF AP flour equals 600 grams so half of that amount is 300 grams. The rest of my formula is based on 300 grams of flour.

Incorporating home-milled wholegrain flour

In addition to converting the rolls to sourdough, I also incorporated 50% whole grain flour (100 grams spelt, 50 grams rye).  I had been experimenting with 30% whole grain but decided to up that amount for this recipe.

I used home-milled spelt flour that I milled in my MockMill 100 which is a little coarser than flour milled in my WonderMill.  I didn’t sift any of the bran out.  The coarser spelt flour combined with the rye flour, made for a stickier dough.

While I was letting the dough bulk ferment and performing the stretch and folds, I thought I had used too much whole grain.  I even put that in my notes.  However, after allowing the dough to cold ferment overnight, it was a lovely and workable dough.

I might incorporate finely ground flour next time, but I will use the same amount of wholegrain flour.  Although the rolls can be made with 100% all-purpose flour, adding at least a portion of wholegrain flour enhances the texture, flavor, and color of the rolls. And as far as I’m concerned, the texture and flavor is what makes these rolls.

If you want to make these rolls completely with spelt, you could use white spelt instead of the regular all-purpose flour or sift the wholegrain spelt flour to produce lighter flour.

Shaping the rolls

The shaping directions as described in the original recipe were a little confusing.  How do you make a rectangle that is 4-inch square?  (Or, perhaps this was just me getting hung up on the details.)

I tried rolling out the dough into squares using my hands and fingers but had better success with a rolling pin.  After shaping the first couple into squarish pieces, I opted for rectangles about 4.5 x 4 inches.  I measured the first few rolls with a ruler but was a little more carefree with the rest of the rolls.

What I would do differently

The one thing I would change is the amount of sugar.  I converted the ¾ cup of sugar (from the original recipe) to 150 grams using an online calculator and then reduced that amount by half – 75 grams.

The rolls were really sweet, and although the sweetness is offset by the spiciness of the pepperoni, 75 grams was a bit too sweet for my taste buds.  I think 50 grams, or possibly even 30 grams of sugar, would work.  You do need to add some sugar as an enrichment for the dough, but I plan to experiment with less next time.

You could also add more pepperoni slices.  The rolls tasted really good as is, and the pepperoni flavor comes through even with all of the whole grains, but a few more slices of pepperoni added to each roll could enhance the spiciness if you are so inclined.  It might be a bit tricky to roll them with more pepperoni, but it’s worth a try.

Notes:

Use a baking sheet lined with parchment.  As you can see in the photo below, the grease from the pepperoni oozes out during baking.  This makes for a lovely crust on the bottom, but can also make a mess of your baking sheet.

Sourdough Pepperoni Rolls with Spelt and Rye

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• Author: Bread Experience
• Yield: 10 rolls 1x

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Description

These Sourdough Pepperoni Rolls with Spelt and Rye utilize an enriched dough that is rolled around slices of spicy pepperoni similar to how you would spiral cinnamon and sugar for cinnamon buns. What makes these rolls unique is that they are formed into individual rolls instead of rolling out a long jelly roll and slicing it.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 60 grams sourdough starter, 100% hydration
• 88 grams water
• 120 grams all-purpose flour (I used KAF flour)
• 100 grams whole grain spelt flour (I used home-milled flour)
• 50 grams whole grain rye flour (I used home-milled)
• 50–75 grams granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 (5 oz.) package sliced pepperoni

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Instructions

Mix the Dough:

1. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, mix together the sourdough starter and water. Add the beaten egg and mix well. Mix in the cooled melted butter. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the flours and sugar in a large bowl. Hold the salt.
3. Pour the sourdough/water mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well until fully incorporated. Cover and let rest 20-30 minutes.
4. Sprinkle salt over the dough and dissolve with 10-15 grams of water. Using wet fingers work thoroughly into the dough.
5. Cover the bowl and let rest at warm room temperature for 4-6 hours. Perform 2-3 stretch and folds every 30 min for the first hour to hour and a half. If the dough is really sticky, you may need to sprinkle some flour on the counter before performing the stretch and folds.

Cold Ferment Overnight

1. At this point, you can continue to shaping or place the dough in the refrigerator overnight. If you give the dough a cold ferment, the next day, take the dough out and allow it to warm up to room temperature for 1-2 hours before shaping the rolls.

Shape the Rolls:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment. (I recommend parchment)
2. Punch down the dough, and divide it into 10 equal pieces, about the size of a golf ball. (My dough weighed 592 grams / 10 = ~59 grams each)
3. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten each piece into a small square or rectangle, about 4-4.5 inches in length. Place 3 slices of pepperoni down the center of each dough square, overlapping the slices. Place another row of 3 slices next to the first. Roll the dough around the pepperoni slices, pinch the edges closed, and place the rolls on the prepared cookie sheet.
4. Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 14-16 minutes. until the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops are barely golden. (I baked the rolls about 18 minutes total, rotating the pan several times for even baking.)

Notes

Eat while still a little bit warm, but allow to cool enough for the fat from the pepperoni to cool enough so that you don’t burn your tongue.

• Category: Pepperoni Rolls

Links of Interest

• Pepperoni Rolls Are One Step Closer to Becoming West Virginia’s Official State Food
• Early WV miners created one of WV’s best-kept secrets
• Do you know the whole story behind WV’s state food?

Happy Baking!
Cathy