Ingredients

• 3½ cup flour
• 2½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1½ cup warm water
• 6 oz pepperoni (1 package)
• 2 Tbsp instant yeast
• 2 Tbsp italian seasoning
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

Mix together water, sugar, oil, and yeast, then let sit for 10 minutes to activate. Dissolve salt into the mixture. Mix in two cups of flour and the crushed red pepper flakes initially, and the rest of the flour gradually. Lightly oil the surface of the dough, then allow it to rise until doubled in size (about 30 minutes).

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle, roughly 2 feet by 3 feet. Sprinkle italian seasoning over the rectangle, then roll it into the surface with the rolling pin. Cover the rectangle in a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese, then place a layer of pepperoni evenly spaced atop the cheese. Roll up dough tightly ¹, then cut into 1-inch segments using a bench knife or a piece of thread ².

Place segments sideways on an oiled (or floured) baking sheet or pizza pan. Bake 425℉ for 25 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping ³.

About

This recipe was a pleasant dinner treat growing up. We called them “pizza rolls”, since they’re pizza in a cinnamon roll form factor, but outside our home that name is used to refer to a brand. I don’t have a source for the recipe we used, but I have reverse-enginnered it here from a pizza dough recipe and brute force.

On 2023-12-24, I took this image of the index card a pizza dough recipe was written upon, from which this recipe is derived: