The Pepperoni Roll, in all it's glory, is a rather simple creature, believe it or not. Just their simple pizza crust, thrown out thin. Cut into strips. A few thinly-sliced pepperoni and a dash of mozzarella thrown in. Roll it all up, toss a little parmesan on top, slap it in the oven, and it's a done deal. Or, at least, that's what they make it look like.
I used the word "spontaneous" in the first paragraph because, as I was searching the fridge for something to cook for dinner, I discovered a pre-made focaccia bread dough that I had purchased at the (fabulous Fresh & Easy) grocery store a few days ago. First thought was pizza! Nah, not quite in the mood for pizza. But something like that would be nice tonight. The dough, with rosemary and select other herbs mixed in, would be perfect for something like a pizza. Then, the light bulb flashed on.
Gumby's!!! Pepperoni Rolls!!! Oh, how exciting and satisfying this will be!!!
They've turned out pretty good for an amateur, immature version of the masterpiece, so if you're interested, please, by all means, make these your very own:
I pat out the dough onto a large flat cookie sheet, until it's just about as thin as it'll go. I cut it into squares about 4" x 6" (this gave me 6 rolls in the end) and put 5 pepperoni slices in the center of each rectangle. Then I got out the mozzarella. If you're lucky enough to find it, I highly-highly-highly recommend buffalo mozzarella, made from the milk of buffalo. If not, cow's milk mozzarella still does the job--that's all I could get my hands on. Tear off your desired amount of mozzarella (mine was a strip about the size of my pointer finger) and put that on top of the pepperoni. Then, roll up the dough carefully and pinch the ends closed, so that everything is cuddled up nicely. I sprinkled on some freshly-grated parmesan cheese from a block I had in the fridge, a dash of salt and pepper, and drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil to help crispen up the crust a bit. I popped them in a 400 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes and they came out soooooo tasty. If I were to change anything, I'd trade the herb recipe focaccia for a plain recipe instead. And if you've got a pizza stone, I'd recommend that route.
Gumby's offers their Pepperoni Rolls with your choice of ranch dressing or their tomato pizza sauce, or both. I personally love to dip mine in ranch. Blue cheese would probably also be pretty tasty, if that's your thing.
Making the rolls:
Oven-ready, topped with EVOO, parmesan, salt, and pepper:
Baked and ready to eat!
