Pepperoni Roll
Fairmont, West Virginia, USA
A soft, yeasted bread roll with sticks or slices of pepperoni baked inside, invented in 1927 by Giuseppe Argiro at the Country Club Bakery in Fairmont, West Virginia. Designed as a portable, no-refrigeration-needed lunch for coal miners who couldn't carry anything perishable into the deep shafts, the pepperoni's fat renders during baking and soaks into the bread from within. The rolls are eaten at room temperature, exactly as the miners did. West Virginia passed a special exemption from USDA labeling laws just so bakeries could keep selling them. Outside Appalachian West Virginia, they're nearly impossible to find.
Ingredients
- 500 gBread flour
- 300 mlWarm water
- 7 gActive dry yeast
- 1 tbspSugar
- 1 tspSalt
- 2 tbspOlive oil
- 300 gPepperoni sticks (or thick-sliced pepperoni)
Directions
- 1
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let it bloom for 5 minutes until frothy.
- 2
Mix flour and salt, then add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- 3
Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled in size.
- 4
Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each into a flat oval.
- 5
Place a pepperoni stick (or a row of overlapping slices) along the center of each oval. Fold the dough over and pinch the seam and ends shut tightly.
- 6
Place seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let rise for 20 minutes.
- 7
Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown. The rendered pepperoni fat will have soaked into the bread from the inside.
- 8
Cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature, exactly as the miners did.