Pizza Stuffed Pretzel Rolls

Don't be shy...

I’m going unprocessed this month. Which, as my favorite byproduct of this exercise, has pushed me out of my grocery buying comfort zone and reminded me to wander into local bakeries and specialty food stores to rely on what they have to offer. I love supporting local mom & pop shops, and even though I eat a very unprocessed diet on a regular basis, this is a great way for me to double check all of my eating habits.

When I had the idea for these stuck in my head, I wanted to make it as easy as possible for the both of us. I found out a few interesting short cuts for pizza dough. While I am working on perfecting a pizza dough recipe, I realize that good dough takes time and my pizza making cravings don’t allow me the requisite 24 hours that good dough really needs. I did learn that most pizza places will sell you raw and ready to use pizza dough if you just ask, but don’t count on them delivering. Also, look for an Italian deli, I have two really great ones in my neighborhood. They usually sell homemade pasta, home cured meats, homemade cheese AND (you guested it) raw and ready to go pizza dough. Sometimes you even get handmade recipes passed down from generation to generation shipped over from the Motherland. So much better than I could ever do myself. As much as I WANT to make everything from my own hands, even on my best day I could never top an Italian Grandmother on her worst. So, my secret to these is “store bought” dough is getting it from my local Italian deli.

You can also look at your local regular-guy markets (Trader Joe’s, Fresh & Easy, Whole Foods) if you don’t have any Italian culinary entrepreneur  in your neighborhood. But it’s worth a Yelp search, just incase they flew under your radar, or call the nice folks at your local pizza restaurant to see if they will break you off a hunk of their dough.

Pizza Stuffed Pretzel Rolls

1 batch Pizza dough

1/2 cup marinara sauce

2 oz peperoni, chopped

1/2 cup cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, whatever you want)

1/4 cup baking soda

2 tbs sugar

3 tbs melted butter

course salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Start by placing the hunk of dough on a lightly floured surface.

Shape the dough into a long log. Cut into two equal halves, then cut each half in half (giving you four equal logs)

Then cut each log in half the other way

Now you have 8 pieces! Cut each piece in half and you are finally done with the cutting and you have 16 dough pieces ready to be filled.

Roll each dough piece on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Top with about 1 to 2 tbs sauce, 2 tbs cheese and 1 tbs pepperoni.

Wet the edges of the dough (the best way to do this is to place a small bowl of water near you and wet your fingertips) and pinch the edges tightly together.

Place on a baking sheet, covered with a Silpat.

Fill a large pot with water, making sure you have enough room for it to bubble up, but deep enough for the rolls to fit in. Add the 2 tbs sugar and allow to boil, add the baking soda (there will be lots of bubbling), add the buns (about 4 at a time) and allow to boil for about 30 seconds, remove with a large slotted spoon and return to baking sheet.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until a dark golden brown.

*Note: if you want to freeze these, allow to cool, place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 weeks. To re-heat, bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until cooked though.

Don't be shy...