
Freshly baked pepperoni pizza rolls made from scratch. The perfect balance between a soft, fluffy dough and a savory garlic herb flavor, these tasty rolls make a delicious lunch or afternoon snack.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens into a paste. This typically happens when the mixture reaches 149°F (65°C). You’ll know it’s ready when your whisk or spatula leaves lines in the paste. This step only takes a few minutes.
Remove from heat and let the roux cool to room temperature. To cool faster, transfer it to a small bowl.
In a small saucepan, heat water until lukewarm (110F-115F).
Note: If using active dry yeast, sprinkle the yeast over the lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes. If using instant yeast as listed in the recipe, prepping the yeast first isn't necessary.
In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the butter, egg, sugar and salt, garlic, and parsley and mix. Add the tangzhong mixture, warm water, and yeast and mix until combined.
Add all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until combined. The dough should be soft, smooth, elastic and sticky. Keep kneading on low speed in the mixer for 5-7 minutes.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in size.
When the dough has doubled in size, gently punch it to remove air. Then, roll it into an approximately 12x10 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface as the dough can be a little sticky.
Leaving a small border at the top and bottom edges, spread the dough evenly with pizza sauce. Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 1-inch strips, 10-inches long.
Top with shredded mozzarella. Add 7 pepperoni per dough strip, slightly overlapping each pepperoni. Roll up each dough strip, pinching the end to seal the seam. Place each roll on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Cover and let rest to rise for about 30 minutes or until rolls double in size.
Preheat oven to 375℉/190℃.
Bake pizza rolls in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the tops have browned and a skewer inserted into the rolls comes out clean. If the rolls brown too fast, cover them loosely with aluminum foil.
To make the garlic butter, mix all ingredients together. Drizzle over the rolls either 5 minutes before they've finished baking or right after pulling them out of the oven for a stronger garlic flavor.
Serve warm or reheat before serving.
Meatless option: Use pepper slices or pickled pepperoncini for a vegetarian twist on these pizza rolls. Pat them dry with a paper towel first before adding to the rolls.
These can also be made with or without the sauce and pepperoni to create a garlic cheese roll too!
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to three days for maximum freshness.