Snazzy Pizza Rolls

I find working with yeast a little bit daunting. I’m always afraid something is going to go terribly wrong. Is this yeast too old? Did I knead it enough? Is the dough the correct consistency? How do you know? It’s a minefield out there.

Recently, we have made pizza a weekly thing. Usually Saturday – make the dough in the morning, pop it in the fridge, use it in the evening – and it usually works out ok. Sometimes chewier, sometimes harder to roll, always eaten – and I guess that’s the real test?

This recipe is a softer dough than I usually use for pizzas – it puffs up more when baked and is all fluffy and delicious. It’s a little more hassle than regular pizza, but not alot. And it’s nice to have a change  Most importantly, this is my entry to English Mum’s Fresh Bread Bakeoff!

Based (very) loosely on some cinnamon roll recipes I’ve been saving and never getting round to making.

What You Need:

For the dough:

2 1/4 tsp yeast

100ml warm water

65g sugar

500g strong white flour (you might need a bit more to get the consistency right)

80g melted butter

1 cup milk

2 tsp salt

For the filling:

100g butter, at room temperature

2 cloves garlic, crushed

some parsley (either fresh or dried)

1 ball of mozzarella (or two, if you feel like it)

chorizo (I used about 2 – 3 inches), cubed

What To Do:

Start off by scattering the yeast into a medium bowl. Pour the warm water on top and whisk it around. Measure out the sugar and add 2 tbsp of the sugar into the bowl with the yeast. Whisk until the yeast and sugar are dissolved. Let it stand for a few minutes. It’ll start to foam a little.

Measure out the flour and add 1 cup/about 100g into the yeast mixture. Mix well.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or just in a big bowl if you’re doing this by hand), mix the remaining flour, sugar and salt. Add the melted butter, milk and the yeast mixture and mix well. I used the paddle attachment for this stage.

When the dough comes together, swap to the dough hook attachment. If you’re making the dough by hand, turn it out onto a well-floured surface and start to knead. You may need to add more flour/or a little water to get the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl (or stop sticking to the work surface). You want a nice, smooth, shiny dough and is soft, but not sticky.

Dodgy picture alert:

Lightly oil a large bowl (I use the same stand mixer bowl), pop in the dough, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size. I left mine on the floor near the fire (and a flaked-out cat):

While the dough is proving, make the garlic butter. If you’re using fresh parsley, chop it finely. If, like me, you never remember to buy fresh parsley, the dried stuff will do. Mix the butter, parsley and crushed garlic together using a fork.

Now is a good time to cut the mozzarella and chorizo into cubes.

Mmmm. Chorizo-y goodness!

When the dough has doubled, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle, about 10 x 16 inches. Smear the garlic butter evenly over the dough. Use your fingers! You can keep a little of the garlic butter aside to melt and brush over the rolls before baking if you like.

Cut the dough into strips about an inch or so in thickness. Scatter the chorizo cubes over the dough strips.

Next scatter on the mozzarella cubes.

The next time I make these, I’ll add a second type of cheese to oomph up the cheesiness. Some grated cheddar would be nice, or even an extra ball of mozzarella.:)

Roll each strip up as tightly as you can, keeping the chorizo and cheese in place. Lay the rolls in an oven-proof dish or pan on their sides (no need to grease).

Cover with a tea towel and leave for 30 – 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C. You can put them in the oven as they are, or you can go garlic mad, melt some of the garlic butter and brush over the rolls.

Pop them in the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. The dish I used was quite heavy, so if you’re using a tin or a lighter dish, then drop the baking time down a bit. The rolls will be golden brown on top when done.

Serve with some tomato pasta sauce, either homemade (fry a crushed garlic clove in olive oil, add a jar of passata, a tsp mixed herbs and simmer (lid on) for 20 mins) or  heated from a jar. Tear off the rolls and dip in the tomato sauce as you eat!

Fluffy, doughy, goodness!

These are a lovely, help-yourself-while-watching-a-movie treat, and not much more complicated than making a regular pizza.  Mix up the toppings a bit. Use less garlic, more herbs. Give them a try!

Enjoy!