Cast Iron Pizza Rolls

My husband and I love pizza! So naturally when I began getting into baking, bread making especially, I had to try pizza dough. I've made quite a few pizzas, all different doughs and one day I screwed up the dough. I had overworked it and tore it, so out of sheer frustration I decided to just put all the toppings on the dough and roll it up to hide the holes I had made. I sliced it up and then realized I had no idea how I was going to keep these things together while baking. Originally, I was going to be using a pizza stone (for my traditionally circular and flat pizza), but now that wouldn't work.

I am a big fan of using cast iron when cooking. I greased the cast iron with a little bit of olive oil and carefully placed each slice the pizza roll into the cast iron until they fit nice and snug.

I baked them not having any idea of what they were going to turn out to be. And voila! A brand new recipe that I make often and has become a crowd favorite, too. Yay for mistakes!

Makes large 8 pizza rolls

For the dough:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (I like Red Star)

1/2 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water (about 110 - 115 degrees)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more for greasing

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Allow the yeast to proof about 5-10 minutes. The yeast should be bubbly and foamy.

2. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, sift the flour into the bowl. Add the salt and stir to combine.

3. Add the yeast mixture (once proofed) and the olive oil to the flour mixture. If using a stand mixer use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough. If using your hands, knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and slightly tacky.

4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Get it about 9" x 13". This is rough and it's okay if it isn't a perfect rectangle, mine never is.

For the toppings:

1/4 cup pizza sauce (see Katie's pasta sauce recipe)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 lb deli-sliced pepperoni

1 lb ground Italian sausage (cooked, crumbled and drained)

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

1. Preheat the oven 450 degrees.

2. Lightly grease a 10" or 12" cast iron skillet with extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.

3. Spread the pizza sauce in a thin layer across the dough.

4. Sprinkle the cheese evenly across the dough.

5. Evenly lay the pepperoni on top of the cheese.

6. Evenly sprinkle the ground sausage on top of the pepperoni.

7. Fold the short edges of the rectangle in on each side about 1" - 2". Just so they are folded over.

8. Starting on the longest side closest to you, tightly roll the dough and all the toppings into a log. Tucking in the toppings along the way that fall may out.

9. Once you have the dough shaped into a log, take a sharp knife and cut the log into 8 even slices.

10. Carefully place each slice into the greased cast iron skillet. Be careful as the weight of the toppings may make the rolls unravel. Place each slice as close to the previous one as possible to make each slice fit.

11. Lightly brush the egg wash over the top and sides of the rolls. Wherever you see dough exposed.

12. Bake in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes, until the dough has puffed, cheese has melted and crust is a golden brown.

13. Finish with the chopped parsley, serve when cooled and enjoy!