Pizza Rolls (Edit)

Components

  • Grandma Betty’s Rolls

  • Marinara Sauce

Yield

12 rolls

Ingredients

  • Grandma Betty’s Sweet Roll Dough

  • ~1-2 cup marinara sauce

  • 2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

  • desired pizza toppings (bell peppers, onion, italian sausage, ham, pineapple, etc.)

Directions

  • On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle that’s about ¼ of an inch thick. (The length and width of your rectangle depends on how much dough you’ve prepared)

  • Spread the sauce across the dough, even up to the edges, EXCEPT on one of the long edges you should leave 3-4 inches bare without any sauce or toppings (this will be explained in a little bit).

  • Sprinkle cheese and toppings evenly across the sections covered in sauce.

  • Starting on the long edge with toppings, begin rolling the dough towards the opposite long edge. Try to keep the spiral nice and tight. You’ll notice as you roll that some of the filling will start creeping across that portion we left bare earlier–this is why we don’t put anything there.

  • Keep rolling until all of the dough is wrapped up in the spiral and it almost resembles a burrito.

  • Use a serrated knife to width-wise cut the dough in 2 inch wide pieces all the way down the roll.

  • Gently pick up the rolls and lay them flat on a greased cookie sheet or other prepared pan for baking. You should be able to see the spiral when you lay them flat.

  • Allow the rolls to rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size then bake in an oven at 350F for ~20 minutes. Use a fork to gently touch or prod the middle of one of the rolls close to the middle of the pan to check the texture. If the roll is still doughy but the outside is getting brown, reduce heat to 325 or even 300 (if they’re really getting dark) and continue baking, setting a timer for 5 minutes and then checking to decide if additional time is needed. If the color on the rolls is fine, don’t worry about reducing temperature.

  • If all else fails and the centers still won’t cook, you can put them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes before you eat them and that will cook the middle.

  • Remember to refrigerate.

Grandma Betty’s Rolls

Ingredients

  • 1 packet active dry yeast

  • ½ cup warm water (105-115F)

  • ½ cup luke warm evaporated milk (scalded then cooled)

  • ⅓ cup sugar

  • ⅓ cup of butter (softened)

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 egg

  • 3½ to 4 cup flour (estimate–NOT a hard rule)

Steps

  • Combine yeast, warm water, and some or all of the sugar in a medium sized bowl. (The warm water activates the yeast and the sugar feeds it. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, the yeast won’t activate.)

  • In a large bowl, mix egg, salt, and (if not all added to the yeast) sugar.

  • If you don’t want to wait a long time for the milk to cool, or if you melted the butter in the microwave because you forgotten to soften it beforehand, slowly drizzle the milk or butter into the egg mixture, stirring the egg mixture constantly. This will allow you to incorporate the new ingredients without cooking the egg and breaking the mixture. The added heat from the milk and butter can also be good for activating the yeast further when you add it.

  • As long as the milk/egg mixture isn’t too hot, add yeast directly to the large bowl, making sure to scrape down the sides to get all of the sugar out of the yeast bowl.

  • One cup at a time, begin adding the flour and stirring it into the mixture. The amount of flour you end up adding in the end doesn’t matter–the consistency of the dough does. Add flour until the dough is barely not sticky enough to handle. Part way through adding the flour, you will likely have to switch from using a spoon to kneading it with your hands. For best results, focus on using the palms of your hands to knead the dough rather than your fingers.

  • Cover mixture, place it in a warm place, and let it rise until doubled in size.

  • Punch down dough, shape into rolls, let them rise, then bake at 350F for 20 minutes. (Depending on your oven, the cooking time may vary and you may get better results by baking at 375F)

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

  • ¼ or ½ cup water (optional)

  • 1 16 oz. can finely diced tomatoes

  • 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 Tbsp dried basil

  • 1 tsp oregano

  • 1-2 Tbsp sugar

  • 2 Tbsp italian seasoning

  • 1 bay leaf

Steps

  • Put oil in the bottom of the saucepan, then add garlic and lightly brown to make it fragrant. (If you are sensitive to garlic or prefer less of a garlic flavor, feel free to reduce the amount used in this recipe.)

  • Add onion (salt and pepper to taste–like ¼ or ½ tsp of both) and continue cooking until the onion is caramelized.

  • Put onion and garlic mixture into a blender, add water to make it easier to blend. Blend until the mixture forms almost a paste. Spoon mixture back into the saucepan.

  • Add the diced tomatoes, sauce, salt, basil, oregano, sugar, italian seasoning, and bay leaf to the pot and stir well. If you desire a smoother mixture, feel free to replace the diced tomatoes with tomato sauce entirely.

  • Simmer on low for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If you want a thinner sauce, keep the mixture covered. If you want to steam off some of the liquid, then leave the lid cracked so more of the steam can escape. (The longer the mixture simmers, the stronger, deeper, and more complex the flavor will be. The bay leaf really adds to this process so don’t leave it out.) Taste after this first hour and make sure the sauce is balanced. Usually if the sauce is off, it needs a touch more sugar (to counter the salt and bitterness) or spices.