Week 5 - West Virginia

Hi from the wild and wonderful Mountain State! Superbowl Sunday brought with it a sixth championship for a certain New England team (GO PATS!)  At the Farabee house, it also brought with it a trip to West Virginia.

When I started working at High Point University, one of my first recruitment territories was West Virginia.  I had never been to the state, and had only heard vague, fairly negative stereotypes about it. But the four years I spent as the West Virginia counselor was great, and I met some great people and saw absolutely breathtaking natural wonders.  I'll never forget the first time I walked out on the wooden platform overlooking the New River Gorge and seeing the absolute grandness of that vista.

This past year, Elizabeth and I actually had the chance to take a weekend trip together to West Virginia.  I was there for work, and while it may not be everyone's number one vacation destination,  we've tried to find adventure wherever we find ourselves and that trip was no different.   While we were there, we had our first taste of the West Virginia Pepperoni Roll.

Initially created as a cheap, quick, easy lunch or snack for the coal miners in the state, the pepperoni roll is a state-wide delicacy with a variety of devoted camps. Some swear by sliced pepperoni in the roll, others go for the stick pepperoni.  The kind that we tried in a little bakery in Buckhannon actually used ground pepperoni for their filling. 

As it sounded like a perfect Superbowl food, I decided to try to make some of my own for the big game.  Unfortunately, it was a comedy of errors...


Pepperoni Rolls

1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 packet active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups coconut flour (MY FIRST MISTAKE)
1 large egg
1 12oz. package sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup olive oil

This was my first time making a bread dough...and I really should have stuck to the recipe.  Elizabeth has noticed that after Eleanor was born, she's been more sensitive to gluten.  In an effort to honor that and make something that she could eat, I replaced the regular flour with coconut flour...which was not the way to go...

First, I heated up the milk and the butter, and then added the active yeast.  But I'm pretty sure that I heated the milk up too much. The instructions in the recipe said to not heat it over 115 degrees...and I think I didn't pay attention to that part.  Which meant that my yeast was probably scalded into oblivion the second I poured in the packet...

While I was letting my yeast activate (die), I mixed the sugar, salt, and coconut flour together. I formed a well in the middle and added the egg.

I then poured in the milk/butter/obliterated yeast mixture over that and mixed well. The batter was supposed to be sticky and crumbly.  And mine was...kind of...like that...

I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and left it in a warm place to rise for 2-3 hours.  It was supposed to double in size during this period...but this just didn't happen.

No change...

I should have known then that I was in trouble, but I pressed on.  The next step called for making a ball out of the dough.  The fact that it kept falling apart had alarm bells going off in my head, but I eventually got it shaped into a rough ball form.  I put this back in the bowl, covered it again, and let it "rise" some more.  By the quotations, you should be able to figure out that it did nothing of the sort.

I didn't have high hopes at this point for my pepperoni rolls, but I pressed on further.  I cut the ball up into eight pieces...

And then attempted to roll each of these pieces out into a circle. The problem is that they wouldn't stick together.  The "dough" kept falling apart and cracking, and it felt like nothing was really holding it all together.  In short, it was a complete failure...

Tip: It's important to have a backup plan...

When I realized that the dough was not rising during the first period, I ran out to the grocery store and got some store-made pizza dough.  I know, I know, this is sacrilege, but I wanted to at least get something that resembled what Elizabeth and I tried on the table for this week's state-themed dinner.

I rolled the dough out and cut it into eight sections. I rubbed each of the sections with olive oil (using a slice of pepperoni), then put two or three slices of pepperoni in the middle of each slice of dough.  I topped this with a mound of mozzarella, and then rolled them up. I put them in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes.

The result...

Was very tasty...but more like a calzone than anything else.  They were a hit at the party, but I know that I didn't do the West Virginia Pepperoni Roll the justice that it deserved.

The plus side is that I've identified where I could improve for the next go around. And there will be a next time.  As I get better with baking, I'm going to attempt this one again, so look out at some point this year for a "redo" on West Virginia's pepperoni filled treat.  Hopefully they'll turn out better that time!