Sausage Rolls for Dinner

This recipe has to be an all-time, kid-winning favorite. This was the one meal my brother and I looked forward to the most; it probably had the most requests and disappeared the fastest from the table. I hadn't had sausage rolls in probably twenty years until a couple of months ago when I dug up the recipe from my mother and it was an instant success with my kids (and from the standpoint of ease in the kitchen for the chef, a hit for me as well).

There are two ways to make these and these days I opt for the healthy version because at most it takes only ten more minutes of my time. The way my mom used to do it was buy Rhodes frozen French dough loafs in the freezer section at the grocery store. To my chagrin, Rhodes hasn't jumped on the happy bandwagon and dumped the high fructose corn syrup in their recipe quite yet. I just can't bring myself to buy them with an obesogen being the third ingredient on the list. Bah. So, I attempted these making my own bread dough and they turn out just as fabulous. The bread dough takes ten minutes to prepare and require 2 hours to rise. The other items you will need are mozzarella cheese and Jimmy Dean All Natural Sausage (no nitrites, nitrates or MSG, yay!). If you choose to go the Rhodes route, simply get two loaves out 1 hour ahead of time, place on a greased cookie sheet and allow to thaw (not rise) in an unheated oven with a pan of hot water underneath.

Sausage Roll Goodness! Recipe
Mix 1 T active dry or bread machine yeast, 1 1/2 T Evaporated Cane Sugar and 1 1/2 cups warm water and allow to stand for ten minutes or until bubbly.

Then add 1 tsp. salt, 3 T oil (I use grapeseed oil), 1 egg yolk and 4-5 1/2 cups flour, divided. Start with three cups of flour and add until the dough is only slightly sticky to touch. Form into a ball (mine is never very pretty, so don't worry if it isn't smooth), cover with plastic and allow to rise 1 1/2 to two hours.

Punch down dough and pinch into two separate dough balls. I use pampered chef mats to roll the dough out into an oval. Don't roll out to flat.

 

 

Once the dough is rolled out, sprinkle down the middle with mozzarella cheese. I don't have an amount for you on this one - I just eyeball it based on how cheesy I want these puppies to be. Layer the cheese with one pound of cooked sausage. Top with more mozzarella cheese.

 

 

Once topped with cheese, fold the bottom edges in and tuck under the two sides. I have normally pinched the edges together in the past which worked fine but the last round I used a folding method that I felt worked better. As long as the sausage cheese are wrapped happily in the dough, you're good.

 

 

Grease a cookie sheet and flip the roll from the mat onto the cookie sheet. These mats made this process so simple. Anything you can use to flip the roll over placing the seam-side down will help you and your frustration level. :) Melt some butter and brush over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with just a touch of mozzarella cheese for appeal if you wish, but not necessary.

 

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees. Slice like bread and serve with fresh fruit or a green salad. I've also served with Green Bean Casserole and that worked out good as well. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. These are easy and delicious!

 

As you will note, I rolled the center of this dough just a touch too thin so watch as you roll. Below are the pampered chef mats that are perfect for this recipe as they are flexible, light and the dough doesn't stick.

 

Add this to your quick-fix meal list and enjoy often!