Semolina Rolls with Pizza and Ham and Swiss Filling

I love these homemade hotpockets! They're great to send for lunches for the week. I usually make several fillings so we don't get tired of having the same thing everyday. This recipe comes from King Arthur's Baker's Catalouge. I really like the semolina flour. It's just a bit different than my pizza dough recipe but similiar. I love the way the cheese oozes out of the rolls while baking, leaving a crispy cheese crust.

For this batch, I made a pizza filling (sauce, Italian cheeses, and pepperoni) and a ham and swiss roll with a sweet garlic mustard that I brought back from Peju Winery in Napa. But you can fill them with anything. I think a spicy chicken and peppers mixture would be great--next time! My only suggestion would be to make them smaller. They are really too big for me. Maybe make 10-12 instead of the 8 that the recipe specifies. Continue for recipe.

Semolina Rolls with Pizza Filling
King Arthur

Packing school lunches calls for organization. Our filled rolls are perfect; they're filling and satisfying. They can be made in advance and they don't need to be heated. We give you our basic recipe for semolina bread. You can also use your own white, wheat or rye bread recipe. The pizza filling is a hit with all generations.

1 teaspoon sugar or honey
2 cups room temperature water
1 tablespoon granulated yeast
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 1/2 cups semolina flour

Dissolve the sugar or honey in the water and add the yeast and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Let it sit for 10 minutes to give the yeast a chance to get going.
Add the salt and the semolina flour, then the remainder of the all-purpose flour, a half cup at a time, until the dough has formed a shaggy mass.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead it, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough has formed a smooth and satiny ball.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size. Punch the dough down.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces (or 10-12). Roll each piece into a rectangle 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick. If the dough is being recalcitrant and it is contracting, it is telling you that it needs a little rest. If you let the dough sit for a few minutes, you will find that it is much more cooperative.
Place filling on the dough and leave a border of at least 1/2 inch. (Liquid fillings like spaghetti sauce or mustard need to be used in scant amounts so that they don't boil out of the rolls.)
Roll up lengthwise.
Brush the edges with the egg wash and pinch to seal shut. Pinch the ends shut and fold them underneath the roll.
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Egg Wash:
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt
Beat the egg and the water together. Add the salt and beat.

Let the rolls rest and rise until they are swollen, 30 to 45 minutes; don't let them double in size. Preheat the oven to 375°F while the rolls are rising. Brush the rolls with the remaining egg wash.
Slash the rolls diagonally about 1/2-inch deep. Keep the slashes on the top of the rolls so that the cheese doesn't ooze out during baking.
Bake the rolls for 25 to 35 minutes. When the rolls are done, they will be browned and should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Let cool before eating. The melted cheese is hot!

Some Other Favorite Fillings: tuna fish salad and cheddar cheese; ham and Swiss and Dijon mustard; turkey and provolone and honey mustard; Reuben: pastrami, Swiss, Russian dressing*, and mustard; and corned beef and Swiss. *Mayonnaise tends to ooze; make your tuna salad a bit dry.

Nutrition information per serving, semolina bread alone (1/8 of recipe -- 1 roll, 149 g): 280 cal, 1 g fat, 9 g protein, 59 g complex carbohydrates, 1 g sugar, 2 g dietary fiber, 802 mg sodium, 114 mg potassium, 3 mg iron, 144 mg calcium, 81 mg phosphorus. Nutrition information per serving, semolina bread with pizza filling (1/8 of recipe -- 1 roll, 228 g): 519 cal, 20 g fat, 22 g protein, 62 g complex carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, 82 mg cholesterol, 1653 mg sodium, 268 mg potassium, 1 mg vitamin C, 4 mg iron, 303 mg calcium, 237 mg phosphorus.

This recipe reprinted from King Arthur Flour's Baking Sheet, Vol. III, No. 8, Sept.-Oct., 1992