Type | Bread |
---|---|
Place of origin | United States |
Region or state | West Virginia |
Main ingredients | White bread, pepperoni |
Variations | Cheese (usually mozzarella or provolone), marinara |
The pepperoni roll is an Italian-American stuffed bread roll. Originally conceived of as a coal miner's lunch, it is popular in West Virginia and some nearby regions of the Appalachian Mountains most notably Western Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, and Appalachian Ohio.[1] In West Virginia it is nearly ubiquitous, particularly in convenience stores, and is arguably the food most closely associated with the state.[2] Pepperoni rolls are also found in Southeast Michigan where they were popular among auto workers in the factories.[3][4]
The classic pepperoni roll consists of a fairly soft white yeast-leavened bread roll with pepperoni baked in the middle. During baking, the fats in the pepperoni (which are hard at room temperature) melt, resulting in a spicy oil suffusing into the bread.[5] Pepperoni rolls are typically eaten for lunch or breakfast, either unheated or slightly warmed.[2]