About This Recipe

What are sausage wrap rolls?

Sausage Wrap Rolls are a cross between Pigs in a Blanket and a classic dinner roll. They consist of a mini sausage wrapped in a thin layer of dinner-roll style enriched dough. These were made popular in the US by Sister Schubert, who no longer sells the product. They were a classic holiday staple or fun breakfast item for many.

What I love about this recipe:

This recipe will take you right down memory lane. For me, sausage rolls were a staple at the breakfast table of my childhood. These rolls are sweet and savory all at once and are always a crowd pleaser. The brioche-like dough, enriched with eggs and butter, makes these rolls incredibly fluffy and flavorful. Pair this with the savory bite of a cocktail sausage and you have a match made in heaven.

Why this recipe works

Sweet Stiff Starter

“Sweet” and “stiff” both contribute to a reduced sour taste in these sausage wrap rolls. Learn more about sweet stiff starters here.

The Ingredients: Eggs, butter, sugar

This dough is enriched with two eggs, which bring a fluffy, brioche-like texture to these rolls. Pair this with butter for moistness and a rich flavor, and sugar for the classic sweetness of Sister Schubert rolls, and the perfect combination is ensued.

The Ingredients: Flour

I chose to use a combination of bread flour and all-purpose flour in this recipe. Bread flour is important for gluten development and helps add structure to the rolls. If necessary, this recipe can be made with 100% all-purpose flour, though the resulting dough will be slightly more wet and potentially a bit more slack.

Gluten Development

Gluten is developed in this recipe by kneading the dough in a stand mixer until it is smooth and strong. This ensures a perfectly built dough with minimum effort on the baker’s part. Due to the high butter content, stretch and folds are not recommended. Use a lower speed for a longer period of time if your stand mixer cannot handle the technique used for this wet dough.

Bulk Fermentation

Due to the addition of sugar + the high fat content, rise times can be longer all across the board. This recipe includes an increased amount of starter to help with timing. Letting the dough rise as much as possible, but not too much, contributes to the airiest result. Using a proofing aid can speed things along. I favor an overnight method for this recipe to ensure fluffy rolls with little concern about timing.

technique: Shaping Sticky Dough

This dough is sticky; therefore, it can be helpful to use water, oil, or flour to help with shaping. I choose to use a small bowl of water to dip my fingertips as necessary, though it is important not to oversaturate the dough as it is being worked with. Alternatively, dip or spray fingers lightly with oil, or dust the dough lightly with flour.

The Wash

For this recipe, I chose a honey-butter wash over other options. Butter keeps the rolls soft, while honey adds sweetness and a light brown color. These rolls will not brown much in the oven, as butter has a lightening effect on bread. If you desire something darker, use an egg wash instead by whisking together one whole egg and brushing all over the top of the rolls before baking.

Baking Method

The temperature of 375 F is necessary to get these rolls a proper oven spring and help them brown slightly. At 350 F, they will cook fully before lightly browning; twenty-five degrees makes all the difference. Bake them just to 185 F for rolls that are perfectly soft and fluffy.

Suggested Baking Timeline

8 AM (Day 1)

+Make the sweet stiff starter

8 PM (Day 1)

+Mix and knead the dough

+Begin bulk fermentation

+Bake the sausages and store in the fridge (Option 1)

8 AM (Day 2)

+Bake the sausages (Option 2)

+Shape the rolls

11 AM (Day 2)

+Wash and bake the rolls

+Enjoy!

Sausage Wrap Rolls

Recipe by Caitlin VincentCourse: Breakfast, Snack, SideCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate

Prep time

minutes

Resting Time

hours

Baking Time

minutes

Yield

rolls

Ingredients

Sweet Stiff Starter
60 g active starter (¼ cup)
60 g water (¼ cup)
120 g all-purpose flour (1 cup)
15 g sugar (3 tbsp)
Milk Mixture
240 g milk (1 cup)
120 g water (½ cup)
180 g sugar (¾ cup)
1 whole stick butter, cubed (½ cup, 113 g)
Main Dough
300 g bread flour (2 1/2 cups)
300 g all-purpose flour (2 1/2 cups)
10 g salt (1 ½ tsp)
All of the milk mixture
All of the sweet stiff starter
2 large eggs (about 50 g each)
Filling
42 cocktail sausages
Wash
2 tbsp butter, melted (28 g)
2 tbsp honey (50 g)

Directions

Make the sweet stiff starter. Mix together all ingredients for the sweet stiff starter 8-12 hours before beginning this recipe. Cover and rest at room temperature.
Warm the milk mixture. In a separate, small saucepan, combine milk, water, sugar, and butter. Heat the mixture until it reaches 100-110 F, the sugar is dissolved, and the butter is partially melted. Cool slightly before incorporating into the dough.
Begin the main dough. Whisk together the flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the milk mixture and give it a rough stir. Last, add all of the sweet stiff starter and two eggs. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
Knead the dough.
- - KitchenAid: Knead on a medium speed (speed 4-6) 10-15 minutes, until the dough pulls away from (and “slaps”) the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hook. I kneaded on speed 6 for eight minutes, then slowed to speed 4 for five more minutes.
  - Ankarsrum: Using the dough hook and scraper attachments, knead on a medium speed (speed 4-5) 12-15 minutes, until the dough becomes strong enough to climb up the dough hook and push the scraper away from the side of the bowl.
Bulk ferment. Transfer the dough to a proofing container and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size. This will take 8-16 hours, so I love to do this as an overnight dough. Mine rose in about 12 hours at 70 F.
OPTIONAL: Bake the cocktail sausages. Pre-bake forty-two cocktail sausages at 350 F for twenty minutes. In my opinion, this makes them taste better and allows the opportunity for grease to dispense before the sausages are wrapped and baked in the dough. Dot the sausages dry with a paper towel or cloth before wrapping.
Shape. After the dough has risen, prepare a bowl of water for dipping your fingertips. Turn the dough out onto a clean working surface and divide into forty-two sections, 35-40 g each.
Shape each section into a round, dipping your fingertips in the water as necessary, by tucking all the ends underneath the dough in a circular motion. Turn the dough bottom side up and stretch the dough to elongate it enough to wrap around each cocktail sausage. Place the wrapped sausages, seam side down, on a half-size sheet pan, creating seven rows of six sausages each.
Final proof. Let the wrapped sausages rise 2-4 more hours, until they are very puffy.
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
Make the wash. Whisk together the melted butter and honey for the wash. Brush all over the proofed sausages before baking.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the internal temperature registers 185-190 F. The sausages will be very lightly browned on top, but not dark. Take care not to overbake.
Enjoy!
How to store: Store in the fridge five to seven days, or in the freezer.
To reheat: Microwave 4-5 rolls on a plate 30-60 seconds, until warmed through. Alternatively, bake (wrapped in aluminum foil) at 350 F for 5-15 minutes (depending on if they are coming from the fridge or freezer), until warmed through.