Pastry Chef Attempts to Make Gourmet Pizza Rolls

I made pizza ravioli.

I was gonna say, it looks like ravioli.

Should that be a thing?

Like why isn't-- Pizza ravioli?

Pizza ravioli a thing?

I feel like probably it is somewhere.

Really?

Yeah, in some-- I've never heard of it.

College dorm rooms like [beep].

[chuckling] Nevermind.

[jazzy percussion]

[sizzling] [machine whirring]

[man screaming]

Ow! Mother--[beep] that thing is hot.

Hey everyone, I'm Claire, I'm in the BA test kitchen

and today I'm making gourmet

Pizza Rolls.

[jazzy percussion]

I've never had one of these before,

but in my mind it is a smaller Hot Pocket.

So, I'm feeling pretty good about this today.

I do think growing up,

you had Totino's Pizza Rolls or you had Bagel Bites,

and in my house we had Bagel Bites.

It's sort of unbelievable that my mom let us eat that, but.

This seems like a classic Mom and Dad aren't home,

kids have to feed themselves kind of after-school snack.

Ooh, you guys.

This is the first time we've ever seen

ingredients go into two columns.

Don't feel good about that.

I like the size a lot.

They seem like they'd be fun to eat,

just sort of little finger food.

They're little rectangles.

It's like it's wrapped around the two shorter sides

and then the two longer sides are kind of

crimped and pinched to close.

Yeah, they are like little pillows.

They're so cute.

Bake or microwave?

Microwave? Okay.

My microwave broke

and it just shoots sparks out every time we turn it on

even with nothing in it.

[crew laughs]

So we unplugged it.

[jazzy percussion]

Wow, one minute is really very fast.

All right, they feel done.

These are a little sad.

They got kind of soft.

Chris has the right idea, when he takes bites this small.

The crust is kind of weirdly hard and chewy,

but overall it's like, I get it.

It's not bad, pretty good.

I just think when you combine tomato flavor,

oregano, cheese, and pepperoni,

it just sends a signal to your brain

that you're eating pizza.

Andy, do you ever eat Totino's Pizza Rolls?

No? Me neither.

It's so sad.

Yeah.

The crust is really--

The crust is so disappointing, just like--

Yeah, it's hard

and flavorless. It's hard

and it's dense.

I don't wanna be overly confident,

but having already done Hot Pockets,

Oh, this is like a smaller version.

I'll be done-- You nailed Hot Pockets.

It was so good. I think I'll be done today.

Yeah, Hot Pockets did all the work.

Mm, very chewy and gooey.

It's like the brownie bite equivalent of pizza.

You could eat like a thousand, probably,

without really realizing it.

Yeah. Yeah.

The thing I like about these is I think there is

so much room to make them really good.

For sure.

You know we're nowhere to go but up.

But I feel like you get that a lot.

I thought they were better.

Please make them better.

[chuckles] Yeah.

Sorry.

That's the goal. Sorry Totino's.

Okay, I'm gonna wash my hands.

Bye!

Bye.

Then I will buy a pork shoulder.

[sigh] Gaby, I miss Gaby.

Can I just look at what combination is?

Ooh, ooh you--

Sausage and pepperoni, seasoned pork,

chicken and beef pizza topping pizza

in a golden crust, sausage

made-- I don't [laughs]

these words in this order don't make sense.

I don't understand what this is.

Doesn't make any sense, I don't even know what's in here.

It's chicken and beef and pork?

Maybe we do a sausage version?

For this one, and maybe we make the sausage?

That could be fun, right?

You guys, this one is so easy.

I'm loving today.

All right, so I'm gonna take some measurements

for the big final ones.

Lengthwise, they're about 5 centimeters.

Then width is about 3.2?

I feel taller.

Did this counter get lower?

All right, so here's a cross-section.

It's kinda cute.

It looks kinda good.

Did Hot Pockets have distinct pieces of cheese

before you microwaved it?

Here's my thought process.

These have to be baked in the Totino's factory

and then like flash frozen and packaged.

And then you are reheating them, you're not cooking them.

Which tells me that this is cheese that just doesn't melt.

At all, so it's not like you're gonna get that stringiness

and that tells me that this is not real cheese, basically.

It's very easy to break these seams,

like they're not well sealed.

But what I see is that there is no seam

on the two shorter sides,

that it's like a long filled tube of pastry with

deposits of filling, and then it's like punched

in between those areas of filling.

I think these do explode in the microwave and oven,

and so if these do then mine can too, and that's fine.

I think it's just not overheating them.

But I learned a lot from a Hot Pocket.

Basically they need to be vented.

Oh no, they're leaking everywhere!

Sucks!

[beep]

I mean, I wonder actually if

it's intentional that these edges are not well sealed

and that maybe it's there to give

not only the air somewhere to go,

but the kind of bubbling filling,

so that they don't actually burst in other places.

The dough is pretty thin, but I don't think it's yeasted.

And it's not flaky either,

so I don't think it's gonna be that hard, really.

I'm A to A+ confidence level because I think I have,

I think pretty much everything is a known quantity here.

I'm gonna need water for this, and take a break.

It's so long.

So it starts here and it goes all the way over.

Okay.

It's time for my favorite part,

but I don't know if this is gonna be so great,

reading the ingredients.

Enriched flour, parentheses, wheat flour,

niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate,

riboflavin, folic acid, close parentheses.

Tomato puree, parentheses, water,

tomato paste, close parentheses.

Water, cooked pizza topping, made with pork and chicken,

parentheses, sausage made with pork and chicken,

bracket, pork, mechanically separated chicken,

salt, spice, maltodextrin, parentheses, corn, tapioca,

close parentheses, natural flavors, close bracket,

water, textured vegetable protein,

bracket, soy flour, caramel color, close bracket,

soy protein concentrate, sugar,

sodium phosphate, potassium chloride,

hydrolyzed corn and soy protein,

soy flour, yeast extract, close parentheses.

Imitation mozzarella cheese,

parentheses, water, palm oil, modified corn starch,

vegetable oil, rennet casein, salt,

sodium aluminum phosphate, potassium chloride,

citric acid, guar gum, potassium sorbate,

bracket, preservative, close bracket,

sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, titanium dioxide,

bracket, artificial color, close bracket,

maltodextrin, magnesium oxide, zinc oxide,

vitamin A, palmitate, riboflavin,

vitamin B12, close parentheses.

Vegetable oil, pepperoni seasoned pork,

chicken and beef pizza topping,

parentheses, pork, mechanically separated chicken,

beef, salt, contains 2% or less of

pepperoni, bracket, pork, mechanically separated chicken,

beef, salt, contains 2% or less of

spices, dextrose, pork stock, lactic acid starter culture,

oleoresin of paprika, flavoring, sodium ascorbate,

sodium nitrate, BHA, BHT, citric acid, close bracket,

spices, dextrose, oleoresin of paprika,

sodium ascorbate, garlic powder, natural flavor,

maltodextrin, sodium nitrite, lactic acid starter culture,

BHA, BHT, citric acid, close parentheses.

Contains less than 2% of

modified corn starch, rehydrated fat-free mozzarella cheese,

parentheses, water, skim milk, cheese cultures, salt,

enzymes, citric acid, vitamin A, palmitate, vitamin B6,

close parentheses, sugars, salt, modified whey,

defatted soy flour, dried onion, spice,

methyl cellulose, rehydrated enzyme modified cheese,

parentheses, water, milk, cheese cultures, salt,

enzymes, close parentheses,

dextrose, maltodextrin, TBHQ,

parentheses, preservative, close parentheses,

natural flavor.

I just blacked out.

[Camera Man] Jesus.

I've never in my life heard,

I don't know what mechanically separated chicken is.

But why do they have to say

that it's mechanically separated?

What does that mean, the separated part?

What's being separated in the chicken?

So if you cut out all of that parentheses

and brackets and then internal parentheses

and then more brackets,

what you have are the following.

Flour, tomato, sausage, imitation mozzarella cheese,

so I was right,

vegetable oil, pepperoni, and then a couple extras.

All right, let's go over to the computer.

I have to Google some of these things.

I can look at the hand-held pizzas.

Ew, that looks so gross.

[Video Narrator] A machine dispenses the filling

at perfectly timed intervals.

It adds one ounce of filling per pizza

[Claire] to one side of each strip. Huh.

So they really are formed like ravioli.

I mean these are not Pizza Rolls, but they're similar.

[Video Narrator] They add more flour

on top Oh flour.

[Video Narrator] So the crimper and rotary's cutters

can easily trim off the excess dough.

Okay, I think that

the filling is piped on top

and then they really are formed like ravioli

where they're crimped along the edges and cut.

Then I'm not quite sure how they get

only seams on two sides, instead of on three sides.

And then they're baked and then frozen.

Pretty much just what I thought.

Okay so my plan is to start with the sauce,

'cause that has to cook for a little while.

I think I'm basically gonna use the same

sauce method that I did for Hot Pockets.

So I have some tomato paste, red pepper flakes,

garlic, canned tomatoes,

and I'm gonna grab some basil from the walk-in.

[jazzy percussion]

Basically, the idea here is

I wanna make a really concentrated sauce

that doesn't have a lot of moisture in it

and I want it to be very very thick.

And then I'll add my basil

and then I'm gonna throw the whole thing in the oven.

My sauce is ready, I'm gonna pull it out.

I stirred it about a half an hour ago and I think it's done.

It got a little dark around the edges, but I think it's

overall it looks good.

So I'm gonna let it cool down, and then I'm going to

puree it.

[food processor whirring]

So now I wanna move on to--

Oh! We're gonna make the sausage.

That's kind of the fun part, I think, for today.

We're not just starting with ground pork,

we're starting with pork shoulder

that I'm gonna cube and season.

And then we're gonna grind it.

You're just gonna throw a four-pound piece of pork at me?

Jeez, this thing is like throwing a baby.

I'm gonna weigh out salt.

I have fennel seed, black pepper.

Ooh, that's a lot.

Wow, that is a much more

efficient pepper grinder than I have.

Given that amount of black pepper, I'm just gonna do

a quarter teaspoon of cayenne.

Oh no [laughs]

[Camera Man] What do you got there?

This is not cayenne.

This is smoked paprika.

[giggles] Sorry.

A half teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.

I'm gonna do a--

I think I won't do any cayenne.

I think that's enough, enough heat.

Some red wine here which provides the liquid.

One teaspoon of finely grated garlic.

Now I'm going to cube and weigh out

two pounds of the pork shoulder.

Take this off.

[machine whirring]

Because we're just gonna ground it into bits,

I'm just making the sausage itself

and we're not gonna put it in a casing.

If Brad were here, he would talk about the Fleischenhacker,

which is we have a manual meat grinder

that's by a German company called [laughs]

I think the name is Fleischenhacker [laughs].

All right, so when I mix the sausage,

I start with the garlic because the garlic as an ingredient

doesn't distribute as easily as the spices.

And I'm gonna go until I start to see a film

develop around the sides of the bowl.

And now I'm gonna add the wine.

[sighs] and I just keep mixing until

you can see that the meat starts to look a little bit sticky

and when I poke my finger into it,

see how it springs back?

That's how I know it's done.

[Camera Man] I feel like that that's how you know

anything in Gourmet Makes is done.

What?

[Camera Man] The poke test.

[laughing] The poke test.

It's a versatile test.

So I'm gonna do a little quick test,

I'm gonna fry off a patty,

just to make sure it's the right texture.

Okay, this is cooked, right?

Yeah.

All right, the whole point of this is that when I slice it,

it should cut cleanly and hold together.

All right, that looks like proper sausage.

That looks good.

Mm.

Maybe a little heavy on the smoked paprika but it's good.

All right, sausage is done.

I feel really good about that.

Now I'm gonna cook the sausage and put it all together.

I'm gonna grate this parm.

I'm going to brown off the sausage,

and I wanna break them up a little bit more.

All right, this looks good.

All right next, the cheese.

Dah! [chuckles]

Dan, Dan stop.

Stop! [laughing]

We got some low-moisture mozzarella.

[jazzy percussion]

I think it could use some dried oregano.

All right, I think the filling is done.

Quite happy with it.

Now we should move on to the dough.

And it's probably late enough in the day that we

have to start it just tomorrow.

[Camera Man] Oh my god, that's so early.

That clock says 5:15.

[Camera Man] That's wrong.

All right, I really sort of think the dough is just

flour, oil, and water.

I'm basically gonna go with a pizza dough

that's not leavened.

Maybe adding a tiny bit of baking powder

to give it some airiness.

'Cause I think part of the problem is that

on the Pizza Rolls, it's kinda gummy,

it gets really hard.

I think it needs a little bit of aeration.

[jazzy percussion]

This is our trusty pasta roller.

It's just a real easy way to make even, thin sheets.

I didn't start on the widest setting [laughs].

I started on the thinnest setting,

instead of the widest setting, my bad.

Let's try that again.

I start on the widest setting to gradually work it.

I might not wanna go any thinner than this.

I just wanna do a quick test with this dough

because I'm not really certain

what the texture will be when it bakes.

My concern is that it's gonna be very dry and cracker-like.

I'm gonna make two pizza rolls.

[jazzy music]

I'm not too worried about the shape or size.

They don't look so good.

[sighs]

[timer beeping]

All right, so mine's a little pale.

I feel like I did make hard tack.

That is sort of what this feels like.

The leaking, I'm not sure what to do about that.

So, what if I deep fried them?

Is that gross?

No?

This dough is not good.

The problem with this dough is that it tastes of raw flour,

like it hasn't been cooked enough.

It's terrible.

I can't quite figure out what this dough is supposed to be,

like it's not pizza dough and it's not flaky dough.

It's not puff pastry.

I'm just not sure what I want this dough to be.

Maybe just starting with actual pizza dough,

so like a yeasted dough since it is a Pizza Roll.

And then maybe we, I don't know, maybe we do deep fry them.

Is that a horrible idea?

No, that's a good idea?

Okay.

[jazzy percussion]

I was thinking because I've already done

a whole show about pizza dough,

called Making Perfect,

that I would start with that formula.

And we did use sourdough starter for that to leaven it.

It's like that feels pretty gourmet.

Ooh, Brad. You got any starter?

Huh? You have starter?

What kind of starter?

Oh, bread. Sourdough.

Frozen.

Can I have some?

I can get it for you.

Yeah?

All right. In a couple minutes.

Nothing in the fridge though.

No I--

Okay. [laughs]

I also thought that it would be fun

to really upgrade the Pizza Rolls by milling our own flour.

I also just love using the grain mill.

It's my favorite tool in the whole kitchen.

This thing is very heavy, please don't throw it at me.

So this is a grain mill.

Whole grains go in here.

There is a grinder inside, flour comes out.

You gonna grind the starter?

No, so what happened here?

I put it in the freezer.

This is actually leftover from

Pizza.

Making Perfect pizza.

That's the recipe I'm using.

Boom. For Pizza Rolls.

Oh, you're making Pizza Rolls, are you?

Yeah, weren't you here on Tuesday?

No, you weren't. Who makes Pizza rolls?

What kind of a question is--

Oh, you mean what brand name?

I thought Pizza Rolls were something else.

Oh, maybe I'm thinking of Hot Pockets.

Did they used to be triangles?

Maybe... right? Pizza Rolls?

These look-- They used to be triangles?

I'm starving, oh my god look at the

amount of ingredients. No, Brad.

Did you read this?

Yeah, it took me like 10 minutes.

It's longer than most books I've read, Claire.

[Claire laughs]

All right, 45 minutes later

I'm gonna make the dough.

[machine whirring]

So I'm gonna do a mix of

freshly milled flour and bread flour.

So this starter is still really cold,

but I think I have enough that I can kind of

scrape off the sides of the container.

So I do have to combine it with some active dry yeast,

just to make sure that we have bread by the end of the day.

I find myself feeling very soothed and calm

in a way that I never have on Gourmet Makes.

[smacking dough]

Gonna cover it, let it rise.

I'm gonna let it go until it's about doubled in size,

more or less.

All right, so while I'm waiting for the dough to rise

I'm gonna grab my filling from Day 1.

[gasp] Jeez!

[laughing] God.

What if it dropped and it splattered everywhere?

This is red sauce.

Okay, my plan is to form these like ravioli.

So I'm going to actually set myself up with a tray,

some parchment paper, and I'm gonna just portion out

all the mounds of filling,

so it's ready to go when the dough is ready.

[mumbling]

Mostly there's concern that this is

gonna be too big of a portion.

But no one's gonna be upset if my

Pizza Rolls are a little bit bigger right?

[laughs]

Damn it.

All right, let's look at this dough.

Here's my risen dough.

At least we know that something yeasty in there is working.

My next step is going to be portioning out the dough

and rolling it through the pasta roller.

And then I'll get out my filling

and I'm gonna start forming them like ravioli.

I think I have to work a little bit on the shape,

but this is just a test to see

how the consistency of the dough is

and also to make sure that they really stick.

Your timing is great.

Is great?

Yeah.

Timing's always great. I'm gonna--

Not true.

[Brad] Woo!

[Claire] Your timing is usually terrible.

[laughs] Okay, fine.

You usually come in at a time where I'm like--

Let's say 50/50.

In deep despair, okay fine.

Are you in deep despair?

No.

Great, love to hear that. That's why your timing

is great. We love to hear it.

What do you think is gonna happen when I do this?

Well when you heat oil, it usually just gets hot.

What do you think's gonna happen when I put this inside?

[laughs] I have no idea. I'm nervous.

I'm a little scared.

Is it just gonna totally explode?

It might.

Okay. Claire, let it rip.

Oh god, I'm so nervous.

Oh god, it's starting to inflate, oh god.

It's really inflating.

Oh my god.

[both laughing]

She's gonna blow!

[Claire] [laughing] Do you think that it's gonna explode?

Oh god, oh god.

[Alex] It's browning.

Or is that just the sauce coming up?

It's just the sauce

coming up underneath. I think it's just the sauce.

Oh god! [screams] [Claire laughing]

It's ruptured, it's ruptured!

It actually doesn't look that different.

That's pretty close. Do you think they also

deep fry it?

[Alex] I think they have to.

Because I think if they were baked,

they would have a flat side.

I do think it looks similar.

Obviously, it's larger.

I think the dough looks a lot better

and I think, in terms of the way it feels,

I think it feels good.

I mean.

I mean.

[chuckles]

That's a Pizza Roll.

Tastes pretty good.

Yeah, you could stop there

and be pretty much equal, close to this--

Are you kidding? No I'm saying

in terms of the dough.

I think the dough can get a little crispier.

It can get a little more beautifully colored.

Okay, so what I'm hearing you say is different cooking,

not different dough.

Like the dough tastes good.

No no no, the dough tastes good.

I think the frying procedure

just needs to be a little different.

Yeah yeah yeah, so I have to tweak that.

But I'm very happy with actually

the texture and flavor of the dough.

Thanks Delany.

Yeah, of course.

Great, wonderful support.

I feel seen and heard.

You guys, those taste delicious, I have to say.

I have had some great thoughts since that first test batch.

One is I think I have to roll the dough a bit thicker

because as it drapes over the filling, it thins out

and I don't want it to get too thin along the sides.

And the other thing, sound guy Mike gave me a great idea,

talking about [laughs]

What do they call it? Panzerotti?

Which is basically a fried calzone

that they used to fry them frozen,

which gave me the idea to freeze the filling.

So, I found these silicone ice cube molds.

I'm gonna press each of these little portions

into the bottoms of the molds, get them into a square shape,

and then freeze them and pop them out.

When you make empanadas and you have air inside,

do they explode? Mm, tricky one.

They explode.

So how do you? Well--

What's the method?

You can have a very thin, needle-like

pokey thing, Oh, a tiny hole?

And then make sure that the dough goes back to,

When you're forming them.

Right.

Interesting. Right.

Imagine this is round right?

So you're closing them,

so you always wanna start on one-- I do it on my hand.

So make sure that you're taking all the air out.

Ah, with that hand you're pressing out the air.

Right. Okay, okay.

It's like when you're making dumplings.

Yeah.

I'm gonna try something as I drape it,

I'm going to be very careful about eliminating air pockets.

So I'm doing Gaby's trick where I'm poking a tiny hole

to help eliminate any further air bubbles.

I'm gonna throw these guys in, see what happens.

[sighs] Is anyone else nervous?

All right, ready?

They are puffing, oh god.

Oh no.

Whoa. [laughs]

Delany! What's happening?

[laughs] I know it looks like I've made no progress

since you were here last. [Alex laughs]

That's kind of exactly what it looks like.

That's kinda what's happening.

I just poked a tiny tiny hole,

to try to get them to not explode.

A little air escape valve?

Yeah, a little escape valve.

And look, it's taking on color.

Look at how they're frying up like little pillows!

[Alex] It's almost like you figured it out, Claire.

[Claire] Maybe.

Aw, they're coming--

[gasp] Ah! Oh! There it is.

[whines]

We need tongs.

I need this guy.

Ah!

[camera man shouts]

[laughing] Sorry.

Sorry guys.

Ay ay ay.

No no no wait, but that one

looks beautiful. Yeah, but that's the one

that exploded, but it didn't lose that much.

But that's not good, that's not great.

Not ideal.

I would--

What?

Like 10 more seconds, see what happens.

One, do one of 'em for 10 more seconds.

Okay, fine.

Count me down.

[Alex] Five.

[Claire] Wait, Delany.

[Alex] Are you kidding? Aw!

Delany!

Aw!

Well, you don't know until you know, Claire.

Well look what happened! And now we know!

[sighs] This one's perfect.

It is. This one almost--

Yes.

[laughs] Right?

Sure.

But can I talk about what is working?

The dough stays sealed so well.

Oh no, it's great.

And even though there's like a surfeit,

there's like a flat side and a rounded side,

once they fry, you can't really tell.

It looks delicious, right? It does.

Also, I just wanna say this.

The thickness of the dough is perfect.

Thank you.

Perfect. Thank you.

How do we get it to not explode?

That's the question.

You stick like a-- oh sorry-- like a needle in there

and extract the air. Ooh!

We have, we have.

Let's do that!

Next time around. Wait, Brad's hiding them

over somewhere, over there.

They're over there somewhere?

Yeah.

This is a piece of dried tuna.

[Claire laughs]

That's just sitting here. [laughs]

Oh no no, he had them in a quart container.

[metal clanging]

[laughing] Jesus. Alex.

I don't see them anywhere.

Oh, we might have something going on here.

Oh I think, ooh!

Yeah yeah. In the back?

No no, right there. Oh, they're all right here.

Is this what we're looking for?

Well these are the needles.

That's the needle.

Delany if you're gonna always

bring this many contributions to Gourmet Makes,

you can come back anytime you want.

Hoo!

All right, here is my genius idea

that was actually really Delany's idea.

I'm taking just the hollow needle

and creating like an air vent where the air can escape

and then I'll pull them out and seal the opening.

They're getting really puffy

and I can tell they're filling with air,

so I'm taking them in and out of the fryer

to let the air contract again.

All right, I think I gotta pop.

I'm gonna turn them over and pierce the second side,

so that that first side can cook a bit more.

All right, this guy has a breach.

All right, I think that unfortunately

I have to call these done.

Because this guy is gonna start leaking.

[sighs] They're so pale.

I don't know how successful this is.

I think that these are usable.

I wish that they had more color on them.

When I make one more batch before the end of the day,

I'm going to actually leave

that piece of needle coming out the side

and fry them with that in there

and I think that that's gonna work really really well.

So I wanna isolate the metal piece from

the plastic tip that screws onto the syringe.

I'm gonna put this in the fryer

and I don't want the plastic to melt.

This is kind of a pain, but each one has their own little--

what are we calling these things?

Vent? Exhaust pipe? I don't know.

I'm gonna fry one by one,

just because I think it's the safest.

What if this doesn't work at all?

Okay, so I just have confirmation that it's working because

Kevin, can you see

the air that's coming out of the metal part?

[Kevin] The bubbles? Mhm.

[Kevin] The trail of bubbles? Yup.

So it is allowing air to escape.

Well, hell's bells.

I truly did not think that was gonna work.

I feel like I'm using up all of my Gourmet Makes karma

on this episode, 'cause it's just

I haven't hit any major process-altering snags.

So yeah, I'm feeling like this is a huge win.

Op, there it goes!

I've never-- I'm enjoying this

more than I've enjoyed any Gourmet Makes process.

[jazzy percussion]

All right.

We are done, let me bring them over.

Just pull out the needle.

You can't even tell it was there.

And then, once these are microwaved,

they will have now a tiny little hole

where some of that air and steam can escape.

Overall, I feel a sense of triumph,

even though I know I'm not done.

I think they look great.

I'm super into how they turned out.

Wait, did you--

I can't wait to tell you what your suggestion led me to.

What happened?

I wish we could roll back the footage so you could watch.

You'll just have to wait for the episode.

Basically, it was incredible.

[jazzy percussion]

I'm very excited.

It is... I don't wanna say what day it is.

It's another day.

The last thing we did last night before we went home

is put all of the cooked Pizza Rolls in the freezer.

And now the only thing we have left to do today is

microwave them and taste them.

And my biggest concern is that they're gonna de-puff.

I love the way the dough fully rounded--

Oh okay, I'm being told to hurry it up. [laughs]

They look great.

They kept their shape, they're totally frozen solid.

They look great.

[Gaby] Oh my god Claire, I love them!

[Claire] It worked out really well.

No explosions. No, so they did explode,

but then I did this thing where I took

a hypodermic needle, like a really thick dull one,

and I pulled off the plastic thing

that connects to the plunger part,

and I used it as like a chimney.

I formed the dough around it

and stuck it in to vent the filling.

[laughing] Are you following this?

No? No, not even a little bit.

You know what, I'll demo. It's the needle thing

I told you yesterday. The needle!

Yeah yeah yeah. Yeah, yeah.

All right, I'm gonna do my first microwave test.

I see Delany in the reflection of the microwave.

Hello. This is the moment of truth.

Oh wow.

I'm really nervous.

[gasps]

Oh no, oh no.

That one sprung a leak.

I can hear it sizzling. Wait, three--

Hold on, three, two, one.

This guy.

Oh no, they're a little soft.

But is that how Pizza Rolls are?

That's how they--

yeah. Okay great.

Let me try it.

[laughing] Those are good. Ooh, I got a fennel seed.

Did I mention that the sausage is homemade?

[laughing] No, you did not. Oh yeah, oh yeah!

I made Italian sausage.

Of course it is.

I could eat 17 thousand of those.

Easily.

Ooh.

Not even bat an eye.

Might be one of the more delicious Gourmet Makes results.

I would agree.

I honestly might take this So good.

Over the Hot Pocket.

Delany, you really pushed this one further,

in that suggestion about the

little, the needles. About the needle guy.

I wish I saw it happening though.

I wanna see You'll have to

the little speed boat thing. Watch the video.

It was really good.

My god, you can come back anytime you want.

Oh, thank you Claire.

[laughs]

They look remarkably similar, don't they?

[Chris gasps]

A Pizza Roll. Oh my god!

You know what's amazing?

The texture looks

so similar, you know? I know, I know.

I stumbled into that. That micro-bubbling

kind of thing? That's why they are

absolutely 100% deep-fried.

Yeah, yeah yeah.

We milled the grain.

I heard. We milled some flour.

The dough is formidable.

It is wonderful. Though it's a thin layer.

I also can't believe you microwaved it to get this.

Mhm.

I'm gonna pretend that I'm Chris Morocco.

[Claire laughs]

Mm, mm! You won't burn yourself.

Oh my gosh, your flavor.

[Claire laughs]

So good!

I like this.

There's a spiciness to it,

I like it. Yeah, a little

red pepper flake.

Yeah, I like it. In the sauce.

Thank you Claire, amazing. Thanks Gaby.

Ah, I love this episode.

This is already my favorite Gourmet Makes I've ever done.

[laughs]

All right Gary, I know I said that yesterday at 4:30

I would have something for you to taste.

It took a little longer.

I made homemade Totino's Pizza Rolls.

Let me know what you think.

So the flavor is, it's Italian sausage on the inside.

It is really hot, but I think pretty good though.

Good! A little steamy?

My daughter would love this.

Yeah? How old's your daughter?

She's eight. Eight, aw man.

She loves these a lot, but I think these are better.

[laughs] Nice!

That's all I wanna hear.

Can I take another one?

Yeah yeah, please.

One for the road. [laughs]

Yeah, I'ma let one of my coworkers try it.

Oh good, okay, all right.

Thank you Claire. Thanks for trying, Gary.

I think something happened in a Gourmet Makes

that has literally never happened before,

which is I just kind of tried something

and basically nailed it without having

even been so deliberate about it.

It was like this dough worked perfectly in the hot oil.

It puffed, it sealed to itself.

I think we can comfortably say it only took two days,

'cause this morning is just a wrap-up.

I'm trying to think of an episode where I felt

a greater sense of triumph

or an equal sense of triumph as I do now.

Not that many.

I don't think I've ever gotten this lucky in a Gourmet Makes

of the thing I try just really worked out

way better than I could have hoped.

So, it'll probably never happen again.

But that just means I have to enjoy it while it lasts.

And I'm sure the next one will be terrible.

[jazzy percussion]

Here's how you make gourmet Pizza Rolls.

To make the sauce,

heat two tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan.

Add three cloves smashed garlic and cook,

stirring until golden.

Then stir in a pinch of red pepper flakes

and three tablespoons tomato paste.

Cook until dark red,

then add a 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes,

drained and crushed up with your hands.

Add a splash of the strained tomato juices

and stir to release any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Season with salt, and add a large sprig of basil.

Transfer the pot, uncovered, to a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven

and bake, stirring halfway through,

until very thick and concentrated, about one hour.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

To make the sausage, combine 15 grams kosher salt,

one and a half teaspoons crushed fennel seeds,

a half teaspoon ground black pepper,

one teaspoon cayenne, one teaspoon paprika,

a half teaspoon smoked paprika,

and half teaspoon red pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Cut two pounds of very cold boneless pork shoulder

into one-inch pieces.

Pass the pieces through the large die of the meat grinder

with all the parts chilled to keep the meat cold.

Combine the ground pork

and two teaspoons finely grated garlic

in a large bowl and knead lightly

to begin to distribute the garlic throughout.

Sprinkle the seasoning mix over top

and continue to knead until a light film forms on the bowl.

Add one and half tablespoons dry red wine

and knead until the mixture holds together

in a very firm, sticky mass that springs back when pressed.

Cook a small patty in a skillet

to test for taste and texture.

If it passes, cook about a half a pound

of the sausage mixture in a dry skillet,

preheated over medium-high,

until browned and crispy and cooked through,

breaking up the sausage into smaller pieces.

Drain the sausage and set aside to cool.

To make the filling, combine all of the sauce,

100 grams of cooked sausage,

100 grams of finely diced low-moisture mozzarella,

50 grams of finely grated parmesan cheese,

and three-quarter teaspoon dried oregano.

Set aside.

To make the dough, combine 425 grams bread flour,

75 grams freshly milled wheat berries,

15 grams kosher salt,

75 grams starter,

25 grams olive oil,

5 grams active dry yeast,

and 325 grams room temperature water.

Mix until you form a shaggy dough,

then knead until completely smooth.

Continue to knead until the dough is very soft and elastic.

Place in a clean bowl, cover,

and set let sit in a warm spot until doubled in size.

To form the Pizza Rolls,

punch down the risen dough and cut into pieces.

Working one piece at a time

and keeping the other pieces covered and refrigerated,

pass the dough through a pasta roller

until you reach the desired thickness,

dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Then place teaspoon-sized portions of filling

along one side of the dough,

spacing one to two inches apart.

Brush around the filling with beaten egg white

and position a tiny metal tube

so it's perpendicular to the filling.

Drape the other end of the dough over top,

being careful not to stretch it over the filling,

and press all over to eliminate air pockets

and seal the dough.

Cut around the metal tubes to trim away excess dough

and form the Pizza Rolls into small rectangles,

leaving the tube in place like a snorkel.

Pinch all the way around each roll

and use the scissors to trim the dough further

and square off the edges.

Fry the Pizza Rolls in 350 degree oil,

turning once, until puffed and golden brown all over.

Let cool completely, freeze solid,

then microwave to reheat.

[cymbal crash]

You know, you should do a really exclusive pop-up event

where you make all of these.

This is a fun game.

How much should I have to charge per Pizza Roll?

Like $800.

Yeah, I was gonna say like $12.

$1200? Yeah. For one of those?

Oh, $12 but yeah [both laughing] $1200.