Traditional Sussex Sausage Rolls

These traditional Sussex sausage rolls are truly wonderful for a picnic, as they don't fall apart very easily. For 6 sausages, you need approx. 300g of prepared bread dough.

In Victorian times, this could have been either wholemeal or white bread, but these days you have a lot more choice. Bread making has become popular again and most supermarkets carry a large number of bread mixes.

These are particularly good if you're new to bread making. Just follow the instructions to the end of the raising period, then continue with the recipe below.

Ready-made bread mixes also make a nice change if you want to experiment with the textures and flavours of your bread. Try partnering sun-dried tomato bread with spicy Toulouse sausages, or herb bread with English bangers.

And if you own a bread machine, then you've really no excuse! Just select the pizza recipe and make one quantity.



Ingredients for the Dough


  • 300g / 12 oz strong white bread flour or flour of your choice
  • 1/2 teaspoon fast action yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 200ml hand-warm water


Making the Sausage Rolls

Bread Dough | &copy Skitterphoto pixabay.comBread Dough, Ready to Wrap Around Sausages
© Skitterphoto | pixabay.com

Mix the flour, yeast and salt with the olive oil and water until you have a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes until your hands come away clean.

Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a teacloth and keep in a warm place until doubled in size. Depending on the temperature, this will take between 30mins to 1 hour.

Heat the oven to Gas mark 7 / 210°C.

When the dough is ready remove it from the bowl and divide it into six pieces.

Roll out each piece into a square as long as the sausages you are using.

Place the sausage close to one end of the dough and roll into a shape. If you want to be really adventurous, add some fried onions alongside the sausage before you roll up the dough. Or chutney, or chilli salsa, or mustard...

Make sure all of the sausage is covered by the dough and close up the ends really well.

Place your sausage rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 20-30 mins until well risen and golden. For an extra-crispy crust, brush the rolls half-way through with a little salted water.

Eat at once or leave to cool completely and eat cold, somewhere on a moor maybe?




For more picnic food ideas return from Traditional Sussex sausage rolls to the recipes page.