pepperoni bread

This week so far has been a little like a Chopped episode. We're getting ready to leave for a week-long vacation to the Outer Banks, and so we've been cobbling together franken-recipes from the random items in the back of the fridge so they don't go bad while we're gone.

We've been fairly successful so far. Ham and cheese crescent rolls to use up the lunchmeat and Pillsbury dough? Awesome. Carrot cake pancakes to use the milk, eggs, and carrots? Awesome. As the fridge dwindles, it's getting a bit trickier to strike out multiple ingredients in one fell swoop (does anyone know of a recipe that uses pickles, cilantro, and orange marmalade?).

Of course, as of today we still had plenty of pizza-related ingredients stowed away, because... obviously. What red-blooded twenty-something American doesn't? Just making actual pizza with said ingredients seemed like the easy way out, and thus this bread was born. It might even be easier than making pizza. You'll only spend about fifteen minutes total active time on this, but you do need to allow two hours rising time and about half an hour to bake.

For reference, the picture is about a quarter of the size of the actual loaf—we polished the rest off in record time. Sorry not sorry.

Notes:

I used Applegate Naturals uncured pepperoni, and I used the whole package to make a single layer. Since pepperoni's really the star here, using good pepperoni will make a difference. If you use a different size or package, you may need to use less than a whole package... or not! No rules here. Same goes for the cheese—the recipe reflects how I like to make it, but feel free to adjust the amounts and ratio to your preference.

Since the picture, I've adjusted the recipe slightly to be cheesier. Like, 'slice a piece and get those delicious gooey mozzarella strings when you pull it away from the loaf' cheesier. If you're not all about that cheese life, you can use less mozzarella.

Be sure to roll the dough tightly, or you'll end up with air pockets (you can see some small ones in the picture). Do as I say, not as I do.


Pepperoni Bread
Makes one large loaf

1 package active dry yeast (1/4 oz)
2 tbsp warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 cups plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 package pepperoni
1 egg
Kosher salt
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Pizza sauce (optional)

Combine yeast, water, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and let sit for five minutes.

Heat milk in the microwave for thirty seconds, then add to the yeast mixture along with 2 cups flour, olive oil, and salt. Mix until a soft dough begins to form.

Switch to the dough hook and slowly add remaining 1/2 cup flour a couple tbsp at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition, until dough pulls away from the bowl and is just barely sticky—you most likely won't need to use the whole 1/2 cup. Spray bowl with cooking spray, moving dough around to make sure the bowl is entirely coated (or, if you don't mind washing another dish, you can spray a separate bowl and transfer the dough). Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm spot for one hour.

Dump risen dough onto a well-floured counter and roll into a roughly 12x16" rectangle. Leaving an inch or so as a margin, sprinkle oregano over the dough, then the cheeses, then arrange the pepperoni on top. Roll the dough tightly, starting with one of the 12" sides. The dough will be pretty sticky, so sprinkle flour wherever you need it, as frequently as you need it. Tuck ends underneath to seal. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover loaf with a towel and let rise for an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Beat egg in a bowl with a splash of water, then brush over top of loaf. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning to taste.

Bake for 27-30 minutes, until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap the top. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Dip in pizza sauce if desired.



Adapted from Teaspoon of Spice.