"Pieces" of Pizza

Pizza Pull-Apart Bread - one of the greatest recipes to stumble upon during a procrastinatory hour.

What You Need:

Trader Joe’s Sourdough Loaf (or any crusty loaf of bread)

Trader Joe’s Garlic Loaf

16 oz  fresh mozzarella, grated

15 oz black olives, sliced

8 oz sliced pepperoni

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp black pepper

2 Tbs butter of butter spread (I used Smart Balance)

The concept here is simple: shove pizza toppings into a loaf of bread and bake it. 

This recipe couldn’t be easier and I swear, if you have kids, they’re going to go nut-bar helping make dinner once you explain to them the concept. 

All you do is cut the loaf of bread crosswise in a checkerboard pattern: go all the way down through the loaf and stop just short of the bottom.  The idea is that after you put all the toppings inside you pull the pieces out kind of like bread sticks.   Mix the pepper and oregano into the cheese so it has some “pizza” pizzazz. 

So, after you’ve cut the bread and seasoned the mozz, take your cheese and pack it down into the bread.  Then the pepperoni and olives.  It goes without saying that you can swap out these toppings for anything you and your family like.  I personally am a big pepperoni/olive fan.  Weston isn’t a fan of mushrooms so we don’t usually pair those with our pizza flavorings.  Bummer.  He’s good about eating stroganoff, though, because it’s one of my favorite meals :)

Sprinkle on another layer of cheese and make sure the toppings are well packed and the bread is filled to the brim.  Take your butter and brush the tops of the loaves with it.

Pre-Bake

Wrap the loaves tightly in aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  You can crank up the heat to 375 or even 400 for the last 5-10 minutes just to be sure the bottoms are crisp. 

Unwrap the loaves and dig in! This is perfect as a new and improved dinner treat, a potluck, or Game Daaaaay! Close call on Saturday, boys, but a win nonetheless. Go Blue!

Post-Bake