Rolled Pepperoni Pizza Loaf #BreadBakers

A simple pizza dough is transformed into a rolled pepperoni pizza loaf, with mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, freshly baked and ready to slice and serve.

You’d have to have been reading here a long time (more than seven years! Anybody?) to know my inspiration for this stuffed bread loaf. Madam Wong’s pizza rolls look like cinnamon rolls, but they are rolled up with rice tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. They are one of my favorite things in the whole wide world.

I’ve long thought it would be fun to bake a similar bread in a loaf shape instead of rolls so the filling would make a pretty spiral when it was sliced. Rather than a wet sauce, this time I’ve used soft sun-dried tomatoes and added pepperoni because, well, pepperoni is fabulous.

Rolled Pepperoni Pizza Loaf

If you don’t have fresh oregano, by all means substitute dried. Just a light sprinkle – perhaps a 1/2 teaspoon will do. 

Ingredients

For the dough:

3/4 cup or 180ml lukewarm water (not hot)

1 teaspoon active-dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 cups or 250g strong bread flour, plus more if needed

1 teaspoon salt

Drizzle olive oil for the dough bowl

For the filling:

3 oz or 85g sliced pepperoni

5 oz or 142g mozzarella cheese, shredded 

1/4 cup, firmly packed, or 45g soft (ready to eat) sun-dried tomatoes

2-3 sprigs fresh oregano

1 clove garlic, finely minced 

For baking:

1 egg, beaten

1 oz or 28g freshly grated Parmesan

Method

Put the yeast and sugar in a bowl. Pour in the warm water and give it a stir. Set aside for a few minutes. It should start to get foamy on top. 

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the flour and salt together. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix well to form a soft dough.

Using the dough hook on the stand mixer, or kneading by hand against the counter, knead the dough on  until it forms a smooth, slightly tacky ball that springs back when you poke it, 5 to 8 minutes. If the dough sticks to the bowl or your hands, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it’s easier to work with.

Avoid adding too much flour if possible. I ended up adding two tablespoons this time. This is the sort of thing that can change with your flour and the humidity in the air. 

If you're planning to make the pepperoni pizza loaf today, then give the dough a rise. Clean out the mixing bowl, coat it with a little oil, and transfer the dough back inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

 

Alternatively, you can store the dough in the fridge and make the stuffed loaf the next day. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

Take the dough out of the refrigerator about half an hour before you are ready to bake.

Line a 9x5 in or 23x13cm loaf pan with baking parchment. 

Pull the leaves off of your sprigs of oregano and cut the sun-dried tomatoes into skinny slices. Mix them both together with the mozzarella and garlic. 

Roll out the pizza dough into a rectangle, about 10x14 in or 25x35cm. 

Cover it almost to the sides with the cheese mixture, then the pepperoni. 

Roll up from the short side. The pepperoni don’t really roll up well but do your best. Tuck the sides over slightly to contain the filling.

 Transfer the roll to your prepared loaf pan, seam side down. 

Cover lightly with a cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. Brush the beaten egg over the top of the loaf.

 Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese. 

Bake in your preheated oven at for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top and sides are golden. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack before slicing it to serve. 

Enjoy!

This month my Bread Baker friends are sharing recipes for stuffed breads. Check them out below! Many thanks to our host Renu of Cook with Renu.

• Coconut Buns by Magical Ingredients
• Callaloo Loaf by Passion Kneaded
• Double Cheese Fatayers by Ambrosia
• Meatball Stromboli by Palatable Pastime
• Pepperoni Rolls by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Ricotta Calzones with Spinach and Sausage by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rolled Pepperoni Pizza Loaf by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Custard buns by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Stuffed Potato Kulcha by Sneha's Recipe
• Sweet Potato and Apple Braid by What Smells So Good?
• Taco Tuesday Calzone by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Whole Wheat Vegetarian Calzones by Cook with Renu

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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