Sausage Bread

This is one of those recipes from my childhood that I remember with a smile

My Mom made this Sausage Bread at the request of friends and family pretty often

We all love this recipe and it’s perfect for dinner or a party snack

There’s no doubt why… sausage, cheese and onions wrapped up in a delicious dough??

Ok, enough chat.  Let’s make this!

Mary always used this specific brand of bread dough, so needless to say, so do I

But if you’re grocery store has different bread dough, I’m sure it will be just fine

This is sold in a 3 pack which works out perfectly because I plan to make three Sausage Breads

To defrost, I place the loaves in an oiled roaster pan, drizzle with more olive oil and cover in plastic wrap

I let them defrost overnight in the fridge and then sit at room temp for 3 hours

I’m using 3 pounds of hot Italian sausage, 2 medium onions, chopped and 3 garlic cloves, diced

A note about the sausage:  Mary always made this with sweet sausage, but we’re spicy people so I use hot.  This is your preference… you can use either or a mix which would be super tasty as well!

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan along with 2 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat.  Add in the onion and garlic and saute for about 5-7 minutes, until the veggies are softened

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh oregano

Remove the sausage from the casings, break up and add to pan

You’ll need to continually break up the sausage chunks as it cooks

With three pounds of meat, this will take about 15 to 20 minutes.  While the sausage is cooking, let’s get our sheet pans prepped and the oven preheated to 350 degrees F

I line three sheet pans with parchment and spray with cooking oil

So we have a little free time whilst the meat cooks.  Should we check Instagram?  Call a friend?  Heck no!  We’re cooking here!

 Let’s make a quick tomato pan sauce to go with our sausage breads

Saute 2 tablespoons of diced onion along with 1 garlic clove in a drizzle of olive oil over medium low heat for 3-5 minutes

Add in one 28 ounce can of good quality crushed tomatoes as well as 1 teaspoon of basil, 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and black pepper and a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

Mix all of the ingredients and let simmer while we finish making the breads

I have a 16 ounce block of mozzarella cheese that is partially frozen.  I cut the block in half and put into the freezer for about 10 minutes before I’m ready to grate

I find that it’s a bit easier to grate the cheese if it’s harder

Grate the cheese and set aside

Ok.  I think we have all of the ingredients ready for assembly!  I like to set everything up so the process goes smoothly

 Place one dough on a floured work space

Roll the dough out to a rectangular shape.  Carefully place on the prepared sheet pan and top with 1/3 of the sausage mixture, 1/3 of the shredded cheese and a healthy sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley

Now for the fun part.  Let’s roll it!  I’m just going to say this up front… initially it may not be pretty.  It’s ok.  Dough is forgiving and we can patch any holes or tears that we make

Roll the dough towards you, jelly roll style and tuck the ends in as you go.  It’s like swaddling a baby but much more delicious

Form into a lazy crescent shape.  Not sure, but I think this makes it tastes better. lol

Brush with a beaten egg and place into the preheated oven

I’ve evenly placed the racks in the oven and spaced the pans out. Keep in mind that we’ll need to rotate so they evenly cook

Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the sheet pans every 10 minutes so they all cook evenly

Brush with garlic oil if desired

To make the garlic oil, finely dice 2 cloves of garlic and mix with 1/4 of olive oil 

Let sit 8-10 minutes before slicing and serve with the delicious pan tomato sauce

Enjoy!

Tools used to make this recipe

Cuisinart Boxed Grater

Simply Bamboo Maui Bamboo Cutting Board

Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

Good Cook Classic Wood Rolling Pin

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