Spinach Pepperoni Bread
Adapted from 365 Days of Baking
Pepperoni, cheese, chewy crust, and...spinach. No one will even notice! But you'll love it, because you're grown up. And your tastes are set much higher than on a typical pizza roll. Whichever team wins, your belly will be content.
INGREDIENTS
To Make Crust From Scratch:
1 ¾ to 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour
1 package Pizza Crust Yeast
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
¾ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
⅔ cup very warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
OR use 1 prepared pizza crust.
9 ounces chopped spinach
8 ounces pepperoni slices or use thinly sliced Foris Salami No. 1
8 ounces Provolone cheese or Black Radish Shenanigans cheese
3 tablespoons butter melted
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning If not adding herbs into crust
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Directions for Crust from Scratch:
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the flour, the undissolved package of yeast, sugar, salt, garlic powder and oregano.
Add the warm water and the oil. Mix for about one minute until thoroughly combined.
Gradually add enough remaining flour to until a soft ball of dough is formed. It will be sticky though.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, approximately 4 minutes. Add more flour if necessary.
Assembly Instructions:
Prepare a rimmed baking sheet by spraying it with cooking spray.
With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a square approximately 17 X 17-inches and so that dough is about 1/8-inch thick. *Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be exact – it can even be a rectangle. Also, it doesn’t have to be as thin – you can make the shape smaller and have the dough be 1/4-inch in thickness. If using refrigerated pizza dough, roll it out into a rectangle as close to 10" X !5" as possible.
Beginning with the end closest to you, tear the cheese slices in half and place 4-6 halves along the bottom edge (depending on how many will fit).
Place pepperoni slices along the bottom edge on top of the cheese.
Take approximately 2-3 tablespoons of spinach and spread that on top of the pepperoni slices.
Roll the dough up towards the top of the square, stopping just as you roll the dough up and over the cheese, pepperoni and spinach.
Repeat the process of placing more cheese, pepperoni and spinach on the dough, this time along the crease of the roll.
Roll and repeat until the ingredients have all been used or can not longer fit into the dough.
In a small microwaveable bowl, heat the butter until melted, about 30 seconds. Stir, and mix in the Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
Place the rolled pepperoni bread onto the prepared baking sheet.
Brush the butter mixture along the top and all over the sides to completely cover.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until lightly golden. In the final 5-10 minutes, cover with a tented piece of aluminum foil if browning too quickly.
Allow to rest for 3-5 minutes to cool slightly before cutting.
