Pepperoni French Bread Pizza

• portionen: 4
• gesamtzeit: 1 Hour

Zutaten

Pizza

1 (24 by 4-inch) loaf soft French bread

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

½ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (3 cups)

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup)

2 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni

Sauce

1½ cups canned crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Anweisungen

1. For the Pizza Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut bread in half crosswise, then halve each piece horizontally to create 4 equal pieces. Arrange pieces cut side down on prepared sheet. Brush crust with oil.

2. Combine melted butter, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper flakes in bowl. Flip bread cut side up and brush cut side evenly with melted butter mixture. Bake, cut side up, until browned around edges, about 5 minutes.

3. For the Sauce Meanwhile, combine all ingredients in bowl. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)

4. Spread sauce evenly over toasted bread, then top with mozzarella, followed by Parmesan and pepperoni (in that order). Bake until cheese is melted and spotty brown, about 15 minutes. Let pizza cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

Notizen

Supreme French Bread Pizza: Decrease pepperoni to 1½ ounces. Add 2½ ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, meat pinched into ½-inch pieces; ½ cup thinly sliced red onion; ½ cup thinly sliced green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch lengths; and ½ cup sliced black olives with pepperoni.

Pineapple and Bacon French Bread Pizza: Substitute ¾ cup crumbled cooked bacon and ¾ cup canned pineapple tidbits, drained and patted dry, for pepperoni.

A 24 by 4-inch loaf of supermarket French bread, which has a soft, thin crust and fine crumb, works best here. If you can’t find soft French bread, you can substitute one and a half 18-inch baguettes, though the crust will be slightly tougher. Cut the baguettes into six equal pieces, and distribute the toppings evenly.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Soft supermarket French bread stands in as a hearty, crusty alternative for pizza dough in this speedy pizza recipe. We upped the flavor ante by giving the loaf a garlic-bread treatment before topping it, brushing the cut side with a spicy garlic butter and the crusty side with olive oil and then baking it until toasty brown and crispy. A stir-together mix of crushed tomatoes, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and sugar made a bold and bright pizza sauce. Using both mozzarella and Parmesan gave us the perfect balance of melty creaminess and nutty depth. We topped these pizzas simply with a classic smattering of sliced pepperoni.