Cheesy Sausage And Onion Bread Recipe

Bread in its plainest form may be a basic household staple, but with the addition of a few mix-ins, it can be a meal on its own. This bread recipe, courtesy of developer Leah Maroney, is overflowing with three types of cheese, Italian sausage chunks, and sauteed onions and peppers. As Maroney says, "it makes a great appetizer for a party, it can be an entire meal, and it can also be a great addition to a brunch spread." Taking inspiration from the sausage and peppers you get at a street fair, Maroney outfits that dish as a bread she calls "an easy-to-eat pocket with lots of added, cheesy goodness." She's been making sausage and cheese-stuffed bread for the holidays for years, but tells us that "I thought it would be fun to add the peppers and onions for more flavor and complexity."

Maroney notes that this stuffed bread can be eaten either warm, at room temperature, or straight out of the refrigerator. You can always freeze any leftovers, but before you do, though, Maroney suggests slicing into it almost to the bottom before you wrap it in foil and a plastic bag to keep it from getting soggy.

This recipe consists of two parts, the bread dough and the filling. For the former, all you'll need are active dry yeast, olive oil, flour, and salt, although Maroney notes that you can also use store-bought pizza dough. The filling is a bit more complex, however, as it contains garlic, onions, bell peppers, basil, pepper, provolone, mozzarella, parmesan, and Italian sausages (Maroney uses sweet, but you can go spicy if you prefer). To give the bread dough a shiny exterior, you'll also need an egg to brush over the top.

Combine the yeast with 2 ¼ cups of warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add the olive oil, flour, and salt to the water mixture and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

Mix with a dough hook in your stand mixer for 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cover and let rise for 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Add the sausage and the olive oil to a large saute pan and heat on medium heat.

Add the garlic, peppers, and onions to the pan and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, for 5 minutes, or until the meat is browned and the vegetables are softened.

Add the dried basil, salt, and pepper, remove from the heat, and set aside.

Remove the cover from the dough and place the dough ball on a flour-dusted surface.

Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle.

Cut the rectangle in half and roll out each half into a 9x13-inch rectangle.

Divide the filling in half — you will use half of the filling for each sausage bread — then place some of the filling along the center of one rectangle and top with 5 slices of the provolone cheese.

Place the remainder of this half of the filling over the cheese, then top with 5 slices of the mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.

Wrap the dough over the filling and seal the edges and center together.

Turn the dough so that the seam is facing down on the parchment paper.

Beat the egg in a small bowl.

Place the sausage bread on a baking sheet and brush the top with the egg wash.

Sprinkle the top of the bread with some of the grated Parmesan cheese.

Score the top of the bread with three diagonal cuts. Repeat steps 11–18 with the second dough.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Allow the bread to cool slightly, then slice and serve.

If you're wondering whether it's necessary to use pre-sliced cheese for this bread, Maroney explains that she does so because "It is easier to keep intact when folding." You can, however, slice your own cheese, but if you do so, bear in mind that a standard slice of pre-cut cheese typically weighs about .6 ounces, so you'll need about 6 ounces of cheese to equal the 10 slices called for in this recipe. As for the selection of cheeses, Maroney feels that "using two cheeses helps up the flavor and texture of the bread," although you could substitute cheeses of a similar consistency, such as Swiss, cheddar, or pepper jack.

As for the other ingredients, Maroney says you can use the kind of sausages that come in a casing as long as you remove it, although another option would be to chop the cooked sausages if you prefer your meat in chunks rather than evenly dispersed throughout the filling. She also suggests using a mandoline to slice the onions and peppers since thinly sliced vegetables, too, will be more easily dispersed. If the thought of using a sharp-bladed mandoline makes you nervous, though, another manual food chopper will also work or you could use a food processor as long as you're careful not to over-process and turn the vegetables to mush.

This stuffed bread is the kind of thing that can fit into just about any meal. It works very well as an appetizer, especially if it's accompanied by a bowl of marinara sauce or garlic-infused oil for dipping. It could also be used to accompany a spaghetti dinner as a meatier, cheesier alternative to garlic bread. For a lighter dinner or a lunch, this sausage and onion bread would be great with a bowl of soup, especially if it's something special like homemade minestrone. Another lunch idea would be to use the bread to accompany an antipasto or Caesar salad.

This sausage bread can make for a tasty breakfast, too, especially if it's toasted and topped with a fried or scrambled egg or perhaps a few slices of avocado (or both). It could also be chopped into chunks to use as the base of a hearty breakfast casserole or soaked in egg and milk to make savory french toast.