Thread: Italian Cooking Videos and Recipes

Italian Bread Pizza--Sausage and Pepperoni Recipe

In this video, Betty demonstrates how to make her Italian Bread Pizza, a sausage version and a pepperoni version. These are terrific, tasty, and economical, and you have total control of the toppings! Plus you won't find a crispier crust than this makes!

Ingredients:

1 loaf Italian bread (from the deli section of your supermarket)
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 pound pork sausage, uncooked (I used Tennessee pride.)
8 oz. package of pepperoni (I used Hormel, and I only used a small part of them.)
26 oz. jar Prego Italian sauce (i only needed about half of it.)
8 oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese (Use the amount you like.)
grated parmesan cheese and red pepper seasoning, to taste (optional)

Before building your pizza, brown the pork sausage in a skillet, stirring constantly, until the sausage is crumbly and done.
Drain the sausage and squeeze any excess fat out using paper toweling. Set aside until needed. Now, slice a loaf of Italian bread into three fairly equally sized slices, horizontally. Take the top and bottom slices and put them cut side up in a baking pan. The third (middle) slice can be used later for an additional pizza.
Spread the tops of the two slices in the baking pan lightly with softened butter. Place the pan in an oven that has been preheated to 350 to brown the tops. (You don't need to use the cooktop for browning; the oven is easier and quicker.) Watch the bread slices in the oven carefully, because they will brown in about 5 minutes. When they are lightly brown, remove them from the oven, place them on a protected spot on your workspace, and assemble your pizza.
First, spread each of the two browned slices of bread lightly with Italian sauce. You will only need about half of the jar of Italian sauce for good coverage.
Next, sprinkle one bread slice with cooked sausage, and place as many pepperonis as desired on the other. You will need about half of the sausage and only a small part of the package of pepperoni. The final topping is shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle as much shredded mozzarella cheese on the two pizza as desired.
Place the pan with the two Italian bread pizzas in the 350 degree oven. Bake for 10 minutes, and then turn the oven to broil for an additional 4 or 5 minutes, watching the brownness, so that it does not burn.
When at your desired degree of brownness, remove your pan of pizzas from the oven, and serve immediately. Use grated Parmesan cheese and shaker hot peppers on top, if desired. Believe it or not, this is one pizza, cooked at home, that is better than one you can get delivered! It is delightfully crispy and crunchy, and you control the toppings and the amounts!!!

Basic Italian Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 Teas. Active Dry Yeast
1 Cup Lukewarm water
2 Cups Unbleached, All−purpose Flour
Mix the yeast and water together, and then slowly start adding the
flour, mixing well. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room
temperature for up to 6 hours. Refrigerate overnight.

Bread:

2 Cups Warm Water (about 90 degrees F.)
1 Pkg. Active Dry Yeast
5−6 Cups All−purpose, Unbleached Flour
2 Ts. Salt

Directions:

Place the water in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast overtop and mix well.
Let sit 10 minutes until bubbly. Add the biga, flour, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon (or mix with your hands) until everything is mixed.
The dough will be fairly wet and sticky at this point. Cover and let stand in a warm spot for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until doubled in volume.
Punch down the dough, folding it over on itself two or three times, cover and let rise once more until doubled, about 1 hour. If you choose, you could refrigerate your dough at this time and leave it overnight to prepare the next day.
Turn out your dough onto a floured baking sheet, and without overworking it too much shape into one large or two smaller round or oval shaped loaves, using as much extra flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Slash across the tops of the loaves with a serrated knife or razor just prior to baking.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and place a casserole dish with boiling water on the lower oven rack. Bake your bread 30 minutes, turn the baking sheet around, and reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 30−45 minutes.
At this point your bread should be golden brown and should sound hollow when you tap the bottom. Allow the bread to cool to room temperature and serve.


Italian Pepper Sausage Recipe
Ingredients:

4 1/2 Pound fresh lean pork
1−1/2 Pound fresh pork fat (fresh pork's)
1 med. onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 Teaspoon salt
1−1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1−1/2 Teaspoon paprika
2 Teaspoon crushed dried red peppers
2 Teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 Teaspoon crushed bay leaf
1/4 Teaspoon thyme
1/3 Cup red wine or water
Pinch of coriander
2.5 yards sausage casing
Grind the lean and fat pork, onion and garlic. Add the seasonings and mix thoroughly.
Add the wine and mix well. Force through a sausage stuffer into casing, or use in recipes that call for ground sausage out of casings.
Makes 6.5 lb.