Sausage Bread

Sausage bread is a tradition in many Italian-American families. This recipe can have many variations. I will share two, however, as with all recipes, you can add and delete ingredients as you see fit. Your kids will love making bread with you. 

Ingredients 

Dough - (Our Recipe or Bakery)

Olive Oil 

Garlic 

Garlic Powder

Broccoli Cuts (Frozen) 

Sweet Sausage 1lb (Hot or any variation you enjoy)

Four Cheese Italian Blend

Parmesan Slice

Grated Romano 

Salt

Pepper

White Onion (Diced)

Sausage Links (Sweet Italian) or Prepared Sweet Italian Ground Sausage

1-2 eggs

First Step - Double risen dough

Layout your baking sheets. In the center of the sheet, roll out about 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil in the center of the sheet. Place a dough ball on top of the olive oil. Spread the dough so that it overlaps the baking sheet. Set aside and allow the dough to rise again as you prepare the rest of the recipe.

In a skillet, prepare the sausage. I prefer Italian Sweet Sausage in the link. The flavors have been infused in the link, and I think you get a better result with links, You can buy prepared ground sausage as an alternative. Coat the skillet with olive oil and thinly sliced garlic. Saute the sausage until lightly browned. Do not over cook the sausage. Be sure to finely chop the sausage into crumbles.  

You will coat the bottom of the dough with a thin layer of Parmesan and Four Cheese Blend. The thin layer will combine with the dough to make a firm base. This firmness allows for cuts to stay a bit firm.

In the skillet, (leave sausage oils) cook up the broccoli cuts so that it is tender. (You can use a steamer bag and do a quick infusion of the sausage flavors as an alternative) Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs into a scramble. 

Layering your bread - You will layer the sausage crumbles on top of the cheese. Add a thin layer of grated cheese. Next, infuse half of your egg mixture lightly on the crumbles and cheese. Next, add a layer of broccoli and sausage crumbles. Lightly add an additional layer of the Cheese Blend. Add what is left of your egg mixture, diced onion, and garlic powder. You also can add salt and pepper to your own preferred taste. 

You will fold the dough into 2 layers. One side on top of the other. You will add a thin layer of olive oil on top of the dough with seasoning. (You can also add a thin layer of grated cheese if you would like) 

Some people overlap the layers throughout the bread. I prefer the layers on top of the bread. The thickness allows for the seasoning to immerse itself on the top to compliment the inside of the bread.

As with all recipes on this blog, experiment with your kids a bit. Use different seasonings, meats, and cheese combinations. This recipe also serves as
a base recipe for calzones and pepperoni bread which we will add to our blog in future posts.