So if you recall from my post the other day for Lulas Chili Bacon Cheesy Cavatappi featuring some of that AMAZING Manwaring Cheese they sent me, one of the flavors was Tuscan Rub. Now when I got this cheese I immediately knew what I wanted to make with it. Even before I tasted it; odd I know but it’s one of those “I ♥‘d you even before I met you!” type of romances. It just “made sense”.
Now pepperoni bread has been around since, well, forever. And everyone and their mother has some adaptation of it stemming from pizza dough to store-bought frozen bread dough, those biscuits in a can to ‘sweet roll’ dough. Well, you know me by now; I just can’t go ‘ordinary’. I need to push myself and go beyond the typical. And in creating this recipe, that’s exactly what I did.
So who wants some pretzel bread filled with ooey gooey melty Tuscan Rub cheese and tons of pepperoni??? Lemme tell you what folks; I am THANKFUL I made 2 loaves of this as we literally ate one entire roll while watching a movie. The 2nd one I wrapped up and put in the fridge and we’ve been nomming on that all week. Since you all know that Mr. Fantabulous must have pasta with my Italian Gravy at least 3 times a week, this is outstanding as the accompanying bread! Like OMG.. dipped in marinara sauce! Holy Sweet Baby Jesus good!
How good is it you ask? Well, you know how normally when I post recipes there are a bajillion pictures? Um yeah, not with this one. You get one and only one. Why? We ate it too fast for me to take more! LOL
PrintManwaring Cheese Tuscan Rub Pepperoni Pretzel Bread
Find more fantabulous recipes, tips and tricks at www.thekitchenwhisperer.net. Also, join our TKW Family on Facebook
Ingredients
Bread
- 3/4–1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 cup unfed sourdough starter
- 3 cups Hi-Gluten Flour (or bread flour)
- 1/4 cup Buttermilk powder *can use non-fat dry milk powder
- 2 Tablespoons-diastatic malt powder *can use baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon
- sugar
- 1 Tablespoon butter, unsalted and softened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tsp instant yeast
Filling
- 3 cups shredded Tuscan Rub Cheese
- 16–24 slices of sandwich pepperoni *can use more or less per liking
- 2 tsp oregano
Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons baking soda or non-diastatic malt powder
- 2 Tablespoons water
- Pretzel/Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons melted butter, optional
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add all of the bread ingredients and mix for 8-10 minutes or until it forms a fairly smooth dough. It should be slightly sticky; if it seems dry, knead in an additional tablespoon or two of water. Remove the dough and place in a lightly oiled pan. Cover the dough and let it rest for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Line a baking pan with lightly sprayed parchment paper then covered in cornmeal.
- On a lightly oiled surface (I just spray a clean counter with cooking spray – do not use flour!) remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a large loaf. Using a rolling pin, roll the loaf out to a 12×18” rectangle. Place down the pepperoni leaving a 1” edge all the way around. You can add as much as you like here. If you want to double up, go for it!
- Next, sprinkle the cheese down again leaving a 1” edge all the way around. Sprinkle on the oregano.
- Starting at the edge closest to you, gently roll up like a cinnamon roll trying to keep the roll tight. When you get to the end, pinch the seams closed. For the ends, pinch them closed and tuck under. Place the loaf, seam side down and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 35-45 minutes.
- Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 400F. Remove the plastic wrap and mix up the baking soda and water in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the top of the bread. Taking the tip of a sharp knife, make a few stabs into the top of the dough (trying not to go all the way through). This will allow steam to escape the insides to cook. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Bake the bread for 25-35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and brush with melted butter, if desired.
Leave a Reply