Sausage Bread

I call this Sausage Bread because when I first started to make this bread I used just sausage and peppers. As I continued to make it I kept adding more things to it. But the name has remained the same.

My grandmother used to say, "the more you put in it the more you will find". I really took her up on it with this bread. You can add or delete anything you want. The dough will remain the same and it will taste good no matter what you put in it. You will roll out the dough, fill it and fold the dough over like a big turnover and bake it.

This is basically a recipe that I have developed through the years. Decide what filling you are going to use and have it ready before making the dough. Everything should be at room temperature. This really is not hard to make, the ingredients look daunting but get over it.

Sausage and Peppers
3 links or 1/2 pound Italian sausage (hot or mild)
4 green and/or red bell peppers
1 large onion sliced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Put the sausages in a fry pan with about 2 inches of water. Cook and add water as it evaporates until the sausage is cooked. Using water saves on the fat content. Remove sausage and add olive oil and saute the onions and peppers until soft and cooked. This can be made the day ahead and refrigerated and brought to room temp before using. When ready to use, slice the sausages on an angle to get longer slices.

Other Ingredients

About a 1/4 pound of each can be used; I use all of them

Sliced thin Italian salami, proscuitto, coppacola, pepperoni, provolone cheese and either mortadella or supersata. Also, mozzarella cheese.

Dough
3-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package (1/4 ounce) quick rising active dry yeast
1 cup hot water (120 to 125 degrees)
1 tablespoon butter softened

Grease a large baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine 2-1/4 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir in hot water and butter. Mix in only enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. You will use most of it. On a lightly floured surface, knead 4 minutes and then cover the dough with a bowl and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Roll dough into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle. Put this on the baking sheet because it is hard to pick up after it is filled. It may hang over the sides but that's OK. Now start layering the filling. Lay down in the middle some of the proscuitto, then some sausage and peppers, on top of that a layer of whatever other cold cuts, some mozzarella cheese, some more sausage and peppers, the provolone cheese and continue until everything is used up. Have the filling about 4 inches wide in the middle. Now fold dough over filling and seal ends by just folding dough over and pinching. Cover with a towel and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place a large shallow pan on the counter and half-fill with boiling water. Place baking sheet over pan of water and let rise for 15 minutes. It is not going to rise a lot. In a cup beat egg white and cold water and brush on loaf. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly; serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers and reheat to serve again.