Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread
This Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread is darn good eats…
especially when sports are on tv!
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Way back at the beginning of this year’s curling season, I was sitting around after our game chatting with some of my fellow curlers. We somehow got onto the topic of pizza. More specifically, we got to talking about different ways to make pizza. There was the obvious oven-style with a good pizza stone. Then there was the less-obvious, but still common on-the-grill style. And then one of my teammates dropped a bombshell. He was in the process of building an outdoor brick oven.
In my book, a brick oven pizza is the cat’s meow of pizza. To be fair, we absolutely love our oven-version, and we tweaked that recipe no less than 23 times before we landed on the final version. I’ll hold that pizza up against any other pizza. Except for a brick oven pizza. You can get those bad boys up to 800°F or more, and those high temps will create the perfect pizza. Those high temps will also create pizza dust very quickly, too. I speak from experience here.
Folks in the pizza business are serious about their brick ovens. Right before we moved from Atlanta, we discovered a new pizza place in Midtown. This place had imported three brick ovens from Naples. Not Naples, Florida. Naples, Italy. They brought ovens all the way across the Atlantic. That’s serious. I recently saw Antico’s listed on the top ten pizza places in America. Legit brick ovens. Top ten pizza place in the country. Coincidence? Doubtful.
But let’s mix things up a bit here with this Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread. You don’t need a brick oven for this bad boy. You don’t need a grill, either. Heck, you don’t even need a good pizza stone. You just need a basic oven that can reach 350°F. Granted, this isn’t a “true” pizza, but you know what? I’m ok with that. It makes for some darn good eats…especially when there is playoff football on tv!
This Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread is what happens when a loaf of buttery garlic bread runs smack into a pepperoni pizza. You see a little poof of smoke, and then this amazing pizza bread just magically appears. Seriously, though, this Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread is perfect football food! Just make sure to serve it with plenty of napkins. I could’ve called this one Three-Napkin Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread, but that’s just too crazy of a name. No matter what you want to call it, this pizza bread is delicious.
Do you have a brick oven?
What is the craziest kind of pizza you’ve ever eaten? (And frozen pizza doesn’t count…)
Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 1 large loaf of artisan crusty bread i.e. peasant bread, sourdough, Vienna, etc.
- 4 oz. unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp dried oregano divided
- 1½ tsp dried basil divided
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
- 3 oz. pepperoni sliced
- 2 cups pizza sauce for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a serrated knife, make diagonal cuts into bread 1” apart. (Note: Do not slice bread all the way to bottom. Instead, slice only about ¾ way through loaf.) Rotate loaf 90° and make another set of diagonal cuts 1” apart.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, garlic, salt, 1 tsp of oregano and 1 tsp of basil.
- Carefully pour the butter mixture evenly into all of the cuts in the bread. (Tip: Pull the cuts apart gently as you work across the loaf to ensure butter spreads all the way to the bottom of the loaf. You can also use a small spoon or table knife to help spread the butter into the bread.)
- Using your fingers, pull apart the cuts and stuff evenly with cheese and pepperoni.
- Wrap loaf in foil and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes, or until loaf is golden brown.
- Garnish with remaining ½ tsp of oregano and basil. Serve immediately with warmed pizza sauce.
Oh to be a fly on your wall! I would look forward to every poof of smoke (even if it knocked me off said wall) because it would mean inha-licious pizza bread magically appearing on the counter! I think I’m gonna call this Crack Three-Napkin Pepperoni Pizza Pull Apart Bread – because – well – LOOK AT IT!
I haven’t ever been to Antico’S – though I have driven by it several times! And the craziest pizza I’ve had was a beet crust pizza with chocolate on it! 🙂
Hope y’all have a wonderful weekend, David!
If you were a fly on my wall, then you might get swatted! Haha. Just kidding. But you would have to be fast to get to this pepperoni bread before it disappeared! I’ve heard Antico’s is like insane busy now. It was busy when we lived down there, and that was 5 years ago! Thanks, Shashi. I hope you guys had an awesome weekend, too!
GAME DAY EATS!!! This looks seriously addicting 🙂
Haha! Most definitely, Medha…thank you! 🙂
I love the intro.. “specially when sports are on tv. .” Lol I can just imagine watching a good match with a piece of this to enjoy 🙂 🙂 ps. For me it would be cricket 🙂 This looks AMAZING!!
Cricket, eh? Interesting! That’s the one sport that I really don’t understand at all. Perhaps I’ll make a loaf of this pepperoni bread and you can explain it to me? 🙂
perfect for game day, love the cheese in there!!
Thanks, Manali! This pull-apart bread totally needs to make another appearance soon! 🙂
Hi David! Don’t put this too close to me or there won’t be any to share! And yes to sauce! How about mini pepperoni stuffed in there with some sliced olives? 🙂
Olives are most definitely a good choice here, Dorothy! I used to not like olives, but now I am almost addicted to them. In fact, my favorite are feta or blue cheese-stuffed olives…talk about some strong flavors! 🙂
This pepperoni pizza pull apart sounds delicious for game day or any day. Great presentation.
Thank you so much, Dawn! This bread was definitely a hit around here. In fact, I think it needs to make another appearance soon. 🙂
David, you’ve done it again! I swear you post the best versions of my comfort foods every time I visit your blog, and this is no exception! Im in love!
Haha…thank you, Lucie! I’m all about some yummy comfort food around here…especially when it’s so darned cold out there. 🙂 I hope you had an awesome weekend!
I totally need to make this ASAP!!! In fact, making pizza pull apart bread has been on my list for the Super Bowl . . I need to get going! This looks fabulous, David!!!!
You’ve still got plenty of time before the Super Bowl, Alice! How about this coming weekend for the playoffs? 🙂 Thank you so much!
The best part about watching sports is eating, so I definitely need this pizza pull apart bread in my life!
I hear ya there, Aimee! Sports and comfort food go hand-in-hand for sure…especially when it’s football playoffs and it’s darned cold outside! 🙂 Thank you!
Your friend is a serious pizza guy…..his own brick oven! I love how easy this is and then that whole pull-apart just makes it fun to eat! Any kind of pizza is perfect for watching football!
Tell me about it, Kathy! I love love to have my own brick oven in the backyard. I’ve tossed the idea out a couple of times, but Laura hasn’t jumped at the idea…yet. 🙂
Went you passed up on calling this Pepperoni Peasant-Bread Pull-Apart Pizza is puzzling.
Haha! Very true, Jeff. Perhaps Tetris Pepperoni Pull Apart Bread? Although Tetris makes you think you want to put it back together…and there is definitely no putting back together with this bread.
I keep seeing these pull apart breads all over Pinterest and I really want to make one, but I couldn’t handle myself around it and I would just end up making the whole thing.
Hmmm…well, how about invite a bunch of friends over on the night you make it? That way they can help polish it off! 🙂 Hope you and Dave had an awesome weekend!
I think Pull Apart Breads are like food art. So pretty to look at (and eat) and an absolute mess- But so worth it!
I hear you on those ovens- The one I had in Milan from one…Oh man. So basic butt so good! You need to hang out at this friend’s place for the oven…Like I did with my friend with the tandoori oven in their backyard!
Yeah, this bread definitely required an extra napkin. But holy cow was it worth it! And you’re right, I might start stalking my friend for his oven. Is that rude? 🙂
Yes, Antico’s is busy! The owner is creating a “Little Italy” with a few other restaurants and a store. Their pizza is amazing!
Interesting! A Little Italy in that area sounds like a crazy cool idea. I might just have to make a trip back down there to see it…and maybe grab a pizza to bring back! 🙂 Thanks, Ronda!
The craziest pizza I’ve ever tried was a lavender one. Haha, just kid. I haven’t tried it yet. Aa soon as I make one, I’ll send it all to you (Because even to me lavender pizza sounds horrible). Besides, I’m afraid that the Italians will ban my entry to Italy if I make it. But this pizza bread sounds snd looks fantastic. Pepperoni, cheese, and garlic – you know how to make a great stuff, David!
Haha! I knew you’d be the one to put lavender on pizza, Ben. You should do it! (You know you kinda want to…) I’ll stick with my classic toppings instead! 🙂 But I might eat a lavender cookie to make up for the lack of lavender in the pizza…