When I first met Steve’s family, I was super nervous. I could barely eat at the delicious Italian restaurant we went to, and thought I was going to throw up the whole time. After several courses and tons of chatting, I finally relaxed, and by the end of dinner it felt like we were already family. I have never been so welcomed by a group of people in my life. They take me for who I am, and I love who they are. I am truly blessed to have fabulous in-laws. And as a bonus they also… LOVE TO EAT! Both sides of Steve’s family are full of great cooks, his mom, his Aunt Chris, and of course his Nana. Not to mention his cousins, Sam and Alexa that make the most perfect looking pies and cakes.
Steve’s Nana makes the best sausage bread in the world. She makes it every Christmas and holiday and we always look forward to eating loads of it. Here’s an attempt to make her recipe! It will never be as good as hers, but a girl can try!
I started off by making homemade pizza dough. It’s really simple to whip together, but takes a while to rise, so if you are short on time, just buy some fresh dough from the grocery store!
I make my dough using lukewarm water.
Then combining yeast.
Then salt.
Then olive oil.
Then the flour.
I like using a Danish Bread Whisk to pull it all together! (You can kinda see it in the picture above!) You can also just use a Kitchen Aid Mixer with the bread hook.
Cover it with a towel, and let it rise for about an hour. It should double in size.
This recipe is enough for about four sausage breads, maybe even more. You can totally use it to make some bread, or pizza. You can also keep it in the fridge for a week!
While it is rising, go ahead and cook the Italian sausage.
Once it is cooked, drain and set aside.
Separate two eggs, into the whites and yolks. Whisk them separately.
Pull off about a quarter of the dough and knead it for a few minutes.
Oil the dough and the surface you are going to roll it on. Then roll it out in a flat sheet. The oil will keep it from sticking and will give it a nice smooth surface when it’s done baking.
Along the middle, place the cooked sausage.
Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Brush the edges with the egg whites.
Then pull the sides of the bread together and crimp closed.
Flip the bread over and brush with the egg yolks.
Then sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes.
Let cool slightly and slice! You can put it back together and wrap it up in foil to freeze if you are going to use it later!
You can serve with sauce on the side, but it is delicious all by itself!
- Dough: You will have extra left over! So cut in half if you don't want extra!
- ⢠3 cups lukewarm water
- ⢠1 ½ tablespoons salt
- ⢠1 ½ tablespoons yeast
- ⢠1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⢠around 7-8 cups flour
- 1 lb. italian sausage
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 eggs, separated
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Stir together lukewarm water, yeast, salt and olive oil. Then let sit for about 10 minutes. You should see the yeast start to bubble and grow.
- Gently stir in about half of the flour and let rise for 1 hour.
- Cook the sausage in a large pan, until completely cooked.
- Roll out a quarter of the dough into a large rectangle. Make sure to oil the dough and the surface you are rolling it on.
- Use half of the sausage mixture and place along the center of the sheet.
- Top with half of the mozzarella.
- Brush the edges with egg whites and crimp them closed.
- Flip it over so the crimp is touching the pan.
- Brush the top with the egg yolks.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold!
Yum. Just, yum. I just recently started using yeast (was too intimidated before), so I can’t wait to try this out!
Thanks, Lauren! I hope you like it!!! It’s a family fav!! I can’t wait to try your Blood Orange Sours, they look so delicious!!