Pull-Apart Pizza Bread

What are you making for game day? I saw this video for Pull-Apart Pizza Bread by Babble come through on my Facebook feed and decided to make it to bring along to a Super Bowl party. Looked simple enough. I adjusted the ingredients to my taste and added some fresh chopped garlic. The recipe calls for Parmesan but I had Pecorino Romano on hand so used that instead. The recipe is found at the link but I've listed it below as well:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cans pizza dough
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 
• 1/2 cup basil, freshly shredded (plus extra for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pack mini pepperonis
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (plus extra for garnish)
• Pasta sauce (for dipping)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Cut pizza dough into 1-inch strips and then cut the strips into 2-inch sections.
  3. Put the olive oil, mozzarella, parsley, Italian seasoning, basil, garlic powder, mini pepperonis, and Parmesan into the mixing bowl.
  4.  Mix all the ingredients and toss so the olive oil is spread evenly on each piece of dough. Then pour into a Bundt pan.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is brown and the center is thoroughly cooked. Tip: Be sure to check the middle of the pizza bread. If it is still not cooked thoroughly, let it cook for 5 minutes at a time until it’s done.
  6. Flip over onto a plate while it’s still hot, and garnish with shredded basil and Parmesan cheese. Use pasta sauce for dipping, if desired.

Notes: I adapted this recipe to my taste and what I had on hand. I added 4 cloves of chopped garlic. I used regular peperoni and cut them into quarters rather than using the mini pepperoni. I also used Pecorino Romano instead of Parmesan cheese.

If you don't have a Bundt pan, you can also use a springform pan. I wadded a piece of foil and placed it in the center to make a hole for the dipping sauce. I've used a springform pan in the past to make bread "wreaths" and it works great. Just make sure to wrap the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a greasy mess.