This pepperoni bread recipe is one of the most budget friendly meals you can make. It’s a basic, soft Italian dough filled with plenty of mozzarella, parmesan, and pepperoni. Popular with kids and very portable, this is a great choice to bring to a potluck.

In the neighborhood I grew up in, there were outdoor block parties every Labor Day and Memorial Day. Every single year, twice a year, my mom made pepperoni bread and chocolate chip blondies. They were the only thing I would eat at the parties, for some reason, and never tried anything else. I loved them.

She used frozen bread dough, but this recipe is with homemade dough. It’s so easy to mix up that there is no reason not too. The hardest part is rolling up the loaf anyway.

If you have never made a yeast bread before, please check out my beginners guide to yeast bread baking, which will go over the basic steps and different methods you can try.

Pepperoni Bread Making Tips

• The dough can be little bit sticky when it comes time to roll it up, but just go slowly and you will be fine.
• The parmesan cheese adds a lot of flavor, so don’t reduce it or leave it out.
• Make sure the roll is pinched all the way around to keep the fillings from coming out. If a little bit does come out during baking, just remove it after the cheese has firmed up.
• If you don’t want to make the dough from scratch, frozen is fine. Just make sure it’s fully defrosted before you start.
• Allow the bread to cool at least fifteen minutes before slicing
• If you don’t like pepperoni, you can substitute cooked, crumbled Italian sausage.

Step by Step, Starting with the Dough

Add all dough ingredients to bread machine or stand mixer

Knead until smooth and stretchy, or let bread machine complete the dough cycle

After dough has risen 1 hour, turn out on baking sheet lined with parchment. Stretch out into a rough oval and then let it rest, covered, for about 10 minutes. This lets the dough relax and will make it easier to stretch into its final shape.

Stretch the dough out almost to the edge of the baking sheet

Then brush with a beaten egg and add the filling ingredients in order: Parmesan, mozzarella, pepperoni. Start rolling towards you, starting with a long side.

When you’re almost done, roll the other side up and pinch to seal the dough. Seal the long sides of the roll and the short sides.

Carefully flip it over so the seam is on the bottom, brush with egg, and bake.

Serving ideas

Many people like to dip their pepperoni bread in warmed-up marinara sauce.

Since this is very heavy on bread, I like to serve this with buffalo wings and a salad. Really any time I’m making a meal that’s not super kid friendly, I’ll make this as well so they have something else to fill up on.

For football games this goes very well with chili and/ or buffalo wings.

Here’s the recipe and the video!

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Pepperoni Bread with Homemade Dough

A super simple Italian bread dough is filled with parmesan, mozzarella, and pepperoni.   Very popular with kids!

• Author: Katie Shaw, Heart’s Content Farmhouse
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 1 large loaf 1x
• Category: bread
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: Italian American

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water
• 3 cups flour (all purpose or bread flour are both fine)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Filling

• beaten egg for brushing
• 1/2 cup shredded or grated parmesan
• 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 3 ounces sliced pepperoni (about half a package)

Instructions

1. Combine all dough ingredients in stand mixer or bread machine on the dough cycle. Knead until smooth or allow bread machine to complete its cycle.

2. (Skip this step if using bread machine, it will do this for you.)  Turn dough out into oiled bowl and cover.  Allow to rise in a warm place one hour or until doubled in bulk.

3. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place dough on  top and stretch into 10 x 10 square and allow to rest ten minutes.  Preheat oven to 375.

4. Stretch dough out to full size of baking sheet.  Place fillings on top in this order: Parmesan, mozzarella, pepperoni, leaving a 1 inch border on each side.

5. Roll up carefully, pinching all around the loaf to seal in the filling.  Flip loaf over so seal is on the bottom. Brush with beaten egg and make  slashes on top. 6. Bake for 40-50 minutes and allow to cool 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

If dough sticks to parchment while rolling, pop in the fridge for a few minutes.

Keywords: pepperoni bread, pepperoni roll, pizza bread