Thanksgiving Recipes: Sausage Bread

Apollina Spoto shared this recipe with us:  I definitely have a recipe to share for Thanksgiving, thank you for asking me to contribute!  My family and I make this every morning on Thanksgiving, we eat it while we watch the parade and drink coffee, it's my favorite part of the day! 

Sausage Bread:

2 loaves of homemade bread - Make this the night before and let it rise through the night. In the alternative, you can buy 2 loaves of frozen bread dough, let thaw and rise overnight.

2 lbs. of ground Italian sausage (we normally make one with spicy Italian sausage and one with mild)

2 lbs Mozzarella

Oven: 350 degrees F

After the meat has cooled, you'll put this on top of the dough. You're gonna have to spread out the dough a bit with your hands, not kneading it though. You may need a rolling pin to finish off the process. Be careful not to spread the dough to thin, you need some thickness to handle the meat filling. Spread out the sausage onto the dough while leaving enough room on the sides to wrap the dough around the filling. Then take your mozzarella and load it up on top of the sausage.  You can put as much sausage and as much cheese as you like in there - as much as the bread can handle that is.  Make sure you seal all the side up well so the meat is well sealed. Wet the edges of the dough with water, Lock the ends with a wet fork. Then with a fork, poke a couple of holes on the top of the loaf to allow for steam venting during baking.

Beat a couple of eggs into a bowl and brush a bit of egg over the loaves. This will help you get a nice golden brown look to the bread. Now, place the loaves in your preheated oven and cook for 30-40 minutes (watch 'em around the 30 minute mark). Let the loaves cool on a cookie cooling rack (or break into them piping hot, as we do:)

We normally just eat it like this, no sauce or extra seasonings, just slice it up and butter the bread a bit.  I'm telling you, it's the most amazing thing. We have passed off this tradition to many friends; after they have had this at our house, they start making it every Thanksgiving in their home.  It's also pretty much the caveat when my sisters and I are invited to anyone else's home for Thanksgiving, "Bring that sausage bread!"