Can you say cheeeeeeese?

Unless caught in time, there may be leakage.

Next, prepare the egg mixture that is brushed on the dough.

• Eggs–two per loaf.
• Parmesan cheese–roughly 3/4 cup per loaf.
• Oregano–usually one teaspoon per loaf.

Mix well and set aside.

Next, slice cheeeeeeeeses of your choice. Here, I used provolone, Colby, and pepper jack. This can vary in both type and amount. I’ve also made this without pepperoni, turned it into a cheesy herb bread. I prefer it with pepperoni, but either way is delicious.

I try to have the egg mix, the sliced cheese, and the pepperoni ready BEFORE I roll out the dough. It’s quite elastic and tends to shrink back in. If all is ready, it can be put together and rolled in short time. The cheese can be shred, but it’s not necessary.

Roll dough into a rectangle, and shoot for 12″ by 15″ if you can get it that large. It should be large but not overly thin.

Next, roll and seal the edges. It will expand substantially and I like it to stay on the baking sheet. I roll from right to left, side to side, not from top to bottom, to make a shorter loaf.

I use separate baking sheets because the dough may rise in an unpredictable manner. The leaves don’t need to be that friendly. You’ll thank me later. I then let both sheets rise side by side in the oven on the top shelf, over a metal pan half full of boiling water. This works well. I let them rise until doubled in size, usually an hour.

I bake each loaf alone. If they are baked at the same time, the edges cook faster at this high heat and the final result is less desirable. The only problem I’ve encountered here is that my family has devoured the first loaf before the second is ready and they have to wait.

Cover with foil and bake at 425 for ~ 30 minutes. Just try to let it cool–I bet you can’t–before you enjoy! 🙂

Leakage.

I promise, no one will care. If there are children  adults  neighbors  people around, anything you’ve sliced will be gone before you’ve finished cutting the loaf. Once I began slicing, they vanished. I have no pictures of any cut slices.

Enjoy!