When I was growing up, there was an Italian deli & bakery close to our house. They used to sell a pepperoni bread that my mom would buy for special occasions to serve to guests. Pastino’s closed, but my sister-in-law’s family made the same type of bread and Joanne passed the recipe onto me to share with my family. Turns out, it was something Joanne’s Italian family also served on special occasions. When we are back in our hometown over the holidays, Joanne always provides the pepperoni bread appetizer. It is a staple at our Christmas Eve celebration with Eric’s family.

Pepperoni bread is easy enough to make anytime, but for some reason, I usually only make it around the holidays. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t make it more often, since it is so addicting! When we would hold baking fundraisers at the school where I worked to fund Kelly & Andrew’s travels abroad, I would make about 50 loaves of pepperoni bread. That’s 25 pounds of homemade bread dough! It took a while. In comparison, the few loaves I make at a time now is nothing. Ahh, the simple life!

Pepperoni Bread (makes 2 loaves, each serves 3-4 as an appetizer)

• 1 pound of bread dough (bought or homemade)
• 1/2 pound of sliced provolone cheese
• 1/4 pound of sliced pepperoni
• parsley
• oregano
• grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil

Use 1/2 pound of bread dough for each loaf.  Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 15” x 6”.  Layer the dough with 4 slices of provolone cheese, then pepperoni (about 33 slices) and sprinkle with oregano, parsley and Parmesan cheese.

3 stages of layering. Cheese, then pepperoni, then spices & Parmesan.

Roll the loaf up starting along the long edge. Pinch the dough together to secure the long and side seams. (The loaves can be frozen at this point for future use. See below.)

Roll the loaves up from a long edge. Foreground: a loaf being rolled. Background: a rolled & sealed loaf.

Place the loaf (or loaves) on a baking sheet. Brush the loaf with olive oil and slit the top 2-3 times. Bake the bread in a 325° oven for 20-25 minutes, until the bread is golden brown. Some cheese will ooze out of the slits; that’s okay. Allow the bread to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Slice the bread on an angle in 1-inch pieces and serve.

Buon appetito!

To freeze the uncooked bread for later use:  wrap each loaf in plastic then wrap it in foil. Loaves can be frozen for up to 2 months. To cook them after being frozen, thaw loaves overnight in the fridge or 2-4 hours on the counter then follow the above instructions.

Traditions bring the family together!  ~Linda

Pepperoni Bread (makes 2 loaves, each serves 3-4 as an appetizer)

• 1 pound of bread dough (bought or homemade)
• 1/2 pound of sliced provolone cheese
• 1/4 pound of sliced pepperoni
• parsley
• oregano
• grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil

Use 1/2 pound of bread dough for each loaf.  Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 15” x 6”.  Layer the dough with 4 slices of provolone cheese, then pepperoni (about 33 slices) and sprinkle with oregano, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Roll the loaf up starting along the long edge. Pinch the dough together to secure the long and side seams. (The loaves can be frozen at this point for future use. See below.)

Place the loaf (or loaves) on a baking sheet. Brush the loaf with olive oil and slit the top 2-3 times. Bake the bread in a 325° oven for 20-25 minutes, until the bread is golden brown. Allow the bread to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Slice the bread on an angle in 1-inch pieces and serve.

To freeze the bread for later use:  wrap each loaf in plastic then wrap in foil.  Loaves can be frozen for up to 2 months. To cook after being frozen, thaw loaves overnight in the fridge or 2-4 hours on counter then follow the above instructions.