San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Pepperoni pull-apart bread shares best of pizza
At four years into the gig, I can confidently say that one of the most exciting and terrifying things about being a parent is not knowing what the future holds for your child.
At what point will the toddler who loves hugs, snuggles and noisy kisses on the cheek turn into a kid who’s too big for all that? When will Mom and Dad go from people who must know everything to ones who understand nothing? What will he be? What will he ... eat?
Take this Pepperoni Pull-Apart Bread. It is essentially pizza in bread form. Presented with the prospect of trying my latest recipe test, his response was — let me get this right — “Blech.” Not atypical at this point, but somewhat surprising, given how much he loves pizza. And bread.
Nonetheless, the rest of my family and colleagues have heaped praise on this crowd-pleasing, eye-catching loaf that is the most enticing blend of cheesy, salty, spicy and fluffy. As long as the requests for more loaves keep coming, I’ll keep making it, at least once in a while.
This family-friendly recipe (yes, I’m sticking with it despite my son’s review) comes from “Great British Baking Show” champion and prolific author Nadiya Hussain, herself a parent of three kids. Her Netflix series “Nadiya Bakes” was a balm to my soul in 2020, and as soon as I saw her make the pull-apart bread in the third episode, I knew I had to try it. Thankfully, it’s among the many recipes in her new book of the same name.
Even if you’re a breadbaking beginner, you needn’t be intimidated.
The dough, which can be kneaded in a stand mixer or by hand, comes together quickly and is easy to work with. Because Hussain developed the recipe with the self-raising flour commonly used in England, you’ll find baking powder included along with yeast. This makes the dough rise in a fast and reliable way. You can get a loaf on the table in less than 3 hours, perfect for an impromptu game night you don’t decide on until late afternoon. I found the baking powder lent the crumb a slightly cottony texture with more, smaller air pockets than bread leavened solely by yeast (turns out another key to the perfect texture was baking the loaf rather longer than the recipe specified).
The comparison was apt anyway, considering the pepperoni, cheese and basil tucked into the loaf. The pull-apart effect is achieved by rolling the dough into a large rectangle and then dividing it into eight portions that are folded in half around the filling and lined up side by side like an accordion in the pan. Feel free to use the recipe as a template to create your own ideal bread, swapping out the cheese and meat as you like. The sriracha lends plenty of heat, though you can try another milder tomato sauce if you or your family members are chileaverse. I could even see this working splendidly as a pull-apart garlic bread, if you slather the dough with an herb-packed compound butter.
I’m already mulling over these variations and more for future loaves, and future occasions for making them. My mind flashes forward to the future, when I envision myself pulling a piping hot loaf out of the oven and setting it down in front of a bunch of ravenous teenagers over for movie night or a postsports practice snack. Will my son eat it then? Will a parent who offers homemade fare be greeted with high-fives or eye-rolls? Who knows. The only sure thing is he’ll keep me guessing.