Ciao Chow Linda

Stuffed Pull-Apart Bread Knots

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

Ingredients

• 1 uncooked pizza dough (about 1 pound)

• mozzarella cheese, about 2 cups shredded, or 1 large ball

• 1 cup cooked Italian sausage, crumbled and cooled

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1/8 cup olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• a few sprigs of parsley, minced

• marinara sauce, optional

Instructions

1. Roll out the pizza dough into a rectangle, about 6 inches by 16 inches long.

2. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each rectangle into 8 pieces.

3. Flatten out each piece of dough into a square shape, then holding a piece of dough in your hand, stretch it a bit to accommodate a piece of sausage and a bit of the mozzarella cheese.

4. Pinch the dough together, enveloping the filling inside the dough, shaping it into a ball.

5. Place on a silicon baking mat, parchment paper or on a greased cookie sheet.

6. If you’re making a tree shape, you’ll need 15 pieces, plus another one for the stump.

7. If you’re making a circle shape, make as many as will fit on your cookie sheet.

8. After filling the dough, place on the Silpat mat, with the pinched side facing the baking sheet, making sure the dough balls touch each other slightly.

9. Beat the egg and brush a little of the beaten egg over the dough balls.

10. Bake in a preheated 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

11. While the dough is cooking, gently saute the garlic cloves in the olive oil.

12. Drain the garlic, retaining the oil.

13. Brush the oil over the dough, and sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese and parsley.

14. Decorate with bits of chopped tomato or roasted peppers.

15. Serve immediately, with marinara sauce, if desired.