Recipe - Italian Sausage Bread

Note: This finished bread roll is beautiful and can be used as the centerpiece on your table. Use it as an accompaniment to your meal or sliced thick with a salad. Either way it is delicious. You can also use it sliced for appetizers.

Basic Pizza Dough recipe can be found on page 112 of the cookbook.

Marinara Sauce recipe can be found on page 127 of the cookbook.

1 pound Italian sweet sausage (about 3 long links)
olive oil, for frying

1 whole egg, beaten
plus 1 egg white
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste
1 — 14" pizza stone
cornmeal for dusting stone

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
sesame seeds to sprinkle over dough

olive oil to drizzle, optional
grated Parmesan for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe, letting dough rise for about 11/2 hours. Punch dough down and let rest for about 15 minutes before rolling out.
2. While dough is resting, remove sausage from casings and crumble into small pieces. Fry sausage in lightly oiled skillet until browned evenly. Remove to large bowl and let cool. Add the eggs, cheeses, oregano, and parsley. Using your hands, mix the sausage mixture well until it all comes together. Set aside.
3. After the dough has rested, roll out a 14" circle and lay it on your pizza stone or a large pizza pan. Spread the meat over the dough to within 1" of the edge of the circle. Salt and pepper the meat lightly. Roll the dough jelly-roll style, placing the roll seam-side down on your stone. Be sure to scatter a little cornmeal on the bottom of the stone to keep the roll from sticking.
4. Beat the egg white and water until foamy. Brush top of loaf and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 45 minutes. Slice the roll and serve hot with olive oil to drizzle and grated cheese for garnish. Serves 8 to 10.