#5: Easy Pizza Bread

Oven or stove-top method

Aug 23, 2024

A super versatile meal.

This easy pizza bread makes a fantastic snack, appetiser or even a simple dinner. It dirties few dishes and readies quicker than a pizza delivery. You can top with whatever you like and it’ll easily become a household favourite. In this post, I share 2 ways to make the pizza bread—oven-baked & stove-top.

A simple formula. Hard to go wrong.

Bread + Sauce + Cheese + Toppings

There’s no hard rule to it. Use whatever bread, whatever sauce, whatever cheese and whatever toppings you want. So long as you stick to these four elements, you really can’t go wrong.

That’s the best part about this recipe. It’s so versatile, and you can make so many combos with it. So, you can literally have pizza bread for days and not grow sick of it.

Bread

I normally just use regular sandwich bread, especially when it’s about to go off. But, I think soft loaves like white batons are best (I think they’re called French or Italian loaves in the US).

But, you can honestly use whatever you like — bagels, muffins, sourdough, dinner rolls, ciabatta, partial-baked baguette etc.

I don’t like using a very crusty bread like traditional french baguette because it can be quite hard to bite through. But, if you love crusty, chewy bread, it works just as well.

Sauce & Cheese

The most basic would be a tomato pizza sauce. I share a simple recipe in this post, but you can also use store-bought marinara or pizza sauce.

If you’re not into tomatoes or you don’t have it on hand, you can also use white pasta sauce, pesto or even Chimichurri.

As for cheese, I typically use grated Mozzarella because they melt rather nicely and they’re quite mild in taste. But that’s just a matter of preference.

So, you can use any cheese you like - cheddar, mozzarella, feta, parmesan or even mixed cheeses.

Toppings

The bread is essentially just a boat—top it with whatever you like.

You can be as basic as simple tomatoes and basil; or be a bit more adventurous and top your pizza bread with beans and bangers (I know these seem like odd toppings, but if you love beans on toast, you’ll love this even more).

Point is, you don’t have to be afraid to experiment. It’s really one of those recipes that’s quite hard to go wrong.

Text Instructions

Ingredients

Bread & cheese

x1 White baton bread / soft baguette
[or other preferred bread - see notes for recommendations]
250g (1 cup) grated Mozzarella
[or other grated cheeses]

Sauce

You can also simply use store-bought marinara or pizza sauce

250g (1 cup) Passata
1 tsp garlic granules - coarse garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Toppings

You can use your preferred toppings. See notes for recommendation

x12-15 pepperoni slices
[about 3-5 slices per serving]
Fresh basil leaves - optional

If doing stove-top method

2 tsp butter - or neutral cooking oil

Tools

Oven & baking tray
[or pan with lid & spatula if making stove top]
Chopping board & knife
Measuring jug / bowl - for pizza sauce
Measuring tools - scale/cup & teaspoon

Steps (Oven Method)

Preheat oven to 220c (425f)
Prep bread & sauce
1. half the bread & slice lengthwise to make 4 portions
2. in a measuring jug or bowl, mix sauce together:
  1. 250g (1 cup) Passata
  2. 1 tsp garlic granules
  3. 1/2 tsp salt
  4. 1/4 tsp black pepper
3. taste and adjust salt & black pepper if needed
Assemble & bake
1. spread the sauce on top of sliced bread
2. add 250g (1 cup) grated Mozzarella - or other cheeses
3. top with your chosen toppings
  1. 3-5 pepperoni slices per bread
  2. 2-4 fresh basil leaves per bread
4. bake 220c (425f) for 10m
  [until cheese is melted & browned. add 3-5m more if necessary]

Tidy and wash up while waiting!

Steps (Stove-top method)

Slice & pan-toast bread
1. slice bread into 4-8 sandwich slices
  [you can halve then cut lengthwise to make 4 long breads. but, sandwich slices are easier to toast on pan]
2. melt 1 tsp butter (or neutral oil) over medium heat
3. toast only one side of the bread over medium heat
  [about 1-2m]
4. off heat & set them on your chopping board to assemble later
Mix sauce
1. in a measuring jug or bowl, mix together
  1. 250g (1 cup) Passata
  2. 1 tsp garlic granules
  3. 1/2 tsp salt
  4. 1/4 tsp black pepper
Assemble pizza bread
1. on the toasted side:
  1. spread sauce on top of sliced bread
  2. add 250g (1 cup) grated mozzarella - or other cheeses
2. top with chosen toppings:
  1. 3-4 pepperoni slices per bread
  2. 2-3 fresh basil leaves per bread
Pan-toast pizza bread
1. melt 1 tsp butter (or neutral oil) over medium-low heat
2. place pizza bread on pan - topping side up
3. cover pan with lid
4. let pizza bread toast until cheese is melted
  [about 2-3m]

Notes

Pizza sauce easy alternative:
- Marinara or store-bought pizza sauce
- White sauce; use lesser cheese and sprinkle some red pepper flakes to balance out the creaminess. Otherwise, it might be too rich.
Other recommended toppings:
[but really, you can top with whatever you like/have]
- red onion + yellow pepper
- Jalapeño pepper + olives
- fresh tomatoes + fresh basil
- thinly sliced carrots + red onion + coriander
- mushrooms + chicken slices
- corn + shredded chicken
- spinach + sausage
- tuna + onion + olives
- rocket + luncheon meats + feta cheese
What kind of bread can I use?
- whatever bread you have on hand, stale or fresh
- regular sandwich bread
- French/Italian loaves
- sourdough bread
- ciabatta bread
Can I use traditional french baguette?
- I wouldn’t recommend it because they’re usually quite crusty. So it can be quite hard to bite through.
- But, if you like it chewy & crusty, I don’t see why not.
Storage & reheat:
- cover & chill in fridge, up to 3 days
- reheat in oven at 190c (375f) for 8-10m
- OR; reheat on pan over medium low heat; add a few drops of water; cover & steam for 5-7m
- OR; reheat in air fryer at 180c (350f) for 3-5m