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Breads, Christmas, Italian


1 pound fresh pizza dough
Nonstick cooking spray, for the pan
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
All-purpose flour, for dusting
2 cups fresh or store-bought basil pesto
4 ounces mortadella, thinly sliced and cut into squares
2 ounces pepperoni, thinly sliced and cut into squares
2 ounces Genoa salami, thinly sliced and cut into squares
8 ounces mozzarella, deli-sliced (the drier the better), cut into squares
3 sun-dried tomatoes

Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the olive oil to a medium saute pan over medium-high heat and cook the sausage until brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon and allow to cool slightly.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a long oval about 10 inches wide by 18 inches long.

Spread 1/2 cup pesto in the middle of the dough, leaving about a 2-inch dough border.

Add the mortadella, pepperoni, salami and mozzarella to the cooked sausage and toss to combine.

Scoop the sausage mixture on top of the pesto. Fold both sides of the dough lengthwise around the filling to create a seam along the center of the log. Crimp the seam to seal. Place in the greased Bundt pan seam-side up. Poke holes along the top to release the steam. Bake until golden brown on top, about 25 minutes.

Let rest for 5 minutes. Place a cutting board on top of the Bundt pan and flip the wreath out carefully, then remove the pan.

Form a sun-dried tomato bow by cutting one sun-dried tomato in half lengthwise. Arrange the remaining 2 sun-dried tomatoes end-to-end, then wrap one of the halves around its center and secure with a toothpick to make the bow. Cut the remaining half lengthwise into 2 pieces and arrange them hanging down from behind the back of the bow, securing with a toothpick.

Serve the wreath with the remaining pesto in a bowl in the center. Garnish with the sun-dried tomato bow and gaze at the glory of the sausage wreath!

You can use marinara in place of the pesto, and meats are up to you, hot sausage, meatballs, ......

Unrated