French Bread Pizza

French Bread pizza is a favorite of mine. For one, DW isn’t a fan of Pizza, so it’s hard for me to get a whole pie since there is no one else here to eat it with me.

Also, as a kid, it was a special treat for me and my brother. One of my fondest childhood memories is waking up on Saturday morning to watch cartoons with Mom, and for brunch she would fix us French Bread Pizzas with Dr. Pepper to drink. For me, there was nothing like sugary Dr. Pepper, cheesy pizza for one, and Thundar The Barbarian on the tube! I thought Mom was the coolest Mom in the world for that!

Mom comes by this site from time to time to see my recipes, but she’s not really a Net Person and won’t sign up or post. BUT – Mom, if you’re seeing this, this one is for you!!

Final note: these are just the toppings I wanted tonight. Naturally, change the toppings as you so desire.


French Bread Pizza

Ingredients

4 Italian Sausages (I used Chicken sausage)
1 pack Pepperoni
1 small Red Onion, cut in half, and thinly sliced.
1/2 packed sliced Mushrooms (4 oz)
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup Pizza Sauce (your favorite kind)
1/2 cup Merlot Wine
1 roll French Bread

Procedure

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice sausage into 1/2” medallions. Brown medallions on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Sauté mushrooms in butter or Olive Oil until soft and most of the moisture has been released. About 6 minutes. Add the Merlot Wine, and continue to cook until the wine has reduced away to nearly nothing, about 6-8 minutes. Place mushrooms in a bowl and set aside.

Cut French Bread into 8” pieces. Cut each piece in half. Slather on a thick layer of the pizza sauce. Since the bread will absorb some of the sauce, go a bit heavy here.

Add a layer of pepperoni. Now add a layer of the sausage. Next add the mushrooms followed by the onions.

At this point, bake the pizzas for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top liberally with cheese. Now return to oven and bake until the cheese has melted and is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Note, you may ant to switch the oven to Broil for the last 10 minutes to brown the cheese if desired. French Bread has a crispy crust, so broiling the last 10 minutes is a good idea (redirects heat away from the bottom where the crust is touching the baking sheet).


Sauté the sausage.



Sauté the Mushrooms.



The bread ready for the toppings.



Add a thick layer of your sauce.



Add a layer of Pepperoni and the sausage.



Add the Mushrooms and Onions (one of these didn’t get this step since it is for the neighbor, and he doesn’t like mushrooms or onions).



Bake till the cheese is melted and bubbly.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

Mmmm mmmmm good and good-looking!

oh that brown crusty cheese looks good! My mouth is watering
!!

lilylove said:

oh that brown crusty cheese looks good! My mouth is watering
!!

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I love thick crusty cheese like that! Great isn't it!!

well brother you have done it again... i just ate some leftover lasagna and i could go for some french bread pizza... one of my favorites.

the only difference between the way your mom made and mine is that she used Italian bread because we live in an Italian community...

for your moms

BamsBBQ said:

well brother you have done it again... i just ate some leftover lasagna and i could go for some french bread pizza... one of my favorites.

the only difference between the way your mom made and mine is that she used Italian bread because we live in an Italian community...

for your moms

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Uh.......Mom actually "made" it this way:




But bless her! Best mom in the world to me. Much love Mom!!!

Here's a hint...hollow out some of the bread inside...I think you'll find it an improvement. I did.

fantastic .. one of my faves ..

Keltin said:

Uh.......Mom actually "made" it this way:

But bless her! Best mom in the world to me. Much love Mom!!!

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That's what we always had too!! I still buy them on occasion. sshhhh don't tell the food police!

Constance said:

Here's a hint...hollow out some of the bread inside...I think you'll find it an improvement. I did.

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Thanks for the tip! I’ve actually seen that others do this when making French Bread pizza. I’m in something of a minority when it comes to pizza, and I love thick crusts. Deep Dish or whatever you call it, it’s my preferred crust. I’ll eat thin as well, but if I have my druthers, I’ll take it deep.

However, for those that do like it thinner, definitely hollow out your bread if you make this!

Here's how I usually take mine.

It also holds more goodies that way.

Constance said:

It also holds more goodies that way.

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Whoa, yet another good point!!!

That's beautiful Keltin!

I'm so pleased you used fresh mushrooms, sauteed prior to pizza-ing! I loathe canned mushrooms on a pizza. They positively have a purpose from time to time...but a pizza is not one of them.


At least...they looked like fresh sliced mushrooms.... Either way, the benefits of that frying pan are countless!

aha!!! canned mushrooms indeed. I just read the entire ingredient list. Can you not get sliced mushrooms in your produce section???????? Not that mushrooms are vitamin packed or anything like that, but canned mushrooms are usually boiled first. I find they loose flavour.
Did I sound like a snob???

VeraBlue said:

aha!!! canned mushrooms indeed. I just read the entire ingredient list. Can you not get sliced mushrooms in your produce section???????? Not that mushrooms are vitamin packed or anything like that, but canned mushrooms are usually boiled first. I find they loose flavour.
Did I sound like a snob???

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Oh no, they were fresh...or at least raw.

They were white button mushrooms that had already been sliced. You know, the ones that come in those blue tubs with the shrink wrap on them. You can buy them whole or already sliced. I usually buy the whole ones and then slice them myself, but DW did the shopping this time and was looking to save me a little effort, so she got the pre-sliced one.

The tub we got was an 8oz package, and I only used half of it for the pizzas. The other 4oz plus another 8oz pack went into the No-Peek casserole that I also cooked that night for DW (she’s not a fan of pizza – but she loves her shrooms).

Every now and again, I can find loose mushrooms at Wally World, but for the most part, I just buy those tubs of raw shrooms.

But, they definitely were not canned!

Keltin said:

Thanks for the tip! I’ve actually seen that others do this when making French Bread pizza. I’m in something of a minority when it comes to pizza, and I love thick crusts. Deep Dish or whatever you call it, it’s my preferred crust. I’ll eat thin as well, but if I have my druthers, I’ll take it deep.

However, for those that do like it thinner, definitely hollow out your bread if you make this!

Here's how I usually take mine.

Click to expand...

kel next time try making my garlic bread THEN topping and make your pizza. it is great.

lilbopeep said:

kel next time try making my garlic bread THEN topping and make your pizza. it is great.

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That actually crossed my mind (to brown the bread as a garlic bread first), but I wasn't sure.

Would you cook the bread first to make the toast, or just slather on the garlic butter and then build the pizza? I had thought about toasting it, but didn't want to over-cook the bread.

Keltin said:

That actually crossed my mind (to brown the bread as a garlic bread first), but I wasn't sure.

Would you cook the bread first to make the toast, or just slather on the garlic butter and then build the pizza? I had thought about toasting it, but didn't want to over-cook the bread.

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make the garlic bread completely toasted then top and make pizza. then you get a nice crispy pizza with a garlic bread base. sorta like the way they bake sicillain pizza base with just sauce first time, then add topping and rebake. (i worked in a pizza palor as a teen)

Keltin said:

Oh no, they were fresh...or at least raw.

They were white button mushrooms that had already been sliced. You know, the ones that come in those blue tubs with the shrink wrap on them. You can buy them whole or already sliced. I usually buy the whole ones and then slice them myself, but DW did the shopping this time and was looking to save me a little effort, so she got the pre-sliced one.

The tub we got was an 8oz package, and I only used half of it for the pizzas. The other 4oz plus another 8oz pack went into the No-Peek casserole that I also cooked that night for DW (she’s not a fan of pizza – but she loves her shrooms).

Every now and again, I can find loose mushrooms at Wally World, but for the most part, I just buy those tubs of raw shrooms.

But, they definitely were not canned!

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm subjected to little blue tubs at the supermarket, too.

Keltin said:

Oh no, they were fresh...or at least raw.

They were white button mushrooms that had already been sliced. You know, the ones that come in those blue tubs with the shrink wrap on them. You can buy them whole or already sliced. I usually buy the whole ones and then slice them myself, but DW did the shopping this time and was looking to save me a little effort, so she got the pre-sliced one.

The tub we got was an 8oz package, and I only used half of it for the pizzas. The other 4oz plus another 8oz pack went into the No-Peek casserole that I also cooked that night for DW (she’s not a fan of pizza – but she loves her shrooms).

Every now and again, I can find loose mushrooms at Wally World, but for the most part, I just buy those tubs of raw shrooms.

But, they definitely were not canned!

Click to expand...

if your wife loves shrooms you should try my cream of wild mushroom soup its loaded with shrooms!!

VeraBlue said:

aha!!! canned mushrooms indeed. I just read the entire ingredient list. Can you not get sliced mushrooms in your produce section???????? Not that mushrooms are vitamin packed or anything like that, but canned mushrooms are usually boiled first. I find they loose flavour.
Did I sound like a snob???

Click to expand...

Oh, and BTW, you're no Food Snob! You're right, canned mushrooms DO have a place.

But on pizza, if you can (and no one will kill you or hate you if you can't), you ought to use fresh. And personally, sautee them first since I think they're a bit chewy if put raw on a pizza and then baked.

Keltin said:

Oh, and BTW, you're no Food Snob! You're right, canned mushrooms DO have a place.

But on pizza, if you can (and no one will kill you or hate you if you can't), you ought to use fresh. And personally, sautee them first since I think they're a bit chewy if put raw on a pizza and then baked.

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from a former pizza maker at one of those chains.... this is how we made the pies... dough,sauce,fresh minced garlic,mushrooms,cheese,toppings, then more cheese... they seem to cook better that way.. i personally saute my shrooms b4 as well

i need to make some dough tomorrow night for my entry..

BamsBBQ said:

i need to make some dough tomorrow night for my entry..

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Yes you do!!!!

Keltin said:

Yes you do!!!!

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it will be on sunday that i make an entry..

i will have a little kitchen helper again, so we are going to blow everybody away..lol

so far we have 3 pizza ideas on the menu...we are making small pizzas so we can experiment with all different flavors and toppings

BamsBBQ said:

it will be on sunday that i make an entry..

i will have a little kitchen helper again, so we are going to blow everybody away..lol

so far we have 3 pizza ideas on the menu...we are making small pizzas so we can experiment with all different flavors and toppings

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Sounds awesome! Vera says she has 3 as well, this is gonna rock!!