BREAD
-1 C warmed whey (or you can use water, we had whey leftover from the ricotta we made)
-Hearty pinch of sugar
-2 tsp yeast (I always buy rapid rise)
-Pinch of salt
-2 tsp dried rosemary
-1/2 tsp Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
-2 TB basil infused olive oil
-1.5 C whole wheat flour
-1/2 to 1 C AP Flour
TOPPING
-1/2 C tomatoes pureed with pinch of rosemary, salt, garlic, and 2 tsp basil
-4 TB butter, melted
OTHER
-1/4 log of mozzarella cheese, enough to make 25 to 30 1/2 inch or so cubes
Combine the whey or water with the sugar and yeast and let rest for 10 minutes until it becomes foamy. Stir in the salt, seasonings, olive oil, and wheat flour, mixing to combine. Add in the first half cup of AP flour and combine, then add more flour as needed until it just comes into a ball.
Turn out onto a very well floured surface, sprinkle flour on the top, and knead for about five minutes. Grease a bowl and sit the dough ball in, covering to rise for one hour.
When finishing rising, punch the dough down. Melt the butter for the topping and pour in the bottom of a round glass baking dish (about 10 inches diameter). Add the tomato puree to the bottom of the bowl. Tear off hunks of dough just large enough to wrap around the mozzarella cubes.
Place the stuffed dough bites into the bowl, packing them fairly close together. Cover again and let rise for 45 minutes.
Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until browned on top and hollow sounding when tapped. Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Flip the dish over onto a serving plate, shaking a little if necessary to remove from pan. Top with freshly grated parmesan.
And then DEVOUR.
OK...we ate way more of this than we should have. It was delicious! The bread bites were extremely soft, and the awesome mozzarella that I picked up at Trader Joe's was melty and stringy and gooey and absolutely fantastic. The bread bites easily pulled apart and it tasted so much like a yummy fresh pizza. By making a fresh puree of tomatoes instead of an already prepared sauce, it really brought in a nice bright flavor.
The outer bites also got a nice crusty edge on them, so expect people to fight over them! However, the inside ones are just as good because they are so soft and decadent and they catch the vast majority of the toppings, so don't worry if the edge ones go quickly because those inner ones are going to be quite the treat as well.
You could really play around with what you top this with to come up with all kinds of unique and easy breads for parties and dinners. This is a simple way to make something really stunning that everyone is going to enjoy. I could see this being a hit at Super Bowl, and I might actually put it in the starting lineup for SB this year!
I would say this particular size recipe would be good for about 4 people, more if there are a lot of other meal options. My cousin and I ate about half of it, but we did not make anything else to go with it and ate it like a dinner. And we were quite full afterward!
Happy crafting!
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