Pizza Monkey Bread + Easy Marinara Sauce

A friend pinned this on Pinterest a while ago and I saved it, knowing a time would come when I would make it, and make it, I did.  :D  It combines two great thing... well, 3 great things.  Monkey Bread, Pizza Bites, and just plain ol' pizza!  They were fun to make.  These were not as big of a hit with the kids as I would have thought, but you can never really know what's going on in those minds.  Crazy kids. 

For this recipe, pizza ingredients (pepperoni, mozzarella cheese) are wrapped up in individual dough balls and baked.  Then you dip each little ball in marinara as you are eating. 

Pizza Monkey Bread
adapted from Confessions of a Foodie Bride

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 Tbsp butter

2 lbs pizza dough, recipe below

6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (you'll need ~48 pieces)

48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package)

2-3 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving (recipe below)

 

1.  Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.

2.  Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan with the garlic butter.  Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten (about 2/3 of an ounce, a kitchen scale makes this very easy). Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.  Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.

3.  Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (dab the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush to keep butter use low - there will be 1+ Tbsp leftover - and your hands butter free. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).  Repeat until all of the dough is used.  Drizzle any leftover butter over rolls in pan. 

4.  Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400.  Bake for 35 minutes, until the top is very brown.  Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.  Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Pizza Dough
adapted from Foodie Bride

1 3/4 cup warm water, divided
1 tsp sugar
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 oz) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tsp salt

1.  Put 1/2 cup warm water into the bowl of your stand mixer and stir in sugar until dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining water and oil.

2.  Add the flour and salt to the stand mixer bowl fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low until the flour is combined and then turn up the speed and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl (I remove the dough, oil the stand mixer bowl, and put the dough back in… one less dirty dish). Cover with plastic wrap until it doubles in volume, about 1½ to 2 hours.  Proceed with Pizza Monkey Bread recipe as above. 

Easy Marinara Sauce
adapted from Recipe Girl

1/2  tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
One 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes, with their juices
Kosher salt, to taste
1 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1. In a large saucepan or deep skillet, warm the olive oil at low heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in the basil.

2. Pour in the tomatoes with their juices, bring the sauce to a boil, and then add the Kosher salt. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 45 to 50 minutes. As the sauce thickens toward the end, stir in the balsamic vinegar. Remove the pan from heat.  Can be frozen.