Sausage Bread on Christmas - more anticipated than Santa!

A big part of our holiday tradition is to make sausage bread. Like all good Italians, on Christmas Eve we do our best to follow the traditional "Feast of the Seven Fishes" , however, a few loaves of sausage bread always find their way onto the menu. Our Mom and cousin Solvita were the forefounders of the tradition and we continue to carry it on every Christmas Eve...

The preparation is a bit time consuming. The recipe makes three loaves and the first step is to proof the dough (pizza dough purchased at the supermarket will do). Next, sautee on medium onion along with a red and green bell pepper. RRR & I always seem to question this amount but it is correct. After the vegetables have softened, place them in a colander and strain to remove excess water.

Next, sautee two pounds of sausage (sweet or hot with casing removed). It doesn't matter but most people seem to prefer sweet. Again, drain after sauteing. What we started doing is to place the sausage in the food processor and pulse a few times to keep the sausage pieces uniform.

Combine the cooked sausage, peppers and onions in a large bowl. Add 2 pounds of shredded mozzarella to this mixture and finally add one beaten egg to bind the ingredients.

Roll out the proofed dough onto a floured surface, making sure it is thin but not so thin that the dough will break during cooking. Spoon a thin layer of the sausage, pepper and mozzarella mixture in the middle of the dough and begin to roll the dough up starting from one edge. Shape the roll into a crescent and place on a baking sheet. We line the sheet with foil so we can easily wrap up the bread once it cools. Brush lightly with one beaten egg and generously sprinkle sesame seeds on the roll.

Bake for one hour (yes that's one hour) in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.

If you make in advance and give a good 30 - 45 minutes for the bread to reheat.

Let cool before cutting and sit back and enjoy the loving looks you will get from your company.