Step 1

To change the number of serving: hover the mouse over the number of servings, a slider will pop up. The slider can be adjusted up or down. This will automatically recalculate and adjust the amount of each ingredient for you.

Step 2

Use the dough from my pizza dough recipe. If you put the dough in the fridge overnight take it out of the ziplock bag and put in a lightly greased bowl covered with plastic wrap. Let the dough warm up and start to rise. This usually takes about 3 hours.

Step 3

While the dough is warming up (refrigerated dough) or rising, make the filling.

Step 4

Saute the ground Italian sausage until it is well browned. Remove sausage from the pan into a mixing bowl. Drain all but 1 TBS of the fat from the pan.

Step 5

Saute the chopped onions in the fat until translucent. Add the garlic and saute until for another minute. Add onions and garlic to the browned sausage in the mixing bowl

Step 6

If you are adding raw peppers instead of roasted peppers, saute them until they are just starting to soften but still crispy. Add to sausage and onion in mixing bowl.

Step 7

Add Italian seasonings and sundried tomatoes to the sausage mixture and stir to mix well.

Step 8

Let mixture cool to room temperature before adding it to the dough.

Step 9

When the dough is ready to use, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is a 15 by 30-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half to give two 15 inch squares

Step 10

Add ½ of the filling to each square and top with ½ of the cheese mixture.

Step 11

Cut the edges as demonstrated in the picture.

Step 12

Braid the load by folding the end strip of dough up over the filling and overlapping alternating side strips to form the braid.

Step 13

Cover a large cookie sheet pan with parchment paper and place braided loaves on the parchment paper. Space the loave to give them enough room to rise. Cover the loaves loosely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the loaf.

Step 14

Let covered loaves rest for 30 minutes or until slightly puffy. While loaves are resting, Put a pizza stone or pizza steel in the oven and preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Step 15

At the end of the 30 minutes, brush loaves with egg wash. (1 egg beaten with a fork) and bake in a hot oven. Slide the loaves (still on the parchment paper) onto the pizza stone or oven steel. If you don't have a stone or steel bake the loaves on the cookie sheet.

Step 16

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and bake another 30 minutes. To prevent over-browning of the tops cover the loaves loosely with a piece of aluminum foil once the loaves are browned.

Step 17

Remove from oven and cool on cooling racks.

Step 18

Once cooled to just slightly warm, slice and serve with a warm marinara sauce for dipping.