Lightened Up French Bread Pizza Food

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Place rack in the upper-middle position in the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
• Cut the loaf of bread in half crosswise, and then cut each piece in half horizontally to make 4 equal pieces.
• Place the bread cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the crust with the olive oil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, garlic powder and salt. Flip the bread cut-side up and brush the cut side with the melted butter mixture.
• Bake the bread (cut-side up) until it's browned on the edges, about 5 minutes.
• Spread sauce evenly on each piece of toasted bread. Top with mozzarella, then Parmesan, and finally the pepperoni or other optional toppings (in that order). Return to the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
• Let the pizza rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

SUPER STUFFED FRENCH BREAD PIZZA RUSTICA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Split bread lengthwise and hollow it out. Cut in half across, making 4 shells for pizzas.
• Heat a skillet over medium high flame and brown sausage in extra-virgin olive oil. Brown and crumble sausage. Add red bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, add spinach. Remove mixture from heat and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, to your taste.
• Transfer to a bowl. Combine sausage and veggies with ricotta, Parmesan, sopressata and pepperoni. Fill bread shells and top with mounded mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Place in hot oven on cookie sheet and bake until cheese melts and bubbles and bread is super crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Top pizzas with oregano and hot pepper flakes. Serve immediately, or snack all night!

ITALIAN DELI STYLE FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Place the bread halves on a sheet tray. Drizzle the olive oil on each half of the bread, then spread on the marinara sauce evenly. Layer on the sopressata and hard salami by folding and overlapping the slices. Top with the Parmesan and smoked mozzarella.
• Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the meat is very hot, 8 to 10 minutes. (Finish under the broiler if desired.)
• Immediately distribute the olives and peppers evenly. Grate the ricotta salata over the top, then sprinkle on the Pecorino-Romano.
• Sprinkle the chile flakes on top, and top with the fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Cut each half into 8 slices. Serve immediately.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZAS

Steps:

• For the base sauce: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Mix together the melted butter, Italian seasoning and garlic in a small bowl. Place the French bread on the prepared sheet pan cut-side up. Brush the butter mixture over the bread.
• For the fully loaded pizza: Spread the marinara sauce over one half of the French bread. Sprinkle over the mozzarella, then top with the pepperoni, green pepper, sausage crumbles, black olives and jalapenos.
• For the garden pesto pizza: Mix together the ricotta, pesto and lemon zest in a small bowl. Spread over the other half of the French bread. Lay on the zucchini slices, peppers, asparagus, corn and finally the goat cheese.
• Bake until the cheeses melt and become bubbly, 12 to 14 minutes. Garnish the fully loaded pizza with the Parmesan and the garden pesto pizza with the basil. Slice and serve.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with one rack positioned at the bottom of the oven and another at the top.
• Cook the sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon, until some of the fat has rendered and the sausage is brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the pizza sauce, garlic and thyme to a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat to let the flavors infuse while the sausage and onions cook.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and arrange the bread on top, cut-side up. Spread the tops evenly with the pizza sauce, then sprinkle with the mozzarella. Divide the sausage mixture among the bread pieces, then top off with the green and red bell peppers and Parmesan.
• Bake on the bottom rack of the oven until the bread is crisp and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and move the baking sheet to the top rack. Continue to bake until the cheese is bubbling and the peppers are browned in spots, about 7 minutes.
• Serve immediately with crushed red pepper flakes and granulated garlic on the side.

BREAKFAST FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Cut each piece of bread in half crosswise, then place cut-side-up on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with the olive oil and season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Broil until lightly toasted and browned at the edges, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and crispy, turning as needed, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; discard any bacon fat in the skillet.
• Whisk the eggs, half the scallions, 1/4 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper in a large bowl, then add to the warm skillet. Cook, stirring with a heatproof silicone spatula, until the eggs are just set and form large, soft curds, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Spread the spicy mayonnaise evenly on top of the toasted bread, then sprinkle with about half of the Cheddar. Place 2 pieces of bacon on each pizza. Dividing evenly, top with the scrambled eggs and then the remaining cheese. Return to the broiler and cook until all the cheese has melted, about 1 minute. Top each pizza with the remaining scallion and serve with a few dashes of hot sauce.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZAS

Steps:

• For the pizza base: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lay the rolls cut-side up on a large baking sheet. Top each half with marinara sauce (or pesto for the tomato basil pizzas), followed by the mozzarella. Then add your toppings of choice. See below for directions for assembling specific pizzas.
• Once the pizzas are assembled, put the baking sheet on the lowest rack for 8 to 10 minutes. Then turn up the heat to 425 degrees F and put the sheet on the highest rack until the cheese starts to bubble a bit and turns golden. Remove and serve immediately! Cut the pizzas in half right across the middle so there are mini French bread pizzas for everyone.
• Pizza Varieties:
• For the Canadian bacon and pineapple pizzas: Top with the Canadian bacon slices and pineapple and bake according to the directions above.
• For the Greek salad pizzas: Leave off the sauce and brush the sliced rolls with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the mozzarella and bake according to the directions above.
• While the pizzas are baking, toss together the olives, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Top the cooked pizzas with the chopped Greek salad.
• For the pepperoni and jalapeno pizzas: Top with the pepperoni and jalapeno slices and bake according to the directions above.
• For the tomato basil pizzas: Use pesto instead of the marinara sauce, and top with the tomato slices. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake according to the directions above. Top the cooked pizzas with basil leaves.
• For the hamburger pizzas: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and saute until the beef is no longer pink. Top the rolls with the sauteed ground beef and bake according to the directions above.
• For the hamburger taco pizzas: Top with the Cheddar and ground beef and bake according to the directions above. Top the cooked pizzas with the chopped lettuce and tomatoes.

FRENCH BREAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Brown meat with onions in large skillet. Meanwhile, cut bread crosswise in half, then cut each piece lengthwise in half. Place, cut-sides up, on foil-covered baking sheet.
• Add tomato sauce and oregano to meat; mix well. Simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally. Spread onto bread slices; top with cheese and bacon.
• Bake 12 min. or until cheese is melted. Cut in half.