Pizza Braid
Pizza braids are very kid-friendly, easy on the wallet and extremely simple to make. My aunt and cousin first introduced me to them and I’ve been hooked ever since. The possibilities are endless of the varieties you could make (check out the Apple Dessert Braid!), but the recipe below is for a very basic hamburger and pepperoni braid. You could make your own dough, but I prefer the shortcut of using Rhodes rise and bake dough. This is one of my favorite shortcuts to make a nice loaf of bread or use in recipes like this one.
As I said, this is extremely basic. All you need is one Rhodes loaf (or however many you prefer), ground beef (if you’re baking one loaf it won’t hold any more than 1/2-3/4 lb), pepperoni, pizza sauce and your choice of cheese.
The dough takes a few hours to rise, so I take it out in the morning and place a towel over it. Once it has risen, you spray a cookie sheet and press out the dough into a large rectangle.
Yes, yes the dough in that photo has not risen fully. If you are in a time-crunch the dough doesn’t have to rise all of the way, but it is easier to work with and the finished product will be fluffier if you let it rise for a few hours.
Then you spread out the sauce, lay the meats down, followed by the cheese.
Then with a pizza cutter, start cutting about 1 inch thick strips down the whole rectangle. You want to make the strips on each side the same size and make sure you have the same amount, like the first picture. Don’t get frustrated your first time, it takes a few times to get the braiding down.
Follow the pictures above. You take the first strip and pull it down to the second strip on the other side. You then take the first strip on the other side and do the same. Keep braiding all the way down and make sure to tuck in the ends or the sauce will spill out during baking.
A few minutes before it’s done I brush with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano. I then bake at around 325 until golden brown.
There are so many versions you can make of the pizza braid: Philly cheesesteak, spinach and mushroom, Parmesan chicken- almost anything! You can even make dessert braids like apple or cinnamon roll.
Check out some of our other delicious recipes!
Comment by Laura on 2 April 2010:
Ooh…once again a great recipe! I’m thinking of making a veggie pizza braid for dinner tonight. Thanks for sharing, Emily!
Comment by Emily on 2 April 2010:
Thanks Laura. I was just thinking a veggie braid would be delish- squash, zucchini, onions… yum!
Comment by smilinggreenmom on 3 April 2010:
Oh this looks amazing! A veggie pizza braid would be yummy too
I would love to try this using a new flour we tried called Kamut Khorasan Wheat! Have you ever tried it? I love it because it is a whole wheat but has the taste and texture of a soft white. Good stuff Emily, thanks!
Comment by Emily on 3 April 2010:
I haven’t ever heard of that, sounds healthy though
Comment by Becca on 4 April 2010:
Wow, that is too cool! I have never seen anything like it
Comment by Shop with Me Mama (Kim) on 5 April 2010:
OMG! Yum
Comment by Rhonda Martin on 8 April 2010:
The family will loves these. Thanks~!
Comment by Yum Yucky on 23 April 2010:
Excuse me, but that looks greedy-good. I hate to do “real” braids, but I’d be glad to braid one of these…. And feed it to my Food Trap, of course.
Comment by Danielle SG on 9 February 2011:
Wow, I see dinner tonight. Thanks, this is a keeper!
Comment by Julia in West Des Moines on 29 March 2011:
Will mention this post for national deep dish pizza day, it’s close enough. http://www.examiner.com/frugal-family-in-des-moines/julia-mcguire
Comment by Howard Lee on 7 May 2011:
I didn’t have the bread dough, so I used the pre-made pie crusts that my wife keeps in the freezer. The only downside was that it is a but less sturdy than the bread dough. So, it broke a little. But it was still very good. What a left-over user! I had some shredded cheeses, some meatloaf, pizza sauce and a bit of onion and green peppers. Yummy!
Comment by Alison on 7 May 2011:
Okay so when are you going to come and make this for me? LOL
Comment by Bob on 8 May 2011:
Isn’t this basically just a stromboli with sauce on the inside and slits in the top?
Comment by Emily on 8 May 2011:
Hi Bob, Yes this is very similar to a stromboli. A lot of people like the “braided look,” it looks a little fancier than a stromboli!
Comment by Emily on 9 May 2011:
Hi Howard, I’m glad this recipe served as creative inspiration for you
I bet the pie-crusts would have a whole different taste, more flaky and dense, but delicious! I always love to try to figure out how to use leftovers. Good thinkin!
Comment by fajas colombianas on 9 May 2011:
Very mouth watering, and that braid made it more delicious looking. This made me crave for pizza.
Comment by Tracy on 9 May 2011:
Genius! I always buy this bread dough to use as pizza dough. So I think the next time around I’ll just make a braid out of it.
Comment by Emily on 9 May 2011:
Ya, Rhodes is delicious isn’t it? Braiding it is a fun new twist.
Comment by Troy on 10 May 2011:
WOW. This looks wonderful. I love pizza and calzones and this looks like the best of both!
Comment by Natalie on 12 May 2011:
Another good idea is to do smaller pizza braids but not to fill them, instead sprinkle on top of them with cinnamon, sugar, and brown sugar and butter. This gooey desert pretzels are a great finish to any dinner!
Comment by Karen on 12 May 2011:
Oh, now that looks so good! I’m going to have to figure out how to make a gluten free version of it.
Comment by Sippin Syrup on 13 May 2011:
I’m putting the ingredients for this on my shopping list
Comment by Emily on 13 May 2011:
Let me know if you do! I would be interested to make it!
Comment by Emily on 13 May 2011:
Yum! I’m craving that right now!
Comment by Thisonegirl on 13 May 2011:
I’m surprised someone hasn’t already asked this, well, either that or I completely missed something in the post, which is known to happen. How long does this cook? Are you baking per directions on baking the bread dough? Looks delish, I’d love to try it, but I’ll admit to either over or under cooking almost everything I try to make without solid directions. I’m hideous, I know. =)
Comment by AmericanLink on 14 May 2011:
Plans to make a meatball sub version of this is in the works. Thanks for sharing!
Comment by Peggy on 16 May 2011:
I made this for my family tonight and it was HUGE hit! I think my (picky!) eleven-year-old had fourths. He kept saying, “This is really good, mom. We should have this more often.” Thanks so much!
Comment by Emily on 16 May 2011:
Great, I’m glad!! You should experiment with different ingredients!
Comment by Brandon on 17 May 2011:
Wow, this looks very good!
Comment by Denise on 19 May 2011:
Hi,
I might have missed it, but I didn’t see how long you cook it for? I want to try this veggie style for my husband who can’t eat red meat. Can you let me know the temp and time for the cooking. Thanks! :O)
Comment by Tricia @nightowlmama on 23 May 2011:
HOLLY WOW that looks SOOOOOO GOOD!! I have to try this
Comment by שף בבית on 24 May 2011:
pizza is the best food in nature
Comment by Joshua's Mom on 25 May 2011:
You bake it at 375 for 25-30 mins..:) Been making this for years, except I use my bread maker for the dough..:)
Comment by Beverly on 25 May 2011:
Wow, this pizza roll looks awesome! Wish I had it made for dinner!
Comment by Tezra on 27 May 2011:
This is what’s for dinner tonight! I found it through stumbleupon.com. Super excited to try it!
Comment by Elisa on 31 May 2011:
I know that this is an older post, but just like the previous commenter, I found this on StumbleUpon as well.
I made it for dinner tonight with a homemade garlic dough and it was SUPERB!! My friends all loved it and I’ve already shared a link here with a few more friends. Thanks for the handy recipe!
simply,
ME
Comment by Abstract Artists on 1 June 2011:
You need to get in my belly now!!!
Comment by Hannah on 11 June 2011:
Hy-Vee, I miss you (I saw the hy-vee brand cheese in your pic)! I used to be the store dietitian at the Faribault, MN store. My husband and I moved back to NH…and I MISS the Midwest terribly! Only spent a year out there, but what a wonderful part of the US. This recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try it!!
Comment by Emily on 14 June 2011:
I love Hy-Vee too! Yes, the midwest is a great place to live!
Comment by Albert Grande on 16 June 2011:
I have never made a pizza braid, but they look fantastic. Simple, easy to put together and the taste looks great.
However, if you have the time, I encourage you to make your own dough…
albert grande
Pizza Therapy
Comment by Relaxation Beverage on 25 June 2011:
I’m putting the ingredients for this on my shopping list!
Comment by soozie on 29 June 2011:
what’s the bread for ?
Comment by Britney Vander Laan on 17 July 2011:
This looks delicious! It might be a great idea for a dinner for when I’m back at college and want to have friends over for dinner!
Comment by Robin on 20 July 2011:
This is awesome, my sister and I are currently making a ham and tomato one!
Comment by V on 23 July 2011:
This might be a silly question, but is the ground beef cooked before used in this recipe?
Comment by banjopuppet on 25 July 2011:
To make this recipe great, forgo the low moisture part skim mozzarella for whole milk mozzarella!
Comment by aaron on 27 July 2011:
so…it’s basically a giant, homemade hotpocket?
Comment by Stephanie on 19 August 2011:
I would have loved to see a picture of it sliced once or twice.
Comment by Caroline on 23 August 2011:
If i wanted to make this a head and freeze it, do you think i should cook it first or freeze before i bake?
Comment by Emily on 23 August 2011:
Hi Caroline, I would have to ask someone about this. I would assume freeze it before you bake it.
Comment by Jet on 25 August 2011:
This is called a Stromboli pretty much.
Comment by Kale R. on 25 August 2011:
Gonna give this a try tonight, it looks great!
Comment by Dan on 31 August 2011:
wow, that looks great. I wouldn’t mind seeing a cross-section (slice) of the finished product, too.
Comment by Cat Davis on 16 September 2011:
Oh this looks so good. My son would absolutely LOVE this idea.
Comment by Tessa on 11 November 2011:
You mention that this is simple, but the presentation is awesome. Looks good!
Comment by Chelsi on 29 November 2011:
This is one perfect recipe. An absolute FAVORITE by everyone in my family! It’s a braid of heaven if you ask me.
Comment by Emily on 1 December 2011:
Wow! Great stuff! Found this on stumbleupon and tried it, used garlic butter sauce on top instead of olive oil and it gave it a nice flavor. Loved it!!!
Comment by Lyn on 16 December 2011:
I ran across this on stumbleupon and immediately had to try it out. Though I didnt have any bread dough readily available, I did have some pizza crust mix, and made a spicy cheesy chicken puff from it. It was quite possibly one of the best things I’ve made for supper ever! Thank you for the inspiration.