7.2.18 - Spinach Sausage Loaf

This is one of my all time favorite recipes. I don't make it anymore because it's not at all gluten free, but I'd still like it in my Joy Inventory recipe archive for posterity (or special gluten occasions, I guess).

Ingredients (per loaf)
8 oz Italian sausage
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
10 oz froz chopped spinach
1 loaf bread dough
1 egg
Flour for bread-rolling

About 5-6 hours before you want to start baking, set the bread dough out to thaw. The longer it thaws, the easier it will be to roll out. You can sprinkle flour in either a bread pan or on wax paper, place the frozen loaf there, add some more flour to the top of the loaf, cover it, and let it thaw.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook the sausage and break it into little pieces.
Thaw the spinach and make sure to drain it (I hand squeeze the water out).

Lay wax paper out where you want to roll the bread dough. Sprinkle more flour. Also rub flour on your rolling pin. Roll out the dough to roughly 14 or 15" long and maybe 6" wide (I'm just guessing, I always eyeball it).

Add some of the cheese. Add the sausage and chunks of spinach. Top with cheese again.

Get a cookie sheet and spray it with nonstick spray.

Wrap one end of the dough over the toppings, and wrap the other end of the dough over the first end, so they overlap. Pinch the ends of the loaf together. Flip the whole loaf upside down (so the overlapping and pinched parts are all underneath the loaf) onto the cookie sheet. \

Beat one egg in a small bowl; use a pastry brush to brush the egg over the whole top of the loaf.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 mins.

Here it is again in picture form.