Pizza Monkey Bread

I'm not sure where this recipe originated but the idea of making Pizza Monkeybread is genius! I wish I had thought of it. Monkeybread is a pull-apart bread which is generally sweet. What makes this a Pizza version is the pizza dough and the pepperoni and mozzarella cheese stuffing. Most other bloggers make their own dough and brush the stuffed pizza balls with garlic butter. I used a shortcut and made these with prepared frozen pizza dough. Also, I seasoned some light olive oil with garlic powder to make a garlic oil. I know this sounds ghetto but the garlic flavor is wonderful and I didn't see the need to make these with butter. Olive oil just seemed healthier. 

2 bags of frozen pizza dough

slices of pepperoni, cut in half

mozzarella cheese

extra light olive oil

garlic powder

marinara sauce

I could give you measurements but honestly I don't know! Just buy a ball of mozzarella cheese (not packed in water) and chop it up or buy a small bag of shredded mozzarella. Half of a regular sized bag of pre-sliced pepperoni should do. For the Marinara Sauce, I use Newman's Own. For the olive oil I used Bertolli's Extra Light Olive Oil and for every 1/2 cup of oil I did about 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. If you have garlic-infused oil, or want to infuse your own oil with fresh garlic, by all means go-ahead!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

You'll need a bundt pan that's be greased with cooking spray or brushed with oil.

In a bowl, add some oil and garlic powder. Mix and set aside.

Break off pieces of the pizza dough into 1 inch chunks and roll into a ball with your hands. Create a well in the center with your thumbs and add 2 half slices of pepperoni and as much mozzarella as you can fit. Roll the ball and twist to close so you have a pizza dough ball and the filling is sealed in. 

Dip the ball in the garlic oil and roll until lightly coated. Add to the bottom of the bundt pan.

Keep repeating this over and over again until you run out of dough. Make sure each of the pizza balls are uniform in shape and in size in relation to the others. Place them evenly in the bundt pan making sure you are creating even layers of pizza balls.

Add the bundt pan to your oven and cook for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Heat up some marinara sauce and serve it with you pizza dough. You can either the monkeybread as is in the bundt ban. Or let it cool for 10-15 minutes, then carefully remove from the bundt pan and serve on a plate or platter. I'm usually too impatient for that and I like to eat the pizza monkeybread while hot.

The prep is a bit time consuming. Carlos helped me assemble this last one. He had fun with the pizza dough and it was a nice thing to do together as a couple. Hope you'll try this modified version of a food blogger favorite!