Description
This French Bread Pizza is an easy oven-baked recipe featuring a secret buttery garlic herb spread, crispy edges, and melty mozzarella cheese topped with pepperoni or your favorite toppings. Perfect for a quick and delicious meal anyone can enjoy.
Ingredients
Scale
Bread and Base
- 1 loaf French Bread, about 1 lb, 20-21 inches long
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Toppings
- 1 ½ cups pizza sauce
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese (low moisture, whole milk)
- 25 pepperoni slices or toppings of choice
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 425° F to prepare for baking the French bread pizza.
- Prepare Bread: Cut the loaf of French bread in half lengthwise, then cut each half into two slices, creating manageable pizza slices. Place these slices on a large, light-colored baking sheet.
- Make Garlic Butter Mixture: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine olive oil, butter, minced garlic, dried oregano, and salt. Heat and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes, reducing heat if necessary. Remove from heat once fragrant and combined.
- Brush Bread with Mixture: Use a pastry brush to generously brush the garlic butter mixture over the top and edges of each bread slice. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese evenly over the buttered bread.
- Bake the Bread: Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake the bread slices uncovered for 6-7 minutes to crisp the crust slightly.
- Add Toppings: Remove the partially baked bread from the oven. Spread pizza sauce evenly on each slice, then top with shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices or your preferred toppings.
- Final Bake: Return the pizza slices to the oven and bake for 10-13 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the edges of the bread are browned and crispy.
- Optional Broil: For a more browned top, optionally broil at 450° F for about 1 minute, watching closely to avoid burning.
- Serve: Slice further if desired and serve warm for the best flavor and texture.
Notes
- Choose a large, light, and airy French bread loaf that is more rounded rather than overly crusty for best texture.
- Use low moisture, whole milk mozzarella shredded from a block for optimal melting; avoid fresh mozzarella.
- Keep packaged pepperoni slices in the freezer to maintain freshness and use directly from frozen at prep time.
- Rao’s Pizza Sauce offers high quality but more affordable brands like Ragu work well too.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; reheat in the oven at 350° F for 5-8 minutes until cheese is warm and melty.
- Try variations using other favorite toppings or sauces like buffalo chicken or Hawaiian style for variety.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pizza slice
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
