Braided Spaghetti Bread (Spaghetti Baked Inside Garlic Bread) !

A great hit at any gathering. Contain yourself, you'll want to eat the whole loaf. You'll need to plan ahead just a bit. This recipe calls for a thawed loaf of Rhodes bread dough & it takes 6-8 hours for the bread to thaw at room temp. You can make the bread dough yourself or buy another brand. The dough rolls out much easier when it is warm. Roll it out as much as you can, then cover it and let it rest for 10 or 15 minutes. When you roll it out the 2nd time, it will roll much better. I have changed the recipe to use vegetarian "meat", you can use real meat if you like. And I add veggies to my spaghetti sauce-bell peppers, onions, eggplant, squash, and the list goes on! You can even leave out the spaghetti and just stuff it with veggies! From Bless This Food, who got it from the Rhodes website. You can also substitute pizza filling for the spaghetti filling and use pizza dough! Try it with alfredo sauce sometime, and you can also substitute spaghetti squash for the pasta, saving on carbs. So good! You can freeze this, you par-bake it and then freeze. Just enough to set it up without browning it, that way it can re-bake and cook all the way through until browning later. Go to http://blessthisfood.blogspot.com/2012/02/braided-spaghetti-bread-spaghetti-baked.html for step by step photos on how to make this.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 1 large loaf

Ingredients

• 1  loaf  rhodes  bread dough, thawed to room temperature (or use other brand, or make your own homemade dough)
• 6  ounces spaghetti, cooked (or use angel hair)
• 1  cup  thick  spaghetti sauce
• 1⁄2 cup  cooked vegetarian Italian sausage (or cooked veggie crumbles or hamburger) (optional)
• 8  ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
•  parmesan cheese
• 2  tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons  minced garlic
•  dried basil
•  smoked paprika (optional)
•  fresh parsley

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 350* F. Lay out a large sheet of parchment paper (Do it. Don't even bother trying to go sans the paper. I'm 99% sure you'll make a mess when trying to transfer) & roll your loaf out into a 12x16 rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap & let it rest while you get everything else ready (10 min or so).
2. Cook your spaghetti (or angel hair) according to directions & drain. Mix in the tomato sauce & vegetarian Italian sausage/hamburger (or use real meat-optional) & let it cool slightly while you continue to prepare.
3. Cut your block of mozzarella into chunks.
4. Melt the butter in a microwave safe dish & stir in the minced garlic & a few pinches of basil. Uncover the dough & using a pastry brush, brush a little more than 1/2 of the butter mixture onto the dough.
5. Now spoon the spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down the center of the dough- top with the mozzarella chunks.
6. Make cuts 1 1/2 inches apart on the long sides of the dough to within 1/2 inch of the filling.
7. Start braiding by folding the strips towards the filling- braid left over right, right over left, etc etc- all the way down.
8. Finish the ends by pulling the strips over & tucking under the braid.
9. Then brush the remainder of the garlic butter all over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese, a little more basil & some garlic powder. Add smoked paprika to taste, a pinch or two. Sprinkle parsley over the top.
10. Slide the parchment paper to a large baking sheet & bake in your pre heated oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let it rest for about 5 minutes & then slice to serve.
11. Enjoy!