Pepperoni & Jalapeño Pizza Babka

Inspired by the popular Pizza Babka by Pastry Chef Bill Clark. Enriched savory bread dough filled with mozzarella, pepperoni, pickled jalapeños and then doused with garlic-herb butter. Serve it with warmed-up pizza sauce for that perfect pizza flavor.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 45 mins
• Yields: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• Dough

• 4 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1⁄4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2  teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons salt
• 1⁄2 cup warm water
• 1⁄2 cup  warm  whole milk
• 3  large eggs
• 8  tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• Filling

• 4  tablespoons tomato paste
• 6  ounces  sliced  pepperoni
• 2  cups  shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1⁄2 cup  drained  pickled jalapeno pepper
• 1⁄2 cup  grated parmesan cheese

• Topping

• 6  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3  garlic cloves, smashed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  italian seasoning
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1  cup  pizza sauce, warmed

Directions

1. Place the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and yeast to one side and the salt to the other side. You don’t want the salt to touch the yeast because it’ll kill it. Stir together with a wooden spoon. Make a well in the center and add the water, milk and eggs. Give it a stir to roughly combine everything. Then attach to your mixer and knead on moderate speed with the dough hook until the dough comes together, about 5 minutes. Slice the butter and add to the dough, one piece at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the butter has been added, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes longer.
2. Grease a large bowl with a small amount of olive oil, butter or cooking spray. Shape the dough into a ball and place into the greased bowl, turning it over to coat both sides. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
3. Once the dough is ready, transfer to a floured work surface. Divide in half and keep one half covered. Working with one piece at a time, roll out to a 10x14-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with half of the tomato paste. Then top with half of the pepperoni, pickled jalapeños, mozzarella and parmesan. Starting from the short end, roll into a tight log, pinch the seam to seal it. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough in half, lengthwise; revealing all of the layers.
4. Position the halves so that the layers are facing up. Pinch the two halves together at one end, then twist around each other, creating a spiral or braid. Pinch together at the other end. Carefully transfer the loaf into a grease loaf pan. If the loaf is a little too long for the pan, just smoosh it a little on either end to make it fit. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Repeat with the second piece of dough.
5. Cover both pans loosely with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel. Allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F.
7. For the topping: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, dried basil, pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.
8. Once the loaves have risen, brush them with some of the garlic herb butter. Sprinkle with a bit of parmesan and bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45 to 55 minutes. Let the loaves cool for about 20 minutes before running a knife along the sides and removing from the pans. Brush with the remaining herb butter before slicing. Serve warm with pizza sauce.