Place warm water in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Whisk with a fork, wooden spoon, or spatula and allow to rest and activate for 10 minutes.
2 Tablespoons (30mL) warm water, 1 and ⅛ teaspoons (3.5g) active dry yeast
Once the yeast mixture is active and bubbly, add the milk, sugar, salt, 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, melted butter, and egg. Whisk to combine.
½ cup (120mL) warm milk, 1 Tablespoon (15g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, 1 large egg
Gradually stir in the flour. If using a stand mixer, use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, continue to use a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of flour, stir, and allow dough to come together until all of the flour has been added. It may still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.
2 and ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour
Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until smooth and elastic. Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done.
Spray the same bowl with non-stick spray or olive oil and place the dough ball into the bottom of the bowl. Flip the dough ball over to coat the top, and then cover the bowl with a lid or towel and place in a warm environment. I like to heat my oven to 200ºF (93ºC), turn it off, then leave the door cracked with the bowl inside. Allow dough to rise until double in size, about 90 minutes.
After dough has doubled, punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, then use your hands and fingers to stretch the dough into discs approximately 4" in diameter (this does not need to be perfect). Lay all of the discs out on a flat surface.
Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
Spread about 2 teaspoons of pizza sauce, a teaspoon of shredded mozzarella, and a slice of pepperoni on half of each disc, fold in half, and place folded side down in the prepared loaf pan. Continue with each disc until all of the discs are in the pan, moving things around if necessary. Do not worry about aesthetics or if the filling is squishing out of the sides. Cover the loaf with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for about 30-45 minutes.
Drizzle olive oil on top, then sprinkle grated Parmesan and remaining 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning on top. I sprinkled a little extra shredded mozzarella on top, too. Cover loaf with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for about 30-45 minutes.
When you are ready to bake the bread, set the rack to the middle position in the oven and preheat it to 350ºF (177ºC). Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack at least 15 minutes before turning out and serving. Loaf can be served warm or room temperature, and we enjoyed ours with additional pizza sauce for dipping. Leftovers stay fresh, covered tightly in the refrigerator, up to 5 days. Loaf freezes well, up to 3 months. Wrap tightly. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.
Video
Notes
Pizza sauce: you may want more for dipping (we always do!). Feel free to use pasta sauce.
Shredded mozzarella cheese: you can use pre-shredded cheese or shred your own. You can also use any cheese you prefer like a pizza blend.
Pepperoni: you'll want to use standard 1" diameter (approximately) pieces. You can also use mini pepperoni. Use 3 or 4 mini slices in place of each single pepperoni slice. I like to tuck a few extra pepperoni slices into the sides of the pan. Pepperoni is entirely optional.
Working with yeast: for a comprehensive look at working with yeast in a recipe, see my post about how to bake with yeast.
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.