French Bread Pizza

First, make a batch of bread to the recipe I posted down a bit. When you get to the shaping part, divide the dough into two pieces. Roll it out with your hands like two playdough ropes, then set it on your greased cookie sheet and let rise the second time until roughly double. Bake at 350 until done -somewhere between 45-60 minutes.

The doneness test that I was taught is as follows. Use your fingers to lightly tap the top of the loaf. It should sound hollowy. If it sounds like you're tapping a brick, it's not done. If it feels like you're tapping the table top (remember, folks, the table top has a lot of air underneath it thus creating that nifty hollow sound) then it's done. My mother used her fingertips. I'm always a little afraid of burning my hands in the process, so I reach in the oven with either the flat side of a knife or a wooden spoon.

Options: brush the tops of the loaves with garlic butter before baking. Sprinkle the tops with a little bit of Mrs Dash. Or shredded cheese. Or if you feel ambitious, do all three!

So you've got your french bread. When it's cooled off, split the loaves, spoon some sauce over them and top with cheese, toppings, whatever, and then back in the oven until it's all melty and toasty and wonderful.

Of course you can substitute store-bought bread. I recommend using the day old stuff, on the reduced shelf. Since it's stale it will soak up the sauce and toppings better. As far as what sauce to use... I don't bother buying pizza sauce anymore. I use spaghetti sauce from a can. The store brand that's in an unattractive can may not be all gourmet, but it's a very decent basic sauce. I can add my own basil, other herbs, meat, to suit the tastes of my family at any given time. Plus, it's almost always the cheapest brand on the shelf! I win again!