Pepperoni Mozzarella Sourdough Loaf

It’s like pizza, but bread. This fluffy and soft sourdough bread is stuffed with mini pepperoni and has pockets of cheese scattered throughout. A simple but special loaf of bread that is a good pairing for any weeknight dinner.

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❤️ Why You’ll Love Pepperoni Mozzarella Sourdough Loaf

Although the flavors are complex and delicious, this really is a simple loaf of bread. With the addition of pepperoni and mozzarella cheese, this bread is great smeared with garlic butter or shared on a charcuterie board.

🍲 Ingredients

Sourdough Starter – Bubbly, active sourdough starter that’s been fed 6 – 8 hours prior.

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Water- Filtered water.

Flour – I love the flavor combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, but if you don’t have any whole wheat flour you can easily use entirely all-purpose flour and it works just great.

Salt – I use pink Himalayan salt but use whatever you have on hand.

Pepperoni – I find that the mini pepperonis from the grocery store distribute really well in the dough, plus they are cute and delicious.

Mozzarella – Just like the mini pepperoni, these mozzarella pearls are an easy addition to the dough.

Italian Seasoning – to really round out the Italian flavors that are happening in the bread.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Pepperoni Mozzarella Loaf

In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
In the afternoon, when your starter has peaked and is bubbly and active, assemble your dough.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together your sourdough starter and filtered water until a milky liquid forms. Add the flours and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover with a damp bowl cover and let rest for 1 hour.
After resting, pull the sides of the dough up and toward the middle rotating the bowl each time until a semi – smooth dough forms. Cover with bowl cover and let rest for 30 minutes – 1 hour.
Stretch and fold (or coil fold) the dough 2 more times, letting it rest for at least 30 minutes in between.
On your last stretch and fold, turn your dough over onto a clean workspace and laminate the dough stretching it into a large rectangle as far as it can go without ripping. Sprinkle ½ cup of pepperoni all over the surface of the dough. Fold the edges up and toward the middle, sprinkle the remaining pepperoni, and fold again, rolling the dough into a ball.
Place the dough back into your mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Leave your dough out to bulk ferment on the counter overnight for 8 – 10 hours.
In the morning your dough should have doubled in size. Turn it over to a clean workspace and lightly stretch it into a rectangle shape. Place dollops of mozzarella pearls all over the inside of the dough, fold the edges up and over, place more mozzarella pearls, and then shape the dough into your desired shape. (batard – oval, boule – round)
Place seam side up into your banneton and stitch the dough all the way from the top to the bottom. Pinching the edges toward the middle to create tension which will result in a nice oven spring while baking.
Cover your banneton and place in the fridge for at least two hours – or up to 3 days.
When you’re ready to bake your bread, preheat a Dutch oven at 450 degrees for at least 20 minutes.
Turn your dough onto a bread mat or piece of parchment paper and score the top.
Carefully place the dough into a HOT Dutch oven, quickly replacing the lid to trap the steam. Bake for 25 minutes, remove the lid and bake for additional 23 minutes.
Remove your bread from the Dutch oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Let your bread cool completely before slicing. Serve with a smear of garlic butter and enjoy!

🪄 Tips and Tricks

Laminating the dough is key to making sure the mini pepperonis are evenly distributed throughout the bread after baking.
If you don’t have mini pepperonis or mozzarella pearls, you can chop the regular sized meat and cheese that you already have on hand.
Wet your fingers during stretch and folds so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.

🗒 Variations

Flavor inclusions are my favorite way to make sourdough bread special. Life is too short for boring bread… I wrote a whole book on it 😉 You can also try these popular and delicious stuffed sourdough recipes!

🗒 Substitutions

If you don’t have any whole wheat flour on hand, you can substitute for all-purpose flour.

If you can’t find the mini pepperonis or mozzarella pearls, chop the whole portions of meat and cheese.

Whole Wheat – All Purpose Flour
Mini Pepperoni – Diced whole pepperoni
Mozzarella Pearls – Whole mozzarella, chopped.

🗒 Best served with

Summer Charcuterie Board
Side dish to dinner.
Italian Sandwiches.

👝 How to Store Leftovers

The best way to store leftover sourdough bread to ensure that it maintains its freshness, is to slice the whole loaf up and store it in the freezer.

🤔 Common Questions

I can’t find the mini pepperonis?

I can usually find them in the grocery store next to the whole pepperonis, but if you can’t find them, stack the large pepperonis up and cut them into fourths and it will work just fine!

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