Braided Spaghetti Bread (spaghetti Baked Inside Garlic Bread) !

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

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

Recipe

• 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 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!