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French Bread Pizza

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf french bread, (about 12-inches) storebought or homemade (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Garlic powder, for sprinkling
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more or less
  • 1-2 cups pizza sauce (see note)
  • Pizza toppings of choice

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
  • Slice the french bread in half the long way, forming two long halves (like a hot dog bun but don't keep them attached). Lightly press on the bread with the palms of your hands or with the bottom of a flat baking sheet until the bread is compressed to about half of what it was (generally about 1/2-inch or so thick, but like I mentioned in my post, homemade french bread doesn't flatten quite as well in my experience).
  • Drizzle the olive oil on both halves, about 1/2 tablespoon for each half, and brush lightly into the dough. Sprinkle with just a touch of garlic powder.
  • Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese across each loaf. Place the loaves of bread on an aluminum-foil lined baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes, until the Parmesan cheese is just barely starting to turn golden and has hardened a bit to the touch. Take care not to burn the Parmesan!
  • Spread pizza sauce on top of the Parmesan-crusted loaves and top with pizza toppings of your choice. I usually go with about 1 cup of mozzarella cheese for each half and throw on some pepperoni and olives but the sky is definitely the limit here!
  • Bake the pizzas for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the edges of the bread are starting to crisp up and turn golden.
  • Using a serrated knife, cut into pieces and serve immediately.

Notes

French Bread: here is my favorite homemade french bread. 
Sauce: if you use this fabulous pizza sauce recipe, you'll have some leftover which is perfect for dipping pizza slices if you or someone you know likes things a bit more saucy. Otherwise, a full batch of the sauce is perfect for a doubled recipe (2 loaves of french bread yielding 4 loaves of pizza).
Cheese: also, I use freshly grated Parmesan cheese - shredded on the small holes of my box grater and not the stuff in a can.
Toppings: I was quite vague on the pizza toppings - that's up to you! This recipe is more about the method and besides, the options for toppings are endless.