Braided Spaghetti Bread

I kept seeing a recipe for braided spaghetti bread on Pinterest, courtesy of Rhodesbread.com, and it looked delicious.  I'm not a huge fan of spaghetti but the rest of the family likes it so I thought it would be good to give it a try.  This is one the whole family can enjoy, even the non-spaghetti lovers like me.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 loaf Rhodes bread dough, thawed

6 ounces spaghetti, cooked

1 cup thick spaghetti sauce (my husband makes ours)

1 lb lean ground beef, browned and added to sauce

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 egg white, beaten

Parmesan cheese

Garlic powder

Instructions

1.  Let loaf thaw to room temperature 1-2 hours, lightly covered.  

2.  Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray, or use parchment paper.  Roll loaf into a 12x16 inch rectangle.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10-15 minutes.  

3.  Brown ground beef and drain,  setting aside.  

4.  Cook spaghetti according to package instructions.  Drain and return to pan, letting cool slightly.  

5.  Heat sauce in saucepan over medium heat and add ground beef.  When bubbly, pour sauce over spaghetti and stir until incorporated.  

6.  Place spaghetti mixture in a 4 inch strip down the center of dough.  

7.  Top with cheese cubes.  

8.  Make cuts 1 1/2 inches apart on the long sides of the dough to within 1/2 inch of the filling.  

9.  Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips towards filling.  Braid strips left over right, then right over left, until you reach the end.  Finish by pulling the last strip over and tucking under the braid.  

10.  Slide dough carefully on the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet, or lift braid carefully with both hands to transfer to the sprayed cookie sheet if you did not use the parchment paper.  The paper made it much easier.  

11.  Brush with egg white and grate parmesan cheese on the top.  Sprinkle with garlic powder.

12.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool slightly and slice to serve.