Bacon Cheeseburger Bread

While watching Worst Cooks in America with Steve a couple of weeks ago we saw a recipe that we really wanted to try. It was called Cheeseburger Roulade and considered to be upscale football party food. So what better to make for a football party we were attending, right?  Well I thought that since we were traveling I didn't really want to use puff pastry.  I don't want it to get soggy and fall apart by the time we got there.  So I decided to use pizza dough.  I actually used refrigerated thin crust pizza dough so I didn't have to worry about too much dough and not enough filling.  Regular pizza dough that I get from the pizzeria tends to be a lot thicker and I have a hard time getting it thin enough.  So once I decided on that I took a better look at that recipe and decided that there just wasn't enough seasoning for me and I didn't want to bother with a dipping sauce.  I decided to do a search for Cheeseburger Bread to see if I could find a recipe and what do you know...one of my blogging friends had a recipe for Meatloaf Bread. What do you know!  I loved that she used caramelized onions - brilliant and it's a topping I do love on my burgers!  Thanks Dawn for your creative mind! Please check out her blog Vanilla Sugar for some more great recipes!  I also came across a Rachael Ray recipe and why wouldn't the self proclaimed Queen of the burger have a recipe for this already - so I added some of her recipe as well.  Here is my version of this tasty crowd pleaser!  Oh and a word of advice - MAKE TWO!!!

Bacon Cheeseburger Bread

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon butter
4-6 slices center cut bacon, cut into lardons
1 pound ground beef (I prefer chuck 85% lean)
1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt and ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of white wine
1 tube refrigerated thin crust pizza dough, stretched out a bit
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.

2.  Place bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook until crispy.  Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat and add butter.   When butter is melted add onions sugar, salt and pepper and saute over medium high heat.  The onions will cook for about 30 minutes or so.  When they stick and begin to brown add white wine.  Continue to cook until onions are tender and golden in color.

3.  Meanwhile in another pan heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.  Add the meat to the pan and cook until golden brown, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic powder, chili powder and smoked paprika to the pan, season with salt and pepper.  Add the mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce to the pot, bring up to a bubble and simmer until thickened, 4-5 minutes. Add reserved bacon. Let cool. Add a beaten egg. 


4.  Dust a clean surface with cornmeal and then roll out dough onto the work surface. Roll out the dough slightly so it's approximately 11x16".


5.  Top the dough with the cooled meat mixture on the bottom third of the dough.  Top that with the  caramelized onions and cheese. Leave a one-inch border on each side. Fold all the borders in and pull top over to cover meat mixture. Pinch sides and if you have any holes just pinch them closed.  Make a few cuts into the top of the dough so steam releases. 

6.  Brush the roll with egg wash and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Transfer the roll to a baking sheet and bake until dough is evenly golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. Slice and serve. 

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