French Bread Pizza with Roasted Garlic and Pancetta

We eat a lot of pizza in our house. It’s an easy meal, and well….they’re good. I don’t make a lot of the homemade kind, but if I’m in the mood for one but I don’t feel like breaking out pizza dough, I turn to the humble French bread. It’s sturdy so you can really load on the toppings if you want.

Have any of you tried roasted garlic on a pizza? It’s amazing. Hubby and I both love garlic, and I have enjoyed a white pizza or two with that as a topping, but never with a red sauce. I thought I’d give that a try along with some diced pancetta that I had bought recently. I can honestly tell you, it was so good. I think it’s become one of my favorite homemade pizzas. My friends, I so wish I could reach thru the screen and give you a taste so you can sigh in contentment along with me. There’s a lot of love here. First, there is the bread ….ahhh the bread. It’s crunchy on the outside but pillowy soft on the inside. There is a layer of zesty pizza sauce followed by the sweet, creamy roasted garlic, then lots of cheese (and we know everything is better with cheese). Then there is the crispy, lovely pancetta that is sprinkled all over the top. *sigh* My mouth is already watering just thinking about it.

So if your taste buds are calling out to you to try it too, here’s what you need:

*a large loaf of French bread. I used a wider variety rather than the skinnier baguette

*pizza sauce

*1 bulb of garlic

*olive oil

*salt and pepper to taste

*pinch of dried sage to taste

*2 tsp butter; softened

*diced pancetta

*shredded cheese; I used a mozzarella and mild cheddar blend

*shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cut off the top part of the garlic. Place the garlic on foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap loosely and cook for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the cloves are soft and turn golden. Let it cool until it’s cool enough to handle.

Squeeze the garlic out of the skins and into a small bowl. Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, sage and add the butter. With the back of a fork, begin mashing the garlic mixture until it forms a rough paste.

Set aside.

Turn the oven up to 425°

In a small skillet with a small amount of olive oil, cook the pancetta on medium high heat until it starts to turn crispy; drain if needed and set aside.

Cut the bread in half horizontally and place on a baking sheet. Spoon a desired amount of pizza sauce on to each half.

Drop some of the garlic mixture on top of the pizza sauce.

Layer on a desired amount of cheese over the garlic mixture.

Sprinkle the pancetta all over the cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted and the bread starts to turn golden and crispy.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the shredded parmesan cheese.

Cut into serving sizes and Enjoy!

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Air Fryer Roasted Garlic Parmesan Bread

This is a slight variation of my Roasted Garlic Parmesan Bread that I had posted a while back. I had dinner cooking in the oven and since there was no room to make the bread in the oven, I thought it would be a good time to try it in the air fryer. Hubby and I were both pleased with the results. It took less time to roast the garlic and toast the bread. I should also point out that hubby actually liked this better cooked in the air fryer. The roasted garlic really shined thru with the melted butter and the flavor of the parmesan made this extra tasty. The bread had a really nice crispy texture on the outside, but still soft on the inside. This is great when like me, you run out of room in the oven or you really don’t want to warm up the whole house, not to mention it takes less time which is an added bonus.

Here’s what you need:

*1 half of French bread; a whole loaf would not fit in the air fryer, but I only needed half, if you need more cook in batches.

*1/2 stick of butter softened

*5 large garlic cloves; or more if prefered

*1 TBS olive oil

*pinch of salt

*2 tsp. dried parsley

*2 TBS finely grated Parmesan cheese (the kind that looks like sand)

Preheat the air fryer at 400° for 5 minutes.

Place the garlic cloves on a small sheet of foil; sprinkle with salt and drizzle on the olive oil.

wrap the foil closed and place in the air fryer basket. Cook for 15 minutes at 400°.

While the garlic is roasting, cut the bread in half  lengthwise.

When the garlic is done, roasted in a small bowl, with the back of a spoon or fork, mash until you reach the desired consistency. I like a few bigger chunks of garlic, but you can also mash until it forms an almost paste.

Add butter, parsley and parmesan cheese; stir until well combined.

Spread evenly on each half of the bread.

Place the bread into the air fryer basket buttered side up. Try not to overlap too much.

Cook at 400° for 3 minutes. Check to see if it’s toasted enough as you like, if not cook for another 2 minutes.

Carefully remove from the basket and cut and serve.

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