Stromboli

In October I made an elaborate Indian meal for David and his college friends, one of whom is vegan (no eggs or dairy, in addition to no meat).  Of course, I could have made pasta with tomato sauce or black beans and rice, or some other simple dinner.  But, no . . .

Anyway, one of our side dishes was stuffed bread--individual disks filled with spiced potatoes and carrots.  It was delicious!  Joseph commented that it would be great to have bread wrapped around a filling again, especially if that filling included meat.  He was describing stromboli.

Stromboli is a specialty of my sister's husband.  He usually makes it as a side dish for Christmas dinner.  I finally obtained a copy of the recipe and made some for my family.  Here's how it goes:

Thaw a one-pound loaf (or three!) of store-bought frozen bread dough.  Let it rise until doubled, or at least soft and puffy.

Roll out the dough on parchment paper that has been cut to fit a jelly roll (~11" x 17") pan.  Brush lightly with beaten egg.  I used two eggs for three loaves.

Start layering the filling.  The recipe calls for meat, cheese, meat, and cheese. 

I used turkey Italian sausage (Shady Brook Farms tastes best.  I use hot, which isn't spicy but has more flavor than sweet.), ham, and turkey pepperoni.  Provolone and sliced mozzarella were the cheeses of choice.

Leave room on a long side for rolling up and connecting the dough.

No, that's not Parmesan on the pepperoni--it's frost!  I keep my leftover in the freezer.

Each loaf was different:  sausage/pepperoni, ham/pepperoni, and sausage/ham (our favorite).

Use the parchment to help you begin rolling up the loaf.

It may be a bit of a struggle to keep the filling in!  Muscle it along as best you can, and seal the dough.

Pinch the dough together thoroughly.

Lay your stromboli, seam side down, on the parchment on a baking sheet with sides.

Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Slice and serve.

Parchment saves clean up time, and the sides of the pan prevent disaster when the cheesy goodness inevitably leaks out.  I don't know if there's a correlation, but I used shredded mozzarella on one loaf, and that one leaked the most.

Len still likes pizza better, but this was a fun dinner.  I served it with ranch dip and warm tomato sauce on the side. 

The leftovers were even better:  we heated slices (on their sides) in a skillet (use cast iron or non-stick), getting them warm and crusty, then topped them with warm sauce, making a delicious knife-and-fork plateful.

Here's the general outline, summarized:

1# loaf frozen bread dough, thawed and risen

beaten egg

meat, 2 kinds, 1/4# each?

provolone and mozzarella, 1/4# each

sesame seeds, optional

dip or sauce, optional

Roll out dough.  Brush with beaten egg.  Layer with meat and cheese.  Roll up and pinch seam.  Brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Enjoy!