Pepperoni and Mozzarella Stromboli

10Aug09

Well what can I say, I have once again fallen off of the food blogging bandwagon.  Sorry about that folks, somewhere in between my board exam, vacation, and the start of my third year rotations blogging found itself on the back burner.  But I am happy to report that I am back and to start off the month I have a great recipe to share!  I know that a few months ago I told you about a really great recipe for pizza dough but guess what, I have found another.  I like this one because it can be made rather impromptu unlike the other which requires an overnight chill in the fridge.  I knew this was an obvious hit with Kyle when he asked me to make this a week after its original debut.  This can also be assembled ahead of time and held in fridge overnight, which makes it a possible contender for a busy weeknight dinner.  I served this with a simple cesar salad which made for a wonderful dinner.

Ingredients:

2 cups bread flour, plus extra for the work surface

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

3/4 cup warm water

4 oz. thinly sliced pepperoni

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Homemade or store-bought pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in the food processor.  With the processor on low, pour the oil and then the water through the feed tube slowly. Continue processing until the dough comes together forming a rough ball.  Let the dough rest for 2 minutes and then process for 30 seconds longer.  Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes.  Add additional flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Place the bowl in a warm place until doubled in size, 1-1 1\2 hours.  Once the dough has doubled in size, gently deflate the dough with your fist and turn it out on to an unfloured work surface.  Reshape the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap which has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Let the dough rest for 15 – 30 minutes but no longer.

Preheat oven to 400°.  Brush rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.

Lightly flour the work surface.  Roll the dough in to a 12 inch by 10 inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.  Place pepperoni on to the dough leaving a 1 inch border.  Next top the with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Brush the edges of the dough with water.  Starting from the long edge of the rectangle roll the dough tightly into a long cylinder, pressing the edges to seal.  Transfer the stomboli to the oiled baking sheet, seam side down.  Brush the top with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Cover the stromboli lightly with aluminum foil which has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes remove the foil and continue to bake until it is golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 5 mintues.

**Make-ahead directions:  Cover the assembled stromboli with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.  Increase the covered baking time to 25 minutes.

Source: Cooks Illustrated – Make Ahead Recipes – Spring 2009

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Filed under: Bread, Italian, Main entree   |  2 Comments