This is such a fantastic treat and so surprisingly easy to make that I thought you might like to try it. If you make the bread dough ahead of time it's a snap to put together. You may have a bread dough recipe you like to use (or a breadmaker) which will work great but here is the simple recipe I used:
O.K, once your bread dough is ready you can make your stromboli. If you are using the bread dough recipe above, divide it in 1/2. If you are not using all of it, store the remainder in the fridge. Mine only lasts a couple of days but you can make pizza or a bread loaf to accompany soup for another night. Now for a quick sketch on how to make this luscious treat:
Now let's go step by step:
Roll your dough into a rectangle shape (or in this case a blob that kind of resembles a rectangle). I put mine on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper and put some flour on the rolling pin as the dough tends to be very sticky.
Next spread some sauce on there. You can use any sauce you like (pizza sauce, marinara, or best yet, home made). I used a little less than half a cup but you could even use less. You want to be sparing with this since as you roll it the sauce moves and bunches up and you want it to stay more in the middle so you can seal the ends. Leave about 1/2 inch border around the edges.
Layer on some overlapping rows of pepperoni. Just want to mention here that you could easily make this vegetarian by substituting the meat for some veggies (for example, onions and peppers that has been pan fried in olive oil). Feel free to get creative and use what you have on hand.
I decided to add some ham slices because that is what we had. You can get creative here and add cooked sausage crumbles, salami, cooked ground beef (meat sauce would kill two birds with one stone).
Add your favorite cheese. I had some mozzarella on hand but add your personal favorite!
Now beat an egg in a bowl and use a pastry brush (or heck, your fingers!) to brush one of the long edges of the rectangle with the egg. This will act to seal the edges together once rolled.
Once the whole thing is rolled and the short ends are pinched shut, now you brush the whole top with egg and place in a 375 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes.
After about 20 minutes, take your stromboli out of the oven (See it has a nice golden look?). Now sprinkle on some parmesan cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes to melt the parm.
Here is is all done. The cheese is a little melty and the whole house smells DELICIOUS!!!!!
Now at this point, most normal people would wait until this cooled before slicing (or at least protect their hands) but if you are like me, then you will be 'all in' and start slicing enthusiastically and burn your hand, dying to see what it looks like on the inside.
See what I mean? Look at that bubbly melted cheese. Mamma Mia!!!
Now dig in (with a ribbon covered fork, naturally.)
Hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful, treat-filled week ahead.
Warmly,
Pam