BBB rolls out Stromboli

I ate way too many pizza pockets as a high school student.  And even though that was years and years ago, I still turned toward pizza like fillings for this month's BBB Stromboli challenge.  Pepperoni, italian sausage, basil, mozzerella and pimientos, though next time I would add some sun dried tomatoes.  My hubby says it would be fabulous with marinara dipping sauce too.  ☺  Yeah, I agree with the assessment that this is man food.  Surprisingly, the girls decided they prefer their pizza flat.  They did eat it though and I think they would again especially with the dipping sauce.  The day I was going to make it I started a bit too late and ended up having to stick the dough in the fridge.  It was tough holding that dough back though!  I had to degas it a couple times before bed and stick a heavy bowl on top.  Fortunately it didn't overflow all over the fridge, just peeked out from the edges of the bowl.  I recommend that the dough definitely be at room temp before filling and rolling.  And don't use an airbake baking sheet to bake it or you may end up with an underdone bottom/inside.  I should know better by now, but I just flipped it over and baked a few more minutes.  ☺  

Yeah, I forgot to skewer it too.  Oh well.  I did end up with a small eruption on the bottom, but it was a very tasty one.  The brilliant thing about this particular dish is that you can use whatever fillings suit your taste.  The original recipe calls for smoked swiss cheese, garlic, Prosciutto, pepperoni, and fresh basil.  

Stromboli
adapted from Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno

Ingredients:
2 tsp. dry yeast (7 grams)
1¼ c. water (268 grams)
3½ c. unbleached flour (470 grams)
1½ tsp. salt (11 grams)
3 Tbs. olive oil (38 grams)

For the filling and topping:
8 oz. smoked swiss cheese (226 grams)
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. Prosciutto, sliced thin (226 grams)
4 oz. pepperoni, sliced thin (113 grams)
Handful of fresh basil leaves
~1 tsp. coarse salt
3 sprigs rosemary, stems removed
~1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Sprinkle yeast into 1 c. of the water, in small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes to then stir to dissolve.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center and pour in dissolved yeast and the oil. Mix in flour from sides of well. Stir in reserved water, as needed, to form a soft, sticky dough.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, silky, and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Pour dough in a clean, oiled bowl and cover with clean kitchen towel. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 1/2-2 hours.

Punch down and chafe* for 5 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes.

Shape into a 14" x 8" rectangle. Cover w/ clean towel and let rest another 10 minutes.

Spread your cheeses, meats, garlic and basil evenly over dough. (You can use your own combination of meats and cheeses, or roasted veggies and garlic or whatever you like for filling.) Roll up the dough like a swiss roll, starting at one of the shorter sides, but without rolling too tightly.

Place on oiled baking sheet. Use a skewer or a carving fork to pierce several holes through the dough to the baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs. of olive oil, salt, rosemary and pepper.

Bake in preheated (400 degrees F) oven for 1 hour, until golden. Drizzle remaining olive oil over top.  Slice and serve.

*This is the process of forming the dough into a ball by cupping your hands gently around it. Apply a light downward pressure to the sides, while at the same time rotating the dough continuously in a steady, non-stop clockwise motion. Keep doing this until the dough is formed into a smooth and even round shape.  

This will go up for this week's Yeastspotting!