SRC: Stromboli

Hope everyone had a great weekend. It is Secret Recipe Club time here again! This month I was assigned The Keenan Cookbook. The blog is ran by Chris, Rachel, and Baby Boy, and Chris indicates that they make a great team in the kitchen with him doing much of the cooking and Rachel taking most of the photos. The recipes on their website often come along with personal stories, and I really enjoyed all of their posts.

So how did I settle on this stromboli recipe? In the spirit of posting recipes with memories and family connections, we have our own stromboli story here. While it was a much different recipe, stromboli is the first meal that my husband (then boyfriend) made for me.

In the spirit of staying true to his recipe, I also made the pizza dough recipe that Chris suggests for this recipe. My other changes were minor - chicken sausage, turkey pepperoni, and smoked mozzarella. I also added some provolone cheese, although I am not sure this was a substitution. Chris doesn't list this in his ingredient list, however his photo indicates there was some form of sliced cheese in addition to the mozzarella cubes. The dough recipe was different that others that I have made in that I felt the dough turned out stiff and hard to maneuver. Nonetheless, it baked up nicely and held in all the ingredients stuffed in this stromboli really well, so it may be worth a second try to see if my problems were user error.

Be sure to stop by The Keenan Cookbook to check out his original version of the stromboli as well as all of their other recipes. I know I've bookmarked several other recipes to make myself. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Stromboli with Alton Brown's Pizza Dough
From The Keenan Cookbook

Ingredients:
Dough:
4 Tbsp. sugar 
2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 cups warm water
4 cups bread flour
2 tsp. instant yeast
non-stick spray

Stromboli:
1/2 recipe pizza dough 
3/4 lb. chicken sausage
1/2 pkg. turkey pepperoni
1/4 lb. deli salami, sliced 
1/4 lb. deli provolone cheese, sliced
8 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese
3 Tbsp. dried parsley
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 egg white, slightly beaten

For the dough, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the ingredients in the following order: sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 2 cups flour, yeast, and remaining 2 cups flour. Mix on low until the dough just comes together forming a ball. Spray the hook attachment with cooking spray. Swap the paddle attachment for the hook and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed. Tear off a small piece of the dough and flatten. Stretch the dough until thin. Hold it up to the light to see if you can see through it. If it tears, you will need to knead the dough for an additional 5-10 minutes. Form the dough into a smooth ball with your hands. Spray a large bowl with the non-stick spray and place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat the ball of dough with the spray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18-24 hours. I divided this in half, using half for the stromboli and the other half for a different pizza. The dough can be frozen by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and placing the wrapped ball of dough into a freezer ziplock bag. Remove from the freezer the morning you want to use it and place in the refrigerator. 

For the stromboli, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (approximately 30 minutes). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, cook the sausage until cooked through. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Sprinkle with the herbs. Layer with meats and then cheeses. Starting with the long end of the rectangle, roll the dough up. Pinch the seams to seal. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet and pierce with a fork in several places. Brush with egg white. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and enjoy!