Thursday, April 26, 2012

Pizza Roll Ups

This is my new favorite supper alternative to regular pizza: Pizza Stromboli. These are faster, easier, less work, and in my opinion, tastier, than making my usual homemade pizza. Basically these pizza strombolis are simply an easier, softer, and fluffier version of pizza dough. The dough is rolled out into a thin rectangle, spread with sauce and sprinkled sparingly with toppings (so they won't fall out), and finished off with lots of shredded pizza mozzarella. Then it is rolled up, jelly roll style, sealed, and placed on a baking sheet. It is actually a lot easier and less elaborate than it sounds. The strombolis are then baked in the oven for 15-20 minutes, and they are ready to serve (although it helps to let them rest for a few minutes before cutting them, as they will be a lot neater, but this isn't necessary and is sometimes difficult). 
The first time I tried out this new recipe was about mid March, and it worked out beautifully. This time I made two separate strombolis at the same time. Doubling the recipe and then dividing the dough in half would have also worked, however I wanted to try making one of the strombolis whole wheat. I really like whole wheat pizza crust, but I do find it can be a bit dry and a tad too wheaty. I did not find this at all with the whole wheat stromboli, even though I used all whole wheat flour, and not half whole wheat and half white flour. The whole wheat stromboli tasted very good and had a pleasant texture. 
I will probably be making this again in place of the usual pizza, although I will turn to the trusty old pizza recipe again from time to time. This stromboli can use any of the same toppings that would normally be used for pizza, and can be varied to suit your personal taste. As you can see in the picture, the dough is quite forgiving and rises very well. If the dough tears in places, it can easily be patched up with the ends. You might also find that some of the filling may try to escape, but it's not a big deal. You can even sprinkle some extra toppings on the outside of the dough for more flavor. Be sure to line your baking sheet with parchment paper for a much easier clean up!

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