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!
For supper, I decided to try something a little different than the usual pizzas we make. I found a recipe for what was called "Family-Style Stromboli". It appeared to be a pizza in jelly-roll form. It seemed interesting and tasty enough, so I decided to give it a try. I just used the dough recipe for the crust, and chose fillings to please my family. The original recipe used more vegetables in their filling and less pizza meats than I did. The result was even better than I had expected! This is a very nice dough to work with - it is soft and easy to shape, doesn't tear easily, and when baked, is soft and fluffy. The toppings baked nicely into the crust (I recommend using lots of cheese), and the roll cut well. I would definitely make this again in place of pizza any day - it is quicker and actually easier, and I might just argue that it is tastier too!
Pizza Stromboli
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 package quick-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup warm water
3 Tablespoons oil
Preheat oven to 400◦F. Grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix 1 cup flour with the yeast, sugar, and salt. Add water then oil, mix until well blended. Stir in 1/4 cup of the remaining flour at a time, working the flour in to make a soft dough. Spread dough into a large rectangle (about 16x9 inches) on the prepared baking sheet.
Spread dough with a modest amount of pizza sauce, and sprinkle with your favorite toppings (sliced meats, finely chopped vegetables, grated cheese, etc.) Go easy on the toppings, too many and they will just fall out and the roll will not roll properly.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until crust is golden. Let the roll rest for 10 minutes (if you can) before slicing, it will make much neater slices instead of just falling apart.
