What's better than pizza? Pizza in a different shape!

Okay, so stromboli isn't exactly like pizza, but it's pretty darn close. It's like a sauce-less pizza rolled up into a delicious coil... and I have to admit, the coil makes it really fun to eat. You can eat it plain (like I do) or dip each slice into sauce. It's great both ways.

This stromboli is only as expensive as the ingredients you decide to put inside of it. Ever since I made the salami Italian sandwiches back in December, I've wanted salami again. So, even though it was a lil'bit pricy, i sprung for it. I also used provolone cheese because it goes great with salami and some banana pepper rings that I had leftover in the fridge. It was PERFECT.

Oh, and FYI, I totally intended to make a big green salad after all of that gooey Jalapeno Popper Mac n' Cheese, but the grocery store was out of kale so I had to put the salad that I had planned on hold till my next day off, which is Wednesday. So, hang in there. I'll have something healthy soon. Promise.

Stromboli

Total Recipe cost: $7.55
Servings Per Recipe: 6 (2 slices, 1.5" each)
Cost per serving: $1.26
Prep time: 20 min. Rise time: 2-3 hrs. Cook time: 25 min. Total: 3-4 hours

DOUGH INGREDIENTS		COST
1 tsp	active dry yeast	$0.11
1 Tbsp	sugar	$0.01
3/4 cup	warm water	$0.00
1 tsp	salt	$0.05
1/2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.08
3 cups	all-purpose flour	$0.30
FILLINGS/TOPPINGS		COST
1/3 lb.	salami	$3.23
6 slices	provolone cheese	$2.50
1/2 cup	banana pepper slices	$0.90
2 Tbsp	olive oil	$0.32
1 tsp	Italian seasoning blend	$0.05
TOTAL		$7.55

STEP 1: Combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar, and stir until dissolved. Let that sit for about five minutes or until it becomes frothy on top. After five minutes, stir in the olive oil and salt. Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl and add one cup of flour. Stir until smooth.

STEP 2: Continue to add flour, a half cup at a time, until you can no longer stir it with a spoon. At that point turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about five minutes, adding more flour as you go. Knead in flour until the dough is soft, but no longer sticky. You should use roughly 2.25 to 3 cups of flour total. Form the dough into a ball, place it back in the bowl, loosely cover it with plastic, and let it rise for 1-1.5 hours, or until double in size.

STEP 3: Once the dough is double in size, take it out of the bowl and place it on a floured surface again. Pat the dough down into a rough rectangular shape and then gently stretch and coax the dough into a larger 12x18 inch rectangle. Stretching the dough rather than rolling it with a rolling pin will give you a fluffier end product.

Step 4: Arrange your toppings over the dough. Roll the dough up so that it forms an 18 inch log. Place the rolled dough on a baking sheet and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over top. Allow the stromboli to rise for about an hour.

STEP 5: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the stromboli for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Slice the stromboli into 12 pieces, about 1.5 inches each. Enjoy!

Step By Step Photos

First stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Wait about five minutes or until the top gets very frothy. It's hard to see the thick layer of very fine foam on top of the liquid here, but it's there. Those big bubbles are actually on top of the foam. Once it gets foamy, stir in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt.


Add the yeast mixture and one cup of flour to a large bowl. Stir until it looks smooth like this. Then continue to stir in more flour until it becomes a sticky ball of dough.


At that point, turn the sticky dough out onto a floured surface and knead in more flour until you reach about 2.5 to 3 cups total flour total and have kneaded for about 5 minutes. The end product should be a soft but not sticky ball of dough that springs back when you poke it with a finger.


Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it loosely with plastic, and let it rise until double (1-1.5 hours).


Take the risen dough out of the bowl and put it on a floured surface. First press it down into a rough rectangular shape and then gently stretch it into a larger, 18x12 inch rectangle. Don't be tempted to use a rolling pin, it will squash the dough.


Next, lay your toppings on the dough. You don't need to put the toppings on thick because once you roll it up, the toppings will be in 2-3 layers.


Yummm... banana peppers. You can kind of clean out your fridge with this, but just try to avoid ingredients that have a lot of moisture because that will give you a soggy stromboli.


Roll the stromboli up along the short side, so that you end up with an 18 inch log (stromboli, I mean).


Paint the stromboli with some more olive oil, sprinkle it with Italian seasoning, and then let the stromboli rise. Rise, stromboli, RISE! (about an hour).


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the stromboli for about 25 minutes or until it is golden brown. I'll admit, I only let my stromboli rise for about 30 minutes and the toppings inside were cold, so it didn't rise much... but it was still incredible!


Then just slice it up and eat!