Stromboli

View Instructions

Makes:

1 stromboli

Prep Time:

30 minutes,
plus proofing

Cook Time:

30 minutes

Serves:

4 as a main course, or 6 to 8 as a snack or lunch

Introduction

About this Recipe

Category:

Baked Goods | Mains

Recipe from Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom
© 2023 Olson Food Concepts Inc. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. All rights reserved.

Imagine making a pizza, topping it with sauce, meats and cheese and then rolling it up to bake…that’s stromboli! An American creation, stromboli’s inclusion of tomato sauce inside makes it different from the pocket-shaped Italian calzone, which is served with tomato sauce on the side.

NOTES: This recipe also makes a delicious pizza dough, enough for two medium pizzas. You can make this dough ahead of time, let it rise for an hour and then knock it down before wrapping well in plastic and freezing it for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight to use it the following day, or thaw it on the counter for about 4 hours.

Ingredients

Dough

2½ cups (375 g) “00” flour
1 (2¼ tsp/7 g) pkg instant dry yeast
1 tsp fine salt
1 cup (250 mL) warm water (around 115°F/46°C)
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Fillings

¾ cup (175 mL) prepared tomato sauce or pizza sauce
5 oz (150 g) thinly sliced Black Forest ham or prosciutto cotto (Italian cooked ham)
2 oz (60 g) thinly sliced hot Genoa or Calabrese salami
2 oz (60 g) thinly sliced capicola
¼ cup (32 g) roughly chopped pitted kalamata olives (optional)
2 cups (500 mL) loosely packed fresh spinach leaves
2⅓ cups (250 g) coarsely grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water, for brusing
¼ cup (25 g) finely grated Parmesan cheese

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Make and proof the dough. Stir the flour, yeast and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Add the water and olive oil and mix on low speed until the flour is worked in. Increase the speed a few levels to knead for about 4 minutes, until the dough is elastic and comes away from the sides of the bowl. If mixing by hand, combine the ingredients until it becomes too difficult to stir in a bowl; turn the dough out onto the counter and knead until it feels elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in an ungreased bowl, cover the bowl and let rise on the counter for an hour, until doubled in size.

Step 2

Roll and top the dough. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out the risen dough to a rectangle about 12 × 20 inches (30 × 50 cm). Spread the tomato sauce (or pizza sauce) over the dough, leaving an inch (2.5 cm) bare around the edge. Layer the ham, salami and capicola on top of the sauce. Sprinkle the olives over, if using, followed by the spinach. Sprinkle the cheese overtop.

Step 3

Roll up the stromboli. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Fold the short sides of the dough over the filling by an inch (2.5 cm). Starting from a long side, roll up the dough and filling (like a cinnamon bun). When you reach the end, pinch the end of the dough into the roll and carefully lift the stromboli onto the baking tray. Cover loosely and let the stromboli rise for 30 minutes.

Step 4

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Step 5

Finish the stromboli. Brush the stromboli with egg wash and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Use a paring knife to make cuts at 2-inch intervals on the top, to allow steam to escape.