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2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dry yeast

OR Buy a ready made pizza dough

Olive oil

1 egg, beaten
1 / 2 cup of parmesan cheese
8 ounce fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 / 4 pound of pepperoni or sopressata slices, quartered

another egg, beaten

1. In a bowl place flour, then salt. Mix with your hands. In a cup dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it sit for a minute. Add the olive oil. Make a well with the flour mixture then pour in the water mixture. Mix together to form a dough. Knead until dough becomes shiny and smooth. (If you are using a bread machine, make sure you use only the dough setting.)

2. In a clean bowl, rub a little olive oil to cover the inside of the bowl. Place the dough in and let it rise at least for 1 hour. Take the dough out punch it down and let it rise again for another hour. The longer it rises the better the dough. (If you are using a store bought dough, place it on the kitchen counter till it is room temperature. The dough will be very sticky, so be generous when flouring the dough.)

3. When you are ready to cook your stromboli preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the egg, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and pepperoni. Toss together until everything is coated.

5. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle shape. Fill the dough with the cheese mixture evenly, covering the entire dough, then roll into a jelly roll, lengthwise. Grease a cookie sheet with a little olive oil or cover the cookie sheet with Reynolds wrap release foil. Place the Stromboli onto the cookie sheet. Brush the entire Stromboli with a beaten egg.

6. Bake in the over on middle rack for 35 to 45 minutes (depending on your oven) or until crust is golden brown. When removing from oven, let it sit for 15 minutes to cool down a little before slicing.

7. Optional recipe for Stromboli without meat. In a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, saute 1/2 red pepper strips, 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved, 1/2 bunch scallions, chopped and 3 garlic cloves, chopped. After everything is tender, cool down and add to beaten egg, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese and follow directions the same.

7. ENJOY- Who wants a regular slice of pizza, not me, I want a slice of stromboli!

This recipe works well with homemade or store bought pizza dough. I have also made Stromboli using a white bread dough. You can put anything in your Stromboli. I use grated Romano cheese more than Parmesan cheese in mine because I like the sharper taste. Spinach and broccoli added also make for a good Stomboli. Word of caution, do not over load on the fillings, because it will become too heavy and then the dough may break open. I made two Strombolis, for this posting, one with meat and one with vegestables, because one is never enough for my family.

My recipe for Stromboli is an old one too. I actually had forgotten about it until my daughter, Marisa, asked me for it. I finally located my withered, typewritten (yep, from one of those ancient typewriters), stromboli recipe. As I read it to her over the phone, I made a decision to prepare and serve it the following evening for a gathering of friends at my house. It was a huge hit. Some recipes are always popular and this leads the pack.

Stomboli is easy to make, especially if you have a bread machine. My bread machine was a gift from my friend, Kazue, who so generously gave me hers when she went home to Japan after several years and many meals together. It’s a small machine and fits tidily on my kitchen counter, and there it will remain even if my husband wants it out of the way. It’s not going to be “out of sight, out of mind” as I use it frequently to prepare dough. I really do not like to bake bread in the machine; I don’t like the shape of that small, high bread loaf. This sweet little machine has become a time saver for me. I place all the ingredients in the machine, and it does the mixing and kneading of the dough and some of the rising. The bread machine allows me free time to work on other dishes, especially if I am entertaining that day. Along with my dishwasher, it has become a staple in my kitchen.

Have you considered getting a bread machine for your next dough recipe, perhaps making this stromboli recipe the very first thing you create with it? You may “knead” it more than you know!