Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Stromboli

I made something new (for me) last weekend: stromboli. It was one of those things I had decided to make without really knowing what exactly it was. This seems to be a good approach for me, actually. I used this approach to create my version of posole, a recipe that has won acclaim from nearly everyone I've made it for, including my perfectionistic older brother.

So, stromboli is actually an American creation, first made either in Pennsylvania somewhere or in Spokane, depending on who you believe (or whether you care). It's basically just a pizza crust rolled around the sort of stuff you'd put in a sandwich, meats and cheese, with no sauce. It's like a savory, meat-filled jelly roll.

In conjunction with this experiment, I wanted to try retarding the fermentation (putting the dough in the refrigerator instead of a warm place) of a batch of pizza dough to see if, as promised, it would make it more flavorful. It did, I think.

I took the dough out of the refrigerator and let it rise in the warm kitchen (warm from making jam) for several hours, got it all set out like I would for a pizza, then added (in this order) a layer of pepperoni, a layer of sliced mozzerella, a layer of Italian Sausage (sliced the log way to make it flatter and easier to roll), and then a final layer of sliced mozzerella. I rolled it up, pinched the ends shut, rubbed it all over with a beaten egg, and baked it for 20 minutes at about 425 on the pizza stone.

It was really, really tasty. I served it with warm marinara on the side had a salad from the lettuce in my garden with it. It was perfect, like all the best parts about pizza, a delightful golden brown on the outside. I will definitely be making it again.

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