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This Stromboli recipe is for you if you love pizza
Stromboli are delicious. Originally created in Philadelphia in United States, the recipe starts with pizza dough and is filled, rolled and baked. As you might have guessed, it probably gets its name from the Mt. Stromboli volcano in Sicily.*
It’s a close cousin to calzone, but Stromboli are always rolled, whereas calzone are folded. Stromboli are ideal for sharing, cut into thick slices, calzone usually serve one.
In my vegetarian version, inspired by a recipe from Sean McVey of the Breadwinner Bakery in Edinburgh, I include a filling of pesto, beans, garlic, sun dried tomatoes and goats’ cheese. Add vegan cheese for a vegan verison. You can make a meaty version with chorizo, the choice is yours!
Create my Stromboli recipe
It’s easy to make Stromboli with my recipe. Start by making a beautiful soft dough with sun dried tomatoes. Whilst it proves, work on your filling. It needs to be prepared and cooled in advance. The dough can also be made and left overnight until you want to use it. Why not make your own pesto? It’s really easy and you can freeze it in small portions. The recipe follows the Stromboli Recipe.
The key to a successful Stromboli is to roll the dough out onto a prepared tray and put it into the fridge for 15 minutes. It makes it SO much easier to roll out.
Prove for a further 25 minutes after rolling then score and bake.
Danielle’s Vegetarian Stromboli
A delicious alternative to pizza, this recipe makes four generous portions. Made with sun dried tomatoes and stuffed with a selection of vegetables and cheese, this will surely be a winner in your house! It's a close cousin to calzone, but is rolled rather than folded. The tomatoes give the dough a lovely orange colour and a great flavour. You can make the dough in advance and leave it overnight before using. If you can, buy sun dried tomatoes in a jar, you'll use the oil they are stored in. If you'd like to create a meaty version, leave out the beans and use chopped cooked chorizo or sausage. If you'd like to make your own pesto, the recipe follows this one.
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer optional
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 large flat baking tray needs to fit in your fridge
- 1 Roasting tray
- 1 Palette knife or spatula
Ingredients
Sun Dried Tomato Dough
- 250 grams bread flour or type OO flour plus a little extra for rolling out and flouring tray
- 40 grams sundried tomatoes roughly chopped
- 25 millilitres oil use the oil from the jar of sun dried tomatoes or olive oil
- 150 millilitres water 22°C/77°F
- 15 grams fresh yeast or 10 gr instant yeast
- 5 grams salt
Filling
- 1 jar pesto approx 190 gr
- 200 grams sweet potato
- 150 grams pepper (bell pepper)
- 100 grams soft goats cheese or mozarella
- 2 cloves garlic
- 40 grams sun dried tomato
- 1 teaspoon chlli sauce or harissa or similar optional
- 200 grams cooked beans: eg cannellini chickpeas, borlotti or cannellini 1/2 tin
- Extra Olive oil for roasting and for brushing on the Stromboli
Makes: 20 x 10cm rectangle
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Place the flour, salt and yeast in either the bowl of your mixer, or in a large bowl. Keep the salt and yeast apart.
- Add the water at 22°C/71°F and the oil to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Either mix on low speed for 5 minutes, then medium speed for 5 minutes or knead by hand.
- You are looking for the dough to be soft, pliable and measuring between 24 and 26°C (78°F). You can also check that the dough has some elasticity when stretched (the window pane).
- Add the chopped sun dried tomatoes to the dough and mix until combined. If doing this by hand, flatten the dough, sprinkle the sundried tomatoes over the dough and roll up. Knead to combine.
- Cover the dough and leave at room temperature for 1 hour. Alternatively, place the dough in the fridge for up to 12 hours.
Prepare Filling Ingredients
- Get all the filling ingredients ready.
- Bake your sweet potato and peppers in advance advance. Cut into equal size pieces. Separate the garlic cloves – there is no need to peel them. Place all the vegetables in an oven proof dish, drizzle with oil, cover and roast until soft. Cool before use. Remove the skin from the garlic.
- Cut your soft goats cheese in roughly 1 cm pieces, don't worry if they are misshapen.
- Drain your can of beans. You will use about half a standard tin.
- Cut the sun dried tomato into 1 cm pieces
Roll out the Dough
- Flour your baking tray.
- Sprinkle a little flour on the work surface and roll out your dough thinly to close so the size of your baking tray.
- Place the dough on the tray and refrigerate for 15 minutes. This is an important step for success with the dough.
Assemble the Stromboli
- Take the tray out of the fridge. Using your palette knife or spatula, spread the pesto evenly over the dough.
- Evenly space beans and sun dried tomatoes over the mixture (or your chopped chorizo)
- Sprinkle the roasted vegetables evenly over the surface.
- Dot the cheese over the dough
- Add small amounts of the softened garlic evenly over the surface with a little chili sauce if using.
- You are now going to roll up the dough. Pull about 10 centimetres (4 inches) of the dough evenly up from one end and keep rolling. Once you have reached the end, tuck the seam underneath. Then fold under each end to stop the filling coming out.
- If you wish at this point you can lift it into a a baking dish with sides to avoid the filling spilling all over the oven. Brush with olive oil. Allow to prove at room temperature for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 210°C. You do not want the oven as hot as for pizza.
- Just before baking, slash the Stromboli 4 times diagonally with a very sharp knife or bakers' lame.
- Bake for approximately 25 minutes, checking after 15 and 20 minutes. The dough should be a good even colour. You can also check the internal temperature to be sure it is cooked through.
- Serve sliced.
Notes
All pesto in jars is not equal. Many varieties contain cashew nuts rather than pine nuts and sunflower oil rather than olive oil.
Many thanks to Sean McVey of The BreadWinner Bakery in Edinburgh for sharing his recipes which I have adapted.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Breadbakerdani or tag #SevernBitesBreadmaking!
Home made pesto
Making pesto at home is so easy! I freeze my pesto in small portions and the fresh recipe has limited shelf life.
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Frying pan
Ingredients
Pesto
- 100 grams basil lightly chopped
- 50 grams pine nuts toasted – hazelnuts and cashews work equally well
- 50 grams grated parmesan roughly grated or chopped
- 100 grams olive oil (approx)
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
Pesto
- Use a food processor blender to make the pesto
- Lightly toast your nuts. Pre heat a frying pan without oil. Place the pine nuts in the pan and move around with a wooden spoon or similar ensuring they become golden not dark. You can also toast them in at 180°C for a few minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Put the nuts into the processor and pulse a few times.
- Add the parmesan and pulse a few times
- Add the basil and pulse again. Then add the oil little by little. It will be very thick. Add the lemon juice. Add more oil it becomes a spreading consistency.
- Check for flavour. It may or may not need a little salt and pepper
- Store in the fridge for a few days in a jar. It freezes very well in small portions.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Breadbakerdani or tag #SevernBitesBreadmaking!
*You might like to read the story of how the Stromboli got its name. It might not actually be after the volcano, but a film staring Ingrid Bergman
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