Meat Stromboli

This was an inspiration from Stank to change up our Friday night pizza for a Stromboli. After a quick Google search, I decided on Guy Fieri from Food Network's website. Jacob said it was as good as one from a restaurant so woohoo. They don't look like much but they were quite yummy.

Jacob's on the right and mine on the left

The dough was good and the garlic and butter filling was classic D'Anna pizza topping instead of red sauce and it was nice and cheesy. After a Google search, we couldn't come to a conclusion about whether authentic Stromboli's have red sauce or not, either way, I could see this tasty as well with red sauce.

Some things I would change would be:

1. I rolled the dough out a little too thin, since I was trying to make the dough large enough for the what the directions told me to do, next time I would make sure the dough is thick enough and not worry about the size.
2. I got hard salami but didn't like it as much as the salami I used in the pepper and salami sandwiches. 
3. I'm not really sure what bresaola but we used pepperoni since we like that and had that on hand. 
4. No meat or cheese was weighed, just eyeballed, and the cheese was either in long sticks or shredded, no slices. 
5. I bought fresh basil for this, but I did it too far in advance and they got moldy before hand :( so we didn't use any but sprinkled on dried Italian seasonings. 
6. We didn't make homemade sauce, that was a little too adventurous for a Friday night but some store bought local sauce was yummy to dip in. 

Meat Stromboli 

Serves: 4

Time: 3 hours including rise and bake time

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough

     One 1/4-ounce packet dry-active yeast

     2 teaspoons sugar

     3 cups all-purpose flour, plus bench flour

     1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

     1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

      3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

      4 cloves garlic, minced

      1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for the tops

      6 ounces thinly sliced salami

      6 ounces thinly sliced deli ham

      6 ounces thinly sliced bresaola

      8 thin slices mozzarella (about 6 ounces)

      8 thin slices pepper jack cheese (about 6 ounces total)

      1/4 cup finely sliced fresh basil leaves

      Freshly ground black pepper

Marinara Sauce:

      1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

      1/2 cup diced yellow onion

      3 medium cloves garlic, crushed

      One 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, such as Muir Glen

      1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

      1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

      Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

1. For the pizza dough: Add the yeast, 1 cup warm water and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let the mixture sit to allow the yeast to activate. The mixture should start foaming and forming small bubbles on the surface, 10 minutes. Gradually add the flour with the mixer on low speed. Add the olive oil and salt. Continue to mix on low and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Increase the speed as the flour becomes incorporated, and knead on medium speed, 7 to 8 minutes. The dough is done when it comes together as a single mass. 
2. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead 4 to 5 times on a lightly-floured surface so the dough is smooth and consistent. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic and allow to sit until the dough rises and doubles in volume, 1 hour. 
3. For the filling: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the dough in half and, working with one piece at a time, stretch the dough into a 10-by-13-inch rectangle. Arrange the dough rectangle so the 13-inch-long side is closest to you. Brush the surface with half of the melted butter, then spread the minced garlic out evenly over the top, remembering to split the filling ingredient quantities evenly across both stromboli. Leave a 1-inch border around the far and side borders.
4. Sprinkle the dough with the Parmesan, then layer with the salami slices. Top the salami with a layer of deli ham and then a layer of bresaola. Shingle the cheese slices over the top and finish with fresh basil and some ground black pepper. With the covered edge closest to you, roll the dough up into a log, gently sealing the ends of the roll as you go. When you get to the end that has no filling on it, gently press to seal, then place the roll seam-side down on a nonstick sheet tray. Repeat the process with second piece of dough. Brush the tops of the dough with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown and puffy, 25 to 30 minutes. 
5. Allow the stromboli to cool 5 minutes before slicing it into thick slices with a serrated knife. Serve with the Marinara Sauce on the side or some mustard.
6. For the Marinara sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is almost brown, another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer, 20 minutes. 
7. Add the basil and oregano, and continue to simmer to thoroughly marry the flavors, 20 minutes longer. Puree the mixture with a stick blender, food mill or food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Yield: Makes 1 quart.

EAT