Easy Stromboli

Several years back, during a super busy week, an angel of a friend brought us this easy stromboli for dinner. My family fell in love and from that moment on bombarded me with requests to “get that stromboli recipe, mom” or stories that always started with “remember the time that lady brought us stromboli….”.

So I finally hit Faith up for her to-die-for recipe which was written in very approximate measurements, just like I cook. I loved her even more. After posting the Easy Stromboli recipe on the blog, it quickly became one of my most popular recipes and posts.

The first few times I made it were trial and error. I would inevitably use too much sauce or too many fillings, roll the dough too thick or wouldn’t roll the stromboli tight enough.  After lots of practice, I’ve finally gotten it down to a science so I’m posting an updated recipe with tips and new, mouthwatering images.

I normally don’t walk you through step by step on my recipes since they’re so simple, but there are a few things I don’t want you to miss on this one.

First of all, for the crust – you can do this a few different ways. You can use refrigerated pizza crust, make your own simple pizza crust or use frozen bread loaves.

I use Rhodes frozen bread loaves. They come three to a package. You can pick them up for around $3 per package.

Place frozen loaves on a baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray or a damp towel. Store in your oven (turned off) until risen 2-3 times their frozen size (2-5 hours depending on the temperature inside your home/oven) .

Remove one loaf, punch it down and form a ball of dough. Place on a flat floured surface. Roll the dough ball into a rectangle-ish shape. The dough should be thin, about 1/8″ thick. You might have to work at it a bit to get it rolled out thin enough. It will start to give after a bit.

Layer the toppings of your choice (I use red pasta sauce, provolone, pepperoni and cooked ham) over two-thirds of the dough up to 1/2 inch from the edges and leaving a 1/2 inch strip along one long side. Be careful not to use too much sauce (about 1/2  cup) or overfill with toppings.

Gently beat an egg and brush it onto the long exposed strip of dough. Fold the the two shorter sides in and brush them with egg wash too. This will help seal the dough when you roll it up.

Now starting on the long side, roll the Stromboli in jelly roll fashion as tight as you can. Keep rolling, you want the 3-inch strip to end up on the bottom of the stromboli.

Next, move the stromboli to a cookie sheet (these are my favorite). I like to line with parchment paper so I’m not scrubbing the pan later.

Cut slits into the top of the stromboli (so it can breathe and won’t explode in your oven) and brush it with the remaining egg wash. This will seal in the flavor and give it a golden, glazed appearance. I like to use a silicone brush like these because they clean up very easy and last longer than bristled brushes.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 – 15 minutes (all ovens are different, you may need to experiment with yours – I have also baked stromboli at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes). If the stromboli starts to turn too brown, make a foil tent to place over it during the remaining cooking time.

Beautiful! And scrumptious. It will be piping hot. Let stand for a few minutes to give the insides a chance to settle down. Serve with a healthy tossed salad.