Recipe: Jenny Gentle's Chicken Stuffed Stromboli and Pizza Dough

JENNY GENTLE'S CHICKEN STUFFED STROMBOLI

FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH:
1 package yeast
4 Tbsp warm water (not hot)
12 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp honey
3 cup flour

In a cup dissolve 1 pack of yeast in 4 tablespoons of warm (but not hot) water.

Allow to proof (sit) for 10 minutes. In another cup, mix together 12 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of honey. Add the wet ingredients (cold stuff first) to 3 cups of flour and mix (I sometimes use a food processor, but you can use your hands.)

Allow the dough to rise. Personally, I make the dough the night before I need it, put it in the refrigerator overnight, and let it rise the next day (all day.) But as long as you let it rise at least 2 hours, it should be OK.

FOR THE CHICKEN FILLING:
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 large tomato, seeded and diced or 1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 large onion, cut into rings
1 green pepper, cut into strips

Saute onion with a little olive oil until vaguely transparent. Add chicken and cook until just done (it will also cook inside the stromboli). Add green peppers at last minutes and just warm through to take the edge off (I like mine crunchy, so cook as long as you think they need to).

TO MAKE THE STROMBOLI:
Roll out pizza dough on a floured board until its about the shape and size of a pizza pan. Lay the dough on a nonstick pizza pan or a cookie sheet. Layer the chicken, tomato, onion, peppers on one half of the dough.

Sprinkle cheese overtop and flop the rest of the dough and seal- use a fork to crimp the edges if necessary.

As for cooking, I set the oven at 500 degrees F.

Stuff the stromboli and place it on a cookie sheet greased with olive oil. I usually coat the stromboli with an egg wash, oregano, and pretzel (or kosher) salt. The egg wash will make it brown nicely. The other stuff is just for taste.

There is no set time to bake it. Just keep checking it after about 12 minutes. When the bottom is brown, it's done.

Source: Beth Fleischer, 1999