Quick and Easy Stromboli Recipe - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

What is a real stromboli? ›

Stromboli is a type of baked turnover filled with various Italian cheeses (typically mozzarella) and usually Italian cold cuts (typically meats such as salami, capocollo and bresaola) or vegetables, served hot. The dough used is either Italian bread dough or pizza dough.

A calzone features a circle of dough that's folded in half over the filling and sealed by crimping, like a pasty or empanada. A stromboli starts with a rectangular piece of dough that's then topped with add-ins and cheese, rolled up lengthwise and sealed by folding and pressing the extra dough over the edges.

Don't roll too thin.

Otherwise, your homemade stromboli will break apart when you try to seal it.

How do you keep a Stromboli from getting soggy? Try not to overload your Stromboli with toppings inside. You can add an array of things but keep the layers light and it should hold up.

noun. strom·​bo·​li sträm-ˈbō-lē plural strombolis. : bread dough that is rolled or sometimes folded around a filling often composed of cheese, cold cuts, vegetables, and sauce and then baked.

Despite its distinctly Italian flavours of mozzarella, ham, tomatoes, and its close resemblance to the calzone from Naples, stromboli is actually an American creation that comes from Philadelphia. Find out how to make this classic Italian-American fusion dish and discover the story of its beginnings.

Stromboli tends to have a thin layer of sauce baked inside the dough, almost like dressing on a sandwich.

A calzone is healthier because it has less cheese. While a stromboli contains cheese and pepperoni, a calzone has leaner meat and whole-wheat dough. The whole-wheat dough is lower in calories and contains more fiber. You should also avoid processed meats.

Calzones use ricotta cheese, and stromboli does not. Stromboli is made with mozzarella cheese (preferably low-moisture) to keep moisture at a minimum. This helps the interior dough cook fully. Calzones usually use a blend of cheese that almost always incorporates ricotta.

Once you have put your stromboli or calzone together, it is important to put them in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes before baking. This will give the dough time to seal and slowly proof so that it does not remain raw inside.

What are the ingredients for stromboli? ›

Stromboli is a pizzeria menu staple where I grew up in Philly and I usually make it with Genoa salami, deli pepperoni, provolone, and mozzarella cheese. I love brushing the dough with melted butter, garlic, and fresh parsley for added flavor.

You can build your stromboli up to 24 hours in advance of baking and keep it tightly wrapped on a baking sheet in the fridge until baking time. Once you're ready to bake, let the stromboli sit at room temperature while the oven heats. Bake the stromboli until golden-brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

While stromboli and calzones can have very similar fillings—meat, cheese, vegetables—there are a few notable differences. Calzones usually contain the same ingredients as pizza: tomato sauce, mozzarella, and (almost always) ricotta. Stromboli is typically made without ricotta.

Yes! You may assemble the stromboli up to a day in advance, cover well, refrigerate, and then bake right before serving. The unbaked strombolis freeze well too. Thaw before baking.

To shape a stromboli, the pizza dough is rolled out into a large rectangle. Toppings are added and the dough is either folded over from each side like a letter or rolled around the filling. A stromboli is larger and longer than a calzone and is baked as one piece and then cut into slices for serving a crowd.

One theory is that Stromboli was first created in the 1950s by Italian-American chef Nazzareno Romano, who owned a pizzeria in Essington, Pennsylvania. According to legend, Romano created the dish when a group of hungry coal miners came into his restaurant.

A calzone is healthier because it has less cheese. While a stromboli contains cheese and pepperoni, a calzone has leaner meat and whole-wheat dough. The whole-wheat dough is lower in calories and contains more fiber. You should also avoid processed meats.

Some meat suggestions are capicola, salami, soppressata, prosciutto, deli ham/turkey/roast beef, and/or pepperoni. Avoid using small pizza pepperoni slices. For best results (and flavor), use large pepperoni slices from the deli counter. You want about 1/2 pound of cheese per stromboli as well.