Stromboli Bread from Matthew Calabresi and Jannette Basham's version

Stromboli Bread

Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable shortening
1/2 cup milk
3 cups all-purpose flour, approximately
10″ stick pepperoni, thinly sliced
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 egg
1 t oregano
1 t basil

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Steps:
1. Dissolve yeast in water and let sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast gets frothy.
2. Stir in salt, sugar, shortening, and milk.
3. Mix in the first two cups of flour
4. Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough becomes soft and smooth (not sticky) to the touch. You may need more or less flour than specified.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead.
Please note: you do not have to let the dough rise!
6. Roll the dough into a flat rectangle on a lightly greased baking sheet.
7. Beat the egg and whisk in the oregano and basil.
8. Brush half of the egg wash on the edges of the bread.
9. Place a layer of pepperoni down the center of the bread (3-4 slices of pepperoni wide).
10. Place shredded cheese on top of pepperoni.
11. Evenly distribute the mushrooms on top of the cheese.
12. Pinch the sides and ends of the bread together to seal the pepperoni, cheese, and mushrooms inside.
13. Flip the bread over and brush it with the remaining egg wash.
14. Bake the bread in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

 

Jannette Basham's ideas: 

I changed the shortening to butter, 2 cups white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour.  I had fresh mushrooms so I steamed them instead of canned mushrooms.  At school the kids eat something similar to this but they have olives.  So adding olives next time.  I used 1 package of pepperoni because I couldn't find a stick of it in my ghetto grocery store and I was in a hurry.   Haven't tried changing the sugar to honey yet but I will do that when I add the olives.  Here are a few pictures of what mine turned out like! 

This fed my family of 8

I rolled out the dough pretty thin and filled it up good with an entire package of pepperoni and 2 pkgs mushrooms.  It barely fit on my baking sheet.  But it was PERFECT! 

Brushing the edges with the egg and herbs:

 Pinching it up:

 Flipped over onto a sheet and brushed the top with egg and herbs:

 All baked and golden!

 The insides!!!! Ooooh yes, it was that good!

Another version of this could be:

Ham and Swiss with Mushrooms and Rosemary.  2 cups ww flour, 1 cup flour.  3 TBSP honey 2 TBSP butter.  1 tsp Rosemary.  All else the same.  

Croissant Melts

One morning I made these croissant melts.  I had something very similar to these at a restaurant called La Baguette in Oklahoma City.  It was HUGE but it was so good, and I wanted to create a version that was more practical for breakfast at home.  Essentially this is a very simple meal.  It's an egg scramble that you lay over a lightly toasted croissant, cover with cheese, and melt the cheese over it in the oven for a few minutes.  You can make these with any combination of ingredients that you like or have on hand.  My favorites are a tomato and basil egg scramble with mozzarella cheese on top and a ham, onion, mushroom egg scramble with Swiss on top.  To create something for my guests preferences, the pictures and recipe below are an egg scramble with ham, onion, tomato and parsley with Swiss cheese.  The recipe is merely a flexible guideline for whatever you'd like to create.

Need: 4 medium sized croissants, 6 eggs, a few slices of ham chopped up, 8 slices of Swiss cheese, 1/4 yellow onion chopped, 2 diced tomatoes, 1-2 tbsp. of fresh chopped parsley (I love parsley so I use about 2 but this depends on your preference) 2 tbsp. of butter, salt and pepper.

Directions:  Set the oven to broil. Slice the croissants in half.  In a toaster, toast them very lightly and lay them out on a baking sheet with the sliced side up.  In a frying pan, over a medium low heat melt the butter and add the onions.  Cook the onions very slowly until they are soft, translucent, and cooked through (best cooking smell in the world!). In a bowl add your eggs and beat with a wire whisk until they are combined well.  Add to the the pan along with the ham, tomato, and parsley.  Scramble the egg mixture until it is cooked through.  Top each croissant evenly with the eggs. some salt and pepper, and then place a slice of Swiss cheese over each one.  Place on the middle rack in the oven and only leave them in there for a few minutes.  Watch carefully so the cheese doesn't burn.  Once the cheese is melted these are ready to serve!  Serves about 4 people.

Croissant Melts (le savoir-faire)