My Mother's Super Stromboli

This is a family favorite and I won my first cooking ribbon with it in the Orange County Fair back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. You can make it with your favorite dough or use a frozen dough. I like to use Italian bread dough or even B H & G Challah Bread. Anyway you make it you will have a winner. This recipe is easy to adapt to the things you like and you can even make a vegan version of it. Have fun with it! I serve it on a ginormous bread board which my son-in-law made for me. This recipe has been made by my family all the way back to my Great Grandmother Filomena who never measured anything. I make sure all the meats and cheeses are very thinly sliced and leave a half inch border around the edges of the bread to help seal it when it's rolled..

• Ready In: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 24
• Yields: 24 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 2  lbs  bread dough (One recipe for two loaves of french bread or B H & G Challah Bread or two frozen loaves. Let rise til doubl)
• 1⁄2 lb provolone cheese, sliced thin
• 1⁄3 lb ham (Hot Italian cappacola, sliced thin)
• 2  cups mozzarella cheese (shredded or sliced)
• 1⁄4 lb  salami, thinly sliced
• 1⁄4 cup cheese (parmagiano reggiano or romano or a mix)
• 1⁄4 lb  pepperoni, sliced paper thin
• 1⁄4 lb prosciutto, sliced paper thin
• 1  roasted red pepper, peeled and sliced into thin strips (seeds and ribs removed if you can)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  Italian spices, dry
• 4  sun-dried tomatoes, slivered (re-hydrated in olive oil)

Directions

1. Roll dough out into a giant rectangle or two smaller rectangles letting it rest to relax the gluten.
2. Starting with the deli goodies in the order listed, layer them one at a time over the surface of the bread. Make sure the sausage is cut thin. You want this to look abundant. Let rest while you prepare the pan and oven. Use a sheet pan lined with parchment to contain the beasty loaf. Roll it up jelly roll style and pinch the ends together so it stays shut. Arrange on the baking sheet. Some times they are so long you will have to make them horseshoe style.
3. Mix one egg with a little cream or milk and brush the whole loaf. Sprinkle with some seeds like poppy or sesame or even pignoli. Let rise until it is doubled in size. This is a heavy bread so it will take a while.
4. Bake at 350 for 55 to 75 minutes depending on how full your bread is and how much you stuffed it. It will leak a little onto the parchment but that's ok. Slice as large as you like. You can pass sauce for the loaf to be dipped in but plain is better unless you did a rolled meatball or sausage sub. Then the sauce is nice. Add what you like and make it your own. Serve with beer or red wine. A nice bottle-basket of Chianti would work. When it is empty you can put color-drip candles in it and set it on your picnic table for your next pizza party.
5. This is a nice party plan. In fact, it's awesome.