Stromboli Roll

Pour the water into a medium sized mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Stir gently until the yeast has dissolved and the water turns a light beige color. Add a cup of the flour, the olive oil and the salt, and mix well using a wooden spoon. Add another cup of flour and mix well. After the second cup of flour has been added the dough should start coming away from the sides of the bowl and should start to form a sticky mass. Measure out the third cup of flour, sprinkle a little over your work surface and, of course, flour your hands. Remove the dough from the bowl and start working the dough, kneading in additional flour a little at a time. Once the dough is no longer sticky discontinue adding flour. Keep kneading until the dough is elastic and smooth, and has a "springy" feel to it. At that point it's time to let the dough rise. Lightly oil a medium sized bowl and roll the ball of dough around in the bowl to coat it with a thin film of oil. seal the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft free place to rise. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and knead it for about a minute or so. The dough is now ready to be shaped and formed or to undergo a second rising. For the Stromboli rolls the second rising isn't that important at this time as the dough will be allowed to rise again later. Black Pepper - Lard Dough 1 cup warm water (110 - 115 deg. F.) 1 pkg active dry yeast 3 - 3 1/2 cups flour 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper 1/2 tsp salt 2 heaping Tbs naturally rendered pork lard Pour the water into a medium sized mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Stir gently until the yeast has dissolved and the water turns a light beige color. Add a cup of the flour, the salt, pepper and lard and mix well using a wooden spoon. Add another cup of flour and mix well. After the second cup of flour has been added the dough should start coming away from the sides of the bowl and should start to form a sticky mass. Follow the remainder of the steps for the Sicilian style dough. Now we're ready to lay out and form the dough. Lightly coat a 12 x 17 inch jelly roll pan with vegetable oil. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside (filling recipes follow). Roll a 12 x 18 inch rectangle out of the dough. Arrange the dough so that the shorter side is at the top and bottom. Lay the filling evenly down the center of the dough, leaving a 1 inch border at the top and bottom and 4 inches at either side. Fold one side over the filling, repeat with the other side, and tuck in the dough at either end. Carefully lift the roll onto a prepared baking sheet. Arrange it so the seam side is down and the roll is diagonally on the sheet. Reshape the roll by smoothing and pressing the dough carefully, and by smoothing the filling. Cover the roll with a towel and let it rise for about 1/2 hour before baking. Preheat the oven to 400 deg. F. for 30 minutes, while the dough is rising. Brush the roll lightly with olive oil, prick it in a few places along the top with a fork. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Broccoli Sausage Stuffing 1 lb broccoli or Swiss chard 1/2 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage meat, removed from casing, crumbled 1/2 lb mozzarella, coarsely shredded 4 Tbs olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced salt and pepper to taste Wash the greens well and discard any woody or pulpy stems. Chop the remainder into small pieces. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the greens and saute~ on high heat for a minute. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and stir for another 2 - 3 minutes, or just until the vegetables turn a bright green. Add some water, cover the pan and cook until the greens are tender, 2 - 5 minutes. Drain very well, set aside to cool and then toss with sausage and cheese. Cheese and Greens Stuffing Follow the recipe above for the preparing the broccoli or chard. To that, add 1 cup ricotta 1/2 cup caciocavallo, shredded (provolone would be a good substitute) 1/2 cup scamorza or smoked mozzarella, coarsely shredded fresh ground black pepper to taste Sausage, Spinach and Cheese Stuffing 1/2 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage meat, removed from casings, crumbled and browned in 1 Tbs olive oil 1/2 lb cooked potatoes, mashed 1 lb fresh spinach, cooked, squeezed dry and chopped 1 small sweet onion, finely minced, sauteed in 1 Tbs olive oil until golden 1 oz canned anchovies, drained and roughly chopped 1/2 cup shredded caciocavallo 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced 1 extra large egg, beaten lots of fresh ground black pepper Drain excess fat from browned sausage. Combine and mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.