Vegan Stromboli (aka-Heaven in your mouth)

Ultimate comfort food? Um, yes. Hell yes. Not that I needed comfort. I just needed something cheesy and carb-y. Alright, so I didn't exactly need that stuff, but I sure as hell wanted it.

I have never, ever made a stromboli before and I was, admittedly, a little nervous. Most times when I used to eat it (pre-veg days) there were 2 flaws: either far too much cheese or the dough was too thick and didn't cook through. I had neither of those lame problems. Mine came out perfect. I'm totally NOT exaggerating.

There are 2 approaches to the stromboli. 1) Sauce cooked inside the stromboli, or 2) Warm sauce served on the side for dunking. I very much prefer the second. It keeps the dough from getting soggy when it cooks. Plus, you can totally regulate how much sauce you eat...I'm picky, dudes. I only like a little.

Rainbow colors involved in the stromboli:
Red: tomato sauce (it was canned, but no sugar or chemicals added)
Orange: vegan pepperoni (hehe. I know, it doesn't really count)
Green: green bell pepper
Violet/Purple: purple onion
Brown: mushrooms

Another thing you can do, use pre-made dough. I bought some frozen pre-made bread dough (it was, shockingly, vegan) a few days ago and decided to try something different. I let it thaw for a few hours, then left it in an oiled pan to rise for a bit. Aright, alright, I forgot about it for a few hours and it was huge. So, I preheated my oven to 475 degrees F and pounded it down on a piece of lightly-floured parchment paper. It ended up being sort of oval, but whatever.

Once you get the dough flattened, fill half of it with whatever toppings you're craving. I used sliced Yves vegan pepperoni, cremini mushrooms, diced red onion, diced green bell pepper, mozz and cheddar Daiya and some garlic salt. Here's my trick. Bottom layer is one kind of cheese. Middle is veggies and such. Top is another layer of cheese. That way, there is no risk of having uncooked cheese in the middle. For real. I planned this and it worked.

Next part is super easy. Fold the top over and twist/pinch the edges together to seal it up. Then, I had a sudden stroke of genius. In a small bowl, melt about 1 1/2 TB vegan butter in the microwave for a few seconds. Mix in some garlic salt and then brush it over the top of the stromboli. OH, you can see in the photo above that I made mine into 2 strombolis. That was just because my baking stone isn't that big, so making them smaller individual 'bolis worked for me.

Once you get it brushed with the butter, add it (the stromboli and the parchment paper) to the baking stone if you have one. Otherwise, add them to a cookie sheet. Bake about 14 minutes, or until the dough is tanned and feels firm to the touch. Don't worry, after it starts to cool, it softens up to a perfectly chewy texture.

You can make your own dipping sauce, which I did. It is insanely easy. I mixed one 8oz can of tomato sauce with some oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Cover and heat in the microwave for 90 seconds. See?! Easy.

Dudes. Make this. Now. You really need it. How can you resist this: