'Pepperoni', 'Provolone', and Pesto Stromboli

Of course there is neither real pepperoni nor real provolone in my recipe, but I liked the way the three "P's" rolled off the tongue in the name of the dish. For 'pepperoni', I recommend Light Life's vegan-certified meatless pepperoni, and for the 'provolone' I shredded the vegan mozzarella from Galaxy Foods.

Stromboli are similar to calzones, but rather than being a pocket of dough stuffed with a filling, the dough is rolled up like a jelly-roll cake around the filling, then baked and sliced. So on that note, tonight we start with the dough:

Combine 1 cup warm water (check that the temperature is between 100 and 110 degrees with a thermometer) with 1 packet (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) of yeast; let stand 5 minutes.

Lightly spoon 3 cups all-purpose flour into measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add the flour to the yeast mixture, along with 1 tablespoon raw sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir until combined, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead for 5 minutes, adding up to 2 tablespoons more flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands - I only needed 1 tablespoon extra. A reminder on kneading: push the dough away from your with the heel of your hand. Fold it over on itself. Turn it a quarter turn. Repeat!

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rise for 1 hour, ideally some place about 85 degrees and free from drafts. Punch the dough down and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Coat a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan (aka a baking dish) with cooking spray, and pat out the dough to fill it. Spread 1/3 cup bottled pesto over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. When buying pesto, just make sure there is no milk or cheese in the ingredients.

Top the dough evenly with 1 and 1/2 cups shredded vegan cheese in place of provolone, 1/4 cup chopped and pitted kalamata olives, 1 (7-ounce) bottled of roasted red bell peppers - drained and chopped - and 1 (4-ounce) package of meatless pepperoni. Press gently into the dough.

Starting on one long (15-inch) edge, roll the dough up jelly-roll style, pressing along the seam to seal. Place the dough, seam-side down, on the pan, and cut 4 slits along the top of the dough; let rise for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes, then slice into 8 slices crosswise. Each slice if 370 calories.

Cost:
vegan cheese $3.39
kalamata olives $5.99
bottled roasted red bell pepper $2.49
meatless pepperoni $4.79