Pizza dough is fun to play with! Sure you can top, bake and serve, but every now and then you might like some variety. We know we do.
When we saw the fresh pizza dough in the refrigerated section of our grocery stores (Publix and Trader Joe's), we started playing with it. Calzone or stromboli, anyone?
Then we decided to get creative. Enter today's recipe for Stuffed Olive Bread. Greek in influence with kalamata olives and feta and yogurt cheeses, it's a light dinner for four, or you can serve it to accompany soup or salad for a filling meal for six. All you have to do is buy refrigerated pizza dough, add some cheese and olives, and roll into a tube, bake and slice.
Just as with pizza, the possibilities are endless with stuffed breads. Deli meats and cheeses, tapenade, pesto or just plain cheese make exciting breads for dinner, snacks or appetizers. Check out the cheese bread on our website at www.KitchenScoop.com. We love to serve it as a late-afternoon snack with marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
We have both whole-wheat and white pizza dough available, but if your supermarket doesn't, you can always use the yeast-bread dough from the frozen-foods section of the grocery. Just thaw according to package directions, and stuff away.
Menu suggestion: Stuffed Olive Bread, Spinach salad and fresh fruit
Stuffed Olive Bread
Start to finish: 45 minutes
1 (1-pound) whole-wheat refrigerated pizza dough (see cook's note)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped kalamata olives
4 slices (1-ounce each) yogurt cheese (see cook's note) or other mild white cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Cook's note: White pizza dough or a 1-pound package of frozen yeast-bread dough can be used. Thaw according to package directions, and proceed with recipe.
Yogurt cheese is a mild white cheese, but any mild cheese such as Monterey Jack or farmer's cheese can be used.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Follow the package directions for readying the dough for baking. Roll the dough out in an oval shape to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Spread 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the entire dough. Sprinkle the feta cheese and olives, and place the yogurt cheese slices over the other toppings.
Roll the dough, jellyroll fashion, into a tube shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, seam side down. Spread the remaining teaspoon of olive oil over the top of dough. Sprinkle with oregano and salt, and bake until golden brown on the outside and no longer doughy on the inside, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for five minutes. Slice and serve.
Yield: 4 servings as a light dinner, 6 as a side.
Approximate values per serving (4): 369 calories (31 percent from fat), 13 g fat (3 g saturated), 12 mg cholesterol, 12 g protein, 51.5 g carbohydrates, 8 g dietary fiber, 1,023 mg sodium.
Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross are co-authors of three books. Contact them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or send e-mail to tellus@kitchenscoop.com. Or visit the Desperation Dinners website at www.kitchenscoop.com.