Conquer the College Kitchen

 One of UConn’s finest qualities?  Definitely snow days (Thanks, Jay Hickey).  They’re the best opportunities to polish your cooking skills, and this Wednesday afternoon my roommates and I are making some delicious stuffed bread.  It sounds and looks complicated, but don’t sweat: it’s actually a pretty simple process, and I’m going to take you through it step by step.  You may not have these ingredients lying around, and without access to a grocery store it might complicate the process, so you try it another time!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A little bit of flour, if you don’t already have some, or if you can’t find anyone to borrow about a cup of it from. If not, buy the smallest amount possible.
• Two pounds of bread dough (or more depending on how much you’re making).  You can buy it if you want, but I usually just buy it, and you can find it near the refrigerated cheese section or near the deli meats
• Your “stuffing.”  I like to use one full bag of shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices.  I also had some parmesan cheesein the fridge today, so I threw some of that in too.  For a healthier option, try onions or green peppers with low-fat cheese.  Ricotta cheese also works well in the bread.  This is where you can get creative, you can pretty much throw in whatever you like and it’ll probably come out good, as long as you don’t over-stuff it.
• Make sure you have some olive oil in your kitchen.  If you don’t, shame on you.
• You’ll also need some seasonings.  I like to use oregano, basil, garlic powder, black pepper and a little bit of crushed red pepper (more or less depending on your own taste buds)

Directions:

1. Make sure you get the bread dough out early so it has enough time to rise.  I like to leave at least four hours.  The instructions should be on the packaging of your bread/pizza dough, but if not here’s what you do:
2. After pre-heating your oven to 375 degrees, roll your dough into a nice ball and cover it in flour completely.  Then put it in a bowl and cover the bowl with saran wrap and leave the bowl to sit in room temperature for at least four hours.
3. After the dough has risen, clear a space and cover the surface with flour.  Then roll out the dough (if you don’t have a rolling pin, spread it out best you can with your hands and smooth any air bubbles with a spoon) and continue to cover it completely with flour.
4. Once your dough is flattened and spread out into a rectangle about 12 x 10 inches, make sure it’s lightly covered with flour, and then cover it with the full bag of shredded cheese parmesan cheese and pepperoni slices.  Make sure the entire is covered with the stuffing except the very edges.
5. Sprinkle all the spices over the stuffing, and make sure everything is even.
6. Here comes the tricky part.  You’re going to fold the bread into thirds.  To do this, imagine you’re separating it into thirds (you can draw a thin line with a knife if that helps).  Fold the outer sections over the middle sections.  You have to do this part quickly, otherwise the stuffing will spill out, so do one side at a time and refer to the picture to see what I mean by folding it over.  
7. Once you fold it over, make sure none of the stuffing is coming out of the side and that the three sections are even.  Then lightly brush some olive oil over the top of the bread.  I like to sprinkle a little bit of the shredded cheese if there’s any left over the top as well.
8. Next take a sharp knife to make three slits across the tops, and then three more slits across those ones, so that there are three x’s on the top of the bread.  Don’t make large holes in the bread, just thin slits big enough to let some air in while it’s in the oven (refer to the picture).
9. Now you’re ready to put the bread on a cooking sheet (be careful here- have someone help you so that you transfer it carefully using a spatula) and pop it in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until it’s golden brown on top.
10. When it’s all done, let it cool for a little bit before cutting it up and make sure the outside is hardened.
11. Next cut the bread into slices about an inch wide and four inches long.  Depending on how you fold it and how it turns out (it’s different every time for me), you may have to cut the entire loaf into two slices before cutting it into slices (Again, refer to the picture to see how I cut it).  You can cut it any way you like, it all tastes the same in the end!
12. Some people like to dip the bread into warm marinara sauce, and others like myself enjoy it all on its own, you be the judge!

Enjoy the snow day and enjoy the bread!  Leave me a comment about what you and your roommates like to cook on snow days, I’d love to get some more great ideas 🙂

5 cooking projects for snow days from thekitchn.com

Recipes from another blogger taking advantage of the snow day by cooking