“Garbage bread” is another name for a stromboli; many different ingredients are used and wrapped up in a roll of dough. The term “garbage bread” has been cited in print since at least 1994 and has been used most frequently in upstate New York.
 
Upstate New York (Rochester) is also known for its “garbage plate.”
   
 
Old Fulton NY Post Cards
14-20 September 1994, Adirondack Journal/Warrensburg-Lake George News (NY), pg. 5, col. 3 ad:
... 1 medium or large garbage bread, ...
(Alpine Pizza II—ed.)
   
Google News Archive
27 November 1994, Sunday Gazette (Schenectady, NY), “Mamma Maria Cucina still has a good recipe for success” by Peg Churchill Wright, pg. D9, col. 4:
We decided to split a stromboli (other wise known as garbage bread) stuffed with sausage, greens and cheese, $4.95. Cut up in squares, it made a good beginning for a small crowd.
 
Google Books
The Struggle and the Tools:
Oral and Literate Strategies in an Inner City Community
By Ellen Cushman
Albany, NY: State University of New York Press
1998
Pg. 70:
Mostly people talked about their day’s activities, ate Mirena’s fried chicken and garbage bread (bread dough stuffed with cheese, meat, and vegetables), told stories, gossiped about people in the neighborhood, and sang along with their favorite songs.
 
The Record (Troy, NY)
Wings, pizza, snacks in demand by football fans
Published: Saturday, January 31, 2009
By Dan Murphy
(...)
Al Patricelli, owner of Patricelli’s Deli & Catering, says that things like pizza, garbage bread, and chicken wings are his store’s best sellers this time of year.
 
Epicurious
garbage bread (stromboli, or whatever)
Submitted by suzanna777 | Updated: December 23, 2011
Ingredients
Dough (for 1):
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups King Arthur bread flour
1.5 teaspoons each salt & sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
Italian meat bread:
1/2 lb sharp provolone
1/2 lb lean ham
1/2 lb spicy ham
1/4 lb slicing pepperoni
1/4 lb peppered salami
1/2 lb grated Italian cheeses
Broccoli bread:
1 large head of broccoli steamed and drained
2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 lb sliced muenster cheese
1/2 lb grated cheddar or cheddar jack cheese
Mushroom bread:
2-3 lbs mixed mushrooms (crimini and shitake, cleaned and sliced
1 large yellow onion
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb sliced american cheese
1/2 lb grated cheese of choice
 
KFSN-TV (Fresno, CA)
Pepperoni Garbage Bread
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Mr. Food (KFSN)—Don’t let the name fool you. Our Pepperoni Garbage Bread is named for the fact that you can throw whatever you want inside. Use last night’s leftovers or anything you have in the fridge and enjoy!
Yields: 12
Cooking Time: 30 min
 
What You’ll Need:
•1 (13.8-ounce) package refrigerated pizza crust
•1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
•1 cup pepperoni slices (about 32 slices)
•1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and lightly patted dry, then cut into thin strips
•1 cup fresh spinach
•Garlic powder for sprinkling
•Cooking spray
 
Food Repubiuc
May 31, 2013 2:31 pm
Poll: Would You Eat This Guy’s ‘Garbage Bread?’
And doesn’t pepperoni roll sound infinitely better?
By Jess Kapadia
Welcome to our first-ever Recipe Reactive! Since Food Network recipes are low-hanging fruit, I’m diving into the wide world of regional broadcast news. Here all the way from beautiful and stimulating Fresno, CA is Mr. Food’s Garbage Bread. Why take a recipe for something between a stromboli and a pepperoni roll and call it garbage bread? That seems unnecessarily mean (and factually inaccurate).