The idea for these was born one warm summer evening when I attempted to take a pizza to the park for a picnic. Since I didn't have an actual pizza box to carry this on, I wrapped my freshly-cooked pizza in foil, tucked napkins and plates into my bag and hoped for the best. Sadly, the result was disappointing. The pizza flavors were good, but the 2-block schlep to the park was enough to wilt the toppings and smush the crust. I needed a better plan. Calzones, of course, were an option, but, though I love eating them at home, I foresaw their saucy insides splattered all over my pretty picnic blanket if I packed them along instead.
A few weeks later, I was rolling fresh cinnamon rolls for a weekend brunch, and it hit me: why not roll pizza toppings up in fresh dough a la cinnamon rolls, and then bake them into neat, portable spirals? They would feature the dough:sauce:topping ratio I like so much about pizza, but the handy portability of calzones, without the calzone's goopy, drippy insides. I couldn't wait to finish brunch to put my new gameplan into action.
The result, as I had hoped, was superb. These pinwheel pizza rounds that reslted were a neat, easily-transported pizza option. I decided to give my pizza picnic plan another go, so this time I packed a massaged kale salad, half of a roasted Third Date Chicken and a crisp bottle of rosé. I sat talking, late into the night with a friend, nibbling on this collection of yumminess. It was one of the best meals I've eaten all summer.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe pizza dough
- 2/3 cup sauce of your choice (tomato, pesto, red pepper, even cooked, pureed carrots or sweet potatoes with spices like ground chiles or curry powder stirred in)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded/crumbled cheese of your choice (I like provolone, goat, aged white cheddar or fresh buffalo mozzarella--feel free to skip the cheese if you are vegan/dairy-free)
- 1-3 pizza toppings of your choice (the recipe pictured features diced red onions, spinach and red peppers--anything you'd put on a pizza, from cooked/raw veggies to chopped salami, crumbled beef, baked tofu or chorizo will work--just make sure it's cut into small, bite-size pieces)
Recipe Serves 4-6
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly flour (or line with parchment paper) a making sheet and set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 8" x 12".
- Spread the sauce over the dough in a thin layer.
- Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the sauced dough.
- Scatter the toppings evenly over the cheese. Try not to overdo it.
- Starting at the bottom, roll the dough up, long-ways, pinching as you go, to keep it in a tight cylinder.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the cylinder into 12 1"-thick rounds.
- Arrange the rounds on the prepared baking sheet with space between them.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is golden-brown and the cheese and sauce bubbles.
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What They're Saying
plasterers bristol, on Sep 6, 12:49 AM, wrote:
Wow yummy, that looks Delius
Ashton, on Aug 13, 05:47 AM, wrote:
damn these look awesome :-)
I really need to stop reading food blogs…. I am getting very fat and thats not good for a plasterer
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