Rolling in the Pizza: Basic Farm Fresh Feasts-a-boli (Pizza Night!)

You knew sooner or later I'd roll the pizza over, right?

I realize that there are endless variations on how to top a pizza, and I've barely scratched the surface of crust variations, but my spouse wanted a Nic-o-boli from Nicola Pizza in Rehoboth, Delaware for his birthday.

And we now live in Ohio.

And yes, I could order a frozen partially baked dozen shipped if I had to, but heck, I make pizza every week, so I should try this, right?

I did.

Then I tried a few other variations on the theme for good measure.  But those pizzas will be up later--for now, it's time to walk you through a basic rolled-over pizza, Farm Fresh Feasts style.  You gotta crawl before you can walk, right?  God bless physical therapists!  They taught my son to walk--right after his baby sister was born. Oy!  Bad timing!

I consulted the awesome The Best Pizza is Made at Home by Donna Rathnell German for specifics on baking time/temperature, and tried to recall the flavors of the basic Nic-o-boli.

Basic Farm Fresh Feasts-a-boli

1 pound pizza dough (see my Pizza Primer here)

1/2 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1/2 to 1 cup, thick tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded pizza cheese (or Italian blend, or just mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Mix meat and sauce together in the skillet you used to cook the meat.  You want a thick, not watery, mixture so if your sauce is kinda runny cook it down over medium low heat until thickened.  I used leftover breadstick dipping sauce plus some Fresh Tomato Pesto today.

Set aside.

On an oiled piece of parchment, with <gasp!> a rolling pin, roll dough until a rectangular shape.  I'm not usually picky about dough shape, but your finished 'boli works better if you start with a rectangle.  Visually divide the rectangle into 3 wide bands and spread the meat mixture over the middle third.  Top with cheese.  I'll pause to let you see what it looks like.

Using the parchment paper, lift one end up and fold it over the filling.  It will slowly disengage from the parchment--let it do its thing naturally. Grab the other side of parchment and fold the other end over.  Pinch the ends.  I'll wait while you check it out.

Flip the whole thing over (if you don't have a pizza peel, use a second cookie sheet to flip) carefully.  I used this ridiculously complicated method shown below, but do what you like.

First, add a second sheet of oiled parchment on top. Then a cookie sheet,  Then flip, lift off the new top sheet of oiled parchment and--drumroll, please--you've flipped your rolled pizza.  Such gymnastics in the kitchen.

Brush the new top with olive oil and stab it a few times to create vent holes.  Bake for 25 minutes, shake it off the parchment, and finish another 5 to 10 minutes until the crust is browned.  Cool on a wire rack, then slice and serve.  Enjoy!

This post is linked up with the What's In The Box at In Her Chucks, the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up at Gastronomical Sovereignty and What's Cookin' Wednesday at Buns In My Oven.