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Home › Recipes › Pizza › Spaghetti and Meatballs Pizza

Spaghetti and Meatballs Pizza

Cameron Bergan


This pizza won top honors at the California Pizza Kitchen's CPKids Most Creative Pizza Contest celebrating National Pizza Month.

Ingredients

Spaghetti With Marinara Sauce:
1/2 pound dry spaghetti
3/4 cup of your favorite marinara sauce

Pizza:
1/2 cup of your favorite marinara sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound of your favorite meatballs, sliced in half
1/4 cup additional shredded mozzarella cheese

Basic Pizza Dough:
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)
1 1/2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for coating

Directions

To make the dough, dissolve the yeast in the water and set aside for five to 10 minutes. Be sure that the water is not hot; temperatures of 120 degrees F and above will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise.

If using an upright electric mixer, such as a KitchenAid, use the mixing paddle attachment because the batch size is too small for the dough hook to be effective. Combine all other ingredients (except the additional teaspoon of olive oil) with the dissolved yeast in the mixing bowl (do not pour the salt directly into the yeast water because this will kill some of the yeast). Allow these two ingredients to mix gradually, using the lowest two speeds to mix the dough. Mix for two to three minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Overmixing will produce tough, rubbery dough and friction will cause dough to rise too fast.

If using a food processor, use a dough "blade" made of plastic rather than the sharp steel knife attachment, which will cut the gluten strands and ruin the consistency of the dough. Be especially cautious not to mix too long with a food processor because the temperature resulting from the friction of mixing could easily exceed 120 degrees F, killing your yeast. Mix only until a smooth dough ball is formed.

If mixing by hand, place the dry ingredients in a 4- to 6-quart mixing bowl; make a well in the middle and pour in the liquids (reserving the teaspoon of olive oil). Use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients. Once initial mixing is done, you can lightly oil your hands and begin kneading the dough; knead for five minutes. When done the dough should be slightly tacky (that is, it should be barely beyond sticking to your hands).

Lightly oil the dough ball and the interior of a 1-quart glass bowl. Place the dough ball in the bowl and seal the bowl with clear food wrap; seal air tight. Set aside at room temperature (70 to 80 degrees F) to rise until double in bulk, about one and a half to two hours.

The dough could be used at this point, but it will not be that wonderful, chewy, flavorful dough that it will become later. Punch down the dough, re-form a nice round ball and return it to the same bowl; cover again with clear food wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight, covered airtight.

About two hours before you are ready to assemble your pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Use a sharp knife to divide the dough into four equal portions. Roll the smaller dough into round balls on a smooth, clean surface. Be sure to seal any holes by pinching or rolling.

Place the newly formed dough balls in a glass casserole dish, spaced far enough apart to allow for each to double in size. Seal the top of the dish airtight with clear food wrap. Set aside at room temperature until the dough balls have doubled in size (about two hours). They should be smooth and puffy.

To make the spaghetti with marinara sauce, bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, eight to nine minutes. Cook pasta ahead of time, rinse with cold water and toss with marinara sauce.

To make the pizza, place the pizza stone in the center of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F for one hour before cooking pizzas.

To stretch and form the dough for pizza: Sprinkle a medium dusting of flour over a 12x12-inch clean, smooth surface. Use a metal spatula or dough scraper to carefully remove a dough ball from the glass casserole dish, being very careful to preserve its round shape. Flour the dough liberally. Place the floured dough on the floured smooth surface.

Use your hand or a rolling pin to press the dough down, forming a flat circle about 1/2 inch thick. Pinch the dough between your fingers all around the edge of circle, forming a lip or rim that rises about 1/4 inch above the center surface of the dough. You may continue this outward stretching motion of the hands until you have reached a 6-inch diameter pizza dough.

Here comes the tricky part. Place the rimmed dough on the back of your hands with your fingers spread about an inch apart. The edge of the dough should rest on the backs of your second knuckles of both hands. Wind up for the toss by rotating your hands a one-fourth revolution in the opposite direction from the way you will be spinning the dough. To wind up: Both hands align with your chin; your hands turn so that your right hand is the farthest away with palm facing thumb up. Your left hand should be closer to you with the thumb down.

Stretch the dough out slightly and spin the dough upward by flicking your hands outward in opposite directions. The motion is like both hands are quickly losing an arm wrestling match. Your left hand arcs up and out to the left at the same time your right hand arcs up and out the right. Catch the spinning dough on the backs of your hands (or pick it up off the floor and try again!) If necessary, reposition your hands and repeat the toss until you've formed a 6-inch circular dough.

To dress the pizza, lightly sprinkle cornmeal, semolina or flour over the surface of a wooden pizza peel. Arrange the stretched dough over the floured peel surface. Work quickly to dress the pizza so that the dough won't become soggy or sticky from sauces and toppings.

Spread 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce evenly over the surface of the prepared dough within the rim. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese over the sauce. Distribute one-fourth of the spaghetti with sauce over the mozzarella cheese. Distribute one-fourth of the sliced meatballs over the spaghetti with sauce. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of additional mozzarella cheese over the entire pizza.

When you are ready to transfer the pizza to the pizza stone in the preheated oven, grasp the handle of the peel and execute a very small test jerk to verify that the pizza will come easily off the peel. If the dough doesn't move freely, carefully lift the edges of the dough and try to rotate it by hand. Extreme cases may require that you toss more flour under the dough edges. Once the dough is moving easily on the peel, open the oven and position the edge of the peel over the center of the stone about two-thirds from the front of the stone. Juggle and tilt the peel to get the pizza to start sliding off. When the pizza begins to touch the stone, pull the peel quickly out from under it. Don't attempt to move the pizza until it has begun to set (about three minutes). The peel can be slid under the pizza to move it or remove it.

Transfer the pizza to the oven; bake until the crust is crisp and golden and the cheese at the center is bubbly, eight to 10 minutes. When the pizza is cooked, carefully remove it from the oven; sprinkle 1 tablespoon cilantro over the hot surface. Slice and serve.

Repeat with remaining ingredients for the remaining pizzas. (The four pizzas may be prepared simultaneously if you are careful in placing the pizzas at opposite corners of your pizza stone.)

Suggestions

Makes four 6-inch pizzas.