Cobb Salad Pizza with Homemade Pizza Dough

Cobb salad on a pizza is amazing! Homemade pizza topped with ranch dressing, chicken, ham, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and eggs is a meal on a slice!

This recipe stemmed from my desire to make pizzeria-style pizza crusts, the kind that the House of Pizza around the corner makes. These crusts are thin in the middle but puffy around the edges, light and airy on the inside yet crusty and chewy on the outside. I have wanted to try the Thin Crust Pizza recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for a while and finally decided to do so. I’m so glad I did because it yields exactly the kind of crust I wanted, with the desired texture and taste.

I did not use the sauce recipe provided but opted for a two-tier salad-topped approach. The crust is baked with ranch dressing, ham, chicken, and cheese. It is then topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and more ranch dressing. Delicious and purty!

This crust is not complicated, but be sure to plan ahead. It requires at least 24 hours to rise in the refrigerator (I find a minimum of 48 hours produces better results). The recipe advises leaving the dough at room temperature for an hour before forming crusts; it makes the dough more workable and helps it keep its shape. From my experience, I find that getting the dough to this state can take up to 2 hours. Finally, when ready to serve, I would advise making square slices as they are easier to cut and provide better support for the topping than triangular ones.

Whether or not you want to try this dough recipe is up to you. It is a cold rise pizza, which requires a lengthy resting time to develop its flavor. If you don’t want to wait, it is perfectly fine to use ready-made dough. However, I do hope you try the Cobb salad topping. The bottom meaty and cheesy layer alone is delicious, but the salad topping makes it extra special!

Recommended supplies:

(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

• Pizza stone—this pizza stone comes with acacia wood pizza peel, and a pizza cutter.
• Pizza cutter—this has a nonslip handle, a comfortable grip, and a stainless steel blade.
• Pizza paddle: This is for assembling and transferring the pizza into and out of the oven. It is made of bamboo and has engraved circle markings for varying pizza sizes. Or use a rimless baking sheet. This one is made of `1nonstick aluminized steel and has rolled edges to prevent warping.

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Cobb Salad Pizza with Homemade Pizza Dough

Author: In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:American Courses:Main Recipe Keys: O Oven Baked/Roasted

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 25 minutesRest time:25 hours Total time:25 hours 55 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories: kcal Best Season:Suitable throughout the year

Description

Cobb salad on a pizza is amazing! Homemade pizza topped with ranch dressing, chicken, ham, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and eggs is a meal on a slice!

Ingredients

• 3 cups (16.5 oz.) bread flour, plus more for the work surface
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid rise yeast
• 1 1/3 cups ice water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for work surface
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

For the toppings:

• 8 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
• 5 cups shredded lettuce
• 4 hard boiled eggs, diced
• 1 1/3 pounds (about 1 cup) deli ham diced to 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 1/3 pounds (about 1 cup) deli chicken, diced to 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 avocado, diced
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/4 cups ranch dressing 
• 1/4 cup cornmeal for work surface

Instructions

1. To make dough: Place flour, yeast, and sugar in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process the mixture for a few seconds to combine. With the machine running, slowly pour water through the feed tube until the dough is just combined, and no dry flour remains. This should take about 10 seconds. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
2. With the machine on, add oil and salt through the feed tube and process until a sticky ball forms and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 30 to 60 seconds. The dough should be satinyand smooth.
3. Move the dough to a lightly oiled countertop and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape the dough into a tight ball and place it in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
4. To bake the pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator at least one hour before baking. Divide it in half. Shape the dough into tight balls and place them at least three inches apart on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap.
5. One hour before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and place a pizza stone on a rack positioned 4 to 5 inches below the broiler (see note below).
6. To form the crust, generously coat one ball and the countertop with flour. Use fingertips to flatten the dough into 1-inch discs, leaving a 1-inch outer edge that is slightly thicker than the center. Use your hands to gently stretch the disc into 12-inch rounds, working along the edges. Use quarter turns while stretching.
7. Dust a rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. If you don’t have a rimless baking sheet, flip one over so that the flat underside faces up, and then dust. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Spread 1/4 cup ranch dressing on the dough, avoiding the outer edges. Add half of the ham and half of the chicken, followed by half of the mozzarella cheese. Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone.
8. Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway. Remove and cool slightly on a wire rack.
9. Using half of the topping ingredients, build the salad layer. Sprinkle on lettuce, followed by tomatoes, eggs, avocado, and bacon. Drizzle with about 1/3 cup of ranch dressing. Repeat for the second pizza.
10. Makes 2 12-inch pizzas or 6 servings.

Notes:

• The crust recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen.
• I find that my cheese browns more quickly than the dough when baking. Placing my pizza stone on the upper level of the oven overcooks the cheese before the crust is done. I place my baking stone on the lower half of my oven.

Keywords:Baking, Pizza, Main, Game Day Recipes

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