Superbowl Football Pizza Party
A recipe for making a football-shaped pizza for your Superbowl party!
Equipment
- 1 Half-sheet Baking Pan Or any other pan that will fit your large football pizza.
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Pizza Rocker Alternatively pizza scissors or pizza cutter.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Pizza dough Try using Trader Joe's pizza dough if using pre-made or try our Thin Crust Dough recipe if making yourself.
For the sauce
- 7 ounces tomato sauce I prefer Mutti
- ½ teaspoon oregano dried
- ½ teaspoon basil dried or fresh
- 1 pinch salt to taste
For the topping
- 4 ounces Prosciutto
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
Pre-Game Huddle
- Preheat the oven at least 30 minutes before starting the bake. Follow the cooking instructions for your pizza dough for the temperature, which will likely be 450 F.
Kick It Off With Sauce
- In a sauce pan, warm the tomato sauce on medium to begin to thicken it. Because this pizza will be cut into a lot of small slices, a thicker sauce will make this an easier finger food.
- Add in your seasonings - oregano, basil, and salt to taste. While garlic and onion powder might be a tempting addition, maybe everyone's breath will be a little better if you leave those out this time!
- Stir and reduce the heat to very low while you continue.
First Down: Dough Formation
- Bring your dough to room temperature.
- Roll out the dough into an oval shape, about 17 inches long and 10 inches wide, to mimic a pigskin.
- Dock the dough across the entire pizza with a fork to prevent air bubbles. This will help the pizza retain it's shape
- Very lightly brush another layer of olive oil to the top - again to improve the crispiness.
- Lightly oil a half-sheet pan (18" x 13").
- Place the rolled-out dough onto the half-sheet pan. Manually reform the dough, as it will change shape a bit during the transfer.
- If you're having trouble with the shape, don't be afraid to use scissors to trim the ends to make a nice, pointy ball.
Pre-Bake the Crust
- Bake for 5 minutes until the crust starts to firm but not browning yet. This will firm up the crust a lot, which will help since the pizza is likely to sit a while before eaten completely.
Grab the Pigskin
- I've found that the prosciutto is best to work with when still cold, so remove from the fridge during the first bake.
- Because prosciutto will shrink when cooked, I should have cut it into squares and overlapped them more. Don't make my mistake!
Ready, Set, Sauce!
- Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the crust, leaving a very small border around the ball.
- Because the pizza will be sliced tavern style, you don't want very much crust without toppings.
Decorate the Field
- Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella generously over the sauce covering it entirely.
- Leave some cheese to make the stripes and the laces.
- Layout the prosciutto to make a football shape covering the pizza.
- Add the stripes and laces.
Fourth and Goal: Bake to Win
- Bake the pizza for another 12-15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.For most ovens, it's best to rotate the pizza halfway through baking. But it's a big pizza, so you might have to rotate more than once to get an even cook.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes before cutting.
Two-Minute Warning: Cut this pizza Tavern-Style
- Using a pizza rocker (if available), pizza scissors, or pizza cutter, slice the pizza into squares or rectangles, making it easy for everyone to grab a piece. Typical triangle slices won't go as far. This let's people snack on pizza as part of their Superbowl experience rather than having it to the exclusion of the other food on display.
Touchdown: Serve and Celebrate!
- Your pizza’s done, now it’s time to share and enjoy with your team!
Nutrition
Calories: 386kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 18gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 1099mgPotassium: 182mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 382IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 270mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!