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Leftover Pizza on Ciabatta - A Revelation!
So it is Friday night. It was a busy week. I didn't want to cook, but I also couldn't decide whether to order out. I'm mentally exhausted and can't face some of my recipes. I want to test. Plus, I have a fridge with a smattering of leftovers from the week ranging from a couple of tablespoons of a delicious cream sauce to part of a stuffed chicken breast.
Sigh...
To make things worse, my bread for the week, which was supposed to be sourdough, turned out more like a flat ciabatta, which is not very good for a simple sandwich.
The Spark of Inspiration
My ciabatta did come out perfectly round, and it got me thinking about pizza. What if I sliced it in half and topped it with tomato sauce (which I always have on hand) and cheese? That would be easy and fast.
Once the wheels started turning, my creativity was fired up. Here's what I ended up creating.
A New Way to Make Leftover Pizza
I preheated the oven to 395 degrees Fahrenheit.
I sliced the entire loaf of bread in half through the center, so I had two large discs.
I drizzled Olive Oil over each half and placed it cut side down on a baking sheet.
Then I baked it for about 10-15 minutes until it was golden brown.
I rubbed each half with a fresh garlic clove on both sides, but you could just do the cut side.
Then, I cleared out the refrigerator. I made a cold sauce of cooked tomatoes, onions, and peppers I had and added the scant bit of cream sauce. I layered that on the bread and added thin slices of the stuffed chicken breast (it was stuffed with feta, basil, and sundried tomatoes, all chopped really small).
I put that back in the oven to heat everything up for about 10-12 minutes.
Then I took it out and added the cheese.
It went back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese completely melted.
Why Ciabatta is Perfect for Leftover Pizza
Ciabatta is much better for Leftover Pizza than I could have imagined. The outside got really crisp, so the pizza didn't sog out with the toppings and made it easy to eat.
The soft inside soaked up some of the sauce, marrying the two rather than making the topping feel completely separate from the crust, as on some pizzas. Ciabatta will be my go-to from now on for making this type of pizza.
Where Can You Find Ciabatta?
Although I made my bread, I did a bit of searching. If you look carefully in most grocery store baking sections, you can find ciabatta. If you can't find a whole loaf, you could use ciabatta rolls for individual pizzas.
Give this a try sometime, especially on a night when you don't really want to cook but want something homemade. You are going to love it!
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