The recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g fully proofed pizza dough
- 100 g thinly sliced cooked ham
- 125 g firm mozzarella, grated or finely sliced
- 60 g thick, cooled pizza sauce
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- A little flour for rolling
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C conventional top and bottom heat. Lightly oil a tray or line it with baking parchment rated for this temperature.
- Roll the dough on a lightly floured counter to approximately 30 × 35 cm. Cover and rest for ten minutes if it springs back.
- Spread the sauce, ham and cheese in thin layers. Leave two centimetres clear at the short sides and three centimetres at one long side.
- Roll up from the other long side, pinch the seam and ends closed, and place seam-side down on the tray. Cover and rest for twenty minutes.
- Brush with oil, add oregano and cut three or four short steam vents. Bake for roughly 30 to 35 minutes, checking from minute 25. The inner dough layers must be fully baked.
- Rest on a rack for fifteen minutes, then cut into slices with a serrated knife.
Keep the filling thin and reasonably dry
Use 500 g fully proofed, pliable pizza dough for one roll. Roll it into a rectangle approximately 30 × 35 cm. If it springs back, cover and rest for ten minutes before continuing. Keep the thickness even; a weak middle can tear during rolling. Prepare a baking tray that will hold the roughly 35 cm long roll with room for it to expand.
The filling uses 100 g thinly sliced cooked ham, 125 g firm mozzarella and 60 g thick, completely cooled pizza sauce. Mozzarella packed in brine needs especially thorough draining; a firm pizza mozzarella is easier to portion here. Choose ready-to-eat cooked ham rather than raw meat. A large amount of sauce would keep the inner dough layers wet. Serve additional warm tomato sauce separately for dipping instead of rolling more into the filling.
Seal clean edges and check the inner dough
Leave a two-centimetre border along both short sides and a three-centimetre border along one long side. Roll up from the opposite long side to make a loaf approximately 35 cm long. Work evenly without squeezing out the filling. Press the clean long edge against the roll and pinch both ends shut. Place the seam underneath. Folding the ends over repeatedly would create thick lumps of dough that bake more slowly.
After a covered twenty-minute rest, brush the roll with oil, scatter over a little oregano and cut three or four short slits through the outer dough layer. At 220°C conventional top and bottom heat, allow roughly 30 to 35 minutes as a guide. Check from minute 25; cover loosely if it browns quickly and continue baking. The inner dough layers must be cooked through. If uncertain, cut into a thick central section and extend the bake if the dough remains sticky and raw. Rest for fifteen minutes before portioning.