Pizza Dough Makes For A Delicious Sandwich Bread Alternative

What even makes a sandwich a sandwich? Are two slices of bread necessary? Can that bread be hinged like a hoagie? Where does that leave hot dogs? What about tacos? Overthinking sandwiches can muddy the culinary mind. But, rethinking sandwiches can lead to some extraordinary invention. And, if the questions up top are any indication, bread is a great place to start. No shade thrown on slices, but sandwiches deserve a multitude of platforms, with pita and arepas being just two examples. But there lies another, one many haven't even considered, but have nevertheless enjoyed: pizza dough.

Consider that pizza isn't far off from a sandwich, especially an open-faced sandwich. There's often meat, generally cheese, a sauce, and frequently vegetables. Who's to say that a slice of pizza folded on itself isn't a type of sandwich? We'll leave pizza out of that tired argument, but pizza dough — which is so versatile that we've compiled many unconventional uses for it — alone can be cooked in order to make a sandwich bread that transcends others.

The idea is fairly simple. Take a round of dough — subdivide it in half or fourths, depending on the size of the sandwich you intend on making — and cook it in the oven until it is lightly-browned. The round of undressed dough can then be folded upon itself and stuffed with whatever sandwich fillings your heart and stomach desire.

For the dough, you have a few options. Making pizza dough at home, such as our tasty Neapolitan version, isn't as daunting a task as one might think; it just takes some time to proof. That said, there are many great dough balls available at the grocery store, generally frozen. Just don't go with a pre-cooked crust as you want to be able to size the dough to fit your needs.

Classic pizza toppings make for an obvious starting point when considering how to fill a sandwich made from pizza dough. Creamy mozzarella and Italian cured meats, such as salami, mortadella, and prosciutto, come to life as the hot pizza crust lightly melts them. Pair these with a little lettuce, tomato, and onion for crunch and a drizzle of oil and vinegar or pesto for complexity. Consider, too, that the dough itself can be spruced up a bit. Before baking, an application of olive oil and a sprinkling of freshly-grated parmesan cheese adds richness, saltiness, umami, and crunch to the sandwich that is to be made.

You may be asking the value of baking a round of pizza dough for a sandwich when so many good breads are available at the store ready to go. It's not just a matter of novelty, though a pizza crust sandwich is a striking form. No, the exterior crunch and airy crumb of pizza dough are qualities other breads simply don't possess.