Hand-Stretched Pizzas + Anna Spinato Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Brut #ItalianFWT #Sponsored

 This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the Consorzio of Prosecco Superiore DOCG.

Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links

During the summer, when one of my wine contacts asked if I would be interested in receiving some Prosecco Superiore samples from the Consorzio*, I almost responded, "Are you joking?" But I didn't. I put on my professional big-girl pants and asked her all the questions about deadlines, preferred hashtags, etc. Then I waited for the shipment. 

So, you'll be seeing several pairings between now and the end of the year as I host the Italian Food Wine Travel bloggers - #ItalianFWT - in an exploration of Italian sparkling wines for the holidays.

Anna Spinato 

Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Brut

One of the bottles I received was a Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Brut from Anna Spinato.* This is a single-varietal, 100% Glera from the Valdobbiadene Hills of the Veneto where the grapes were harvested by hand.

In the glass, this pours a brilliant sunny straw color with a heavy froth and dense streams of fine perlage. On the nose, I noted crisp green apples aromas of yeast. On the palate, the wine has a pronounced citrus that balances the brioche flavor.

Hand-Stretched Pizzas

But that yeastiness had me thinking about homemade pizzas. We have hand-stretched pizzas at least once a week, made with my sourdough starter. We all do, however, like different toppings on our pizzas.

My oldest likes, at least, ham and pineapple. This time I added smashed potatoes to it.

My youngest is a carnivore purist. He likes his pizzas with meat. In this case, I had salami and pepperoni.

Jake will eat any kind of pizza though he seems to like fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil the best.

And I am more of a vegetable-bin kinda gal. This time I had some roasted delicata squash and other veggies.

Because this recipe yields six pizzas, we usually start to top the pizzas randomly as the evening goes on.

Ingredients 
makes six 8" pizzas (easily halved, but we love our pizza and having leftovers)

Crust

• 1 cup sourdough starter, unfed/discard
• 1 cup sourdough starter, recently fed (within 8 hours)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 cups flour plus more for kneading
• oil for the bowl

Toppings

• crushed or diced tomatoes
• fresh tomatoes (I used halved cherry tomatoes)
• fresh mozzarella
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• fresh basil
• sautéed mushrooms (I used a combination of shiitake, oyster, and yellow oyster mushrooms)
• ham and/or prosciutto
• pineapple
• salami and/or pepperoni

Procedure

Crust
Place starters and water into a large mixing bowl. Stir gently to get rid of any lumps from the unfed starter; mine is always a thick lump. Spoon the yeast over the top and let bloom for 10 minutes. Add in the flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to combine to a shaggy dough like the photo above.
 
Turn the dough onto a floured counter and knead until smooth and elastic. Mine takes about 10 minutes of kneading.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise for as long as you can - or at least until it's doubled in size. I usually do my dough before I go to work and leave it till dinner time, so about 8 or 9 hours.

When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut your dough into six pieces. Hand-stretch the dough into a round shape and place it on a baking stone. Or, if you have someone more adventurous, you can toss them. Like this...

 

Spoon sauce onto the crust and spread it almost to the edges. Add toppings, then place pizza in the oven for 16 to 18 minutes. You want the crust crisped and browned and the cheese gooey and melted. Top with fresh basil and serve hot.

Do you make homemade pizza? What are your favorite toppings? And, more importantly, have you poured a Prosecco Superiore with your pizza? I highly recommend it.

Find the Consorzio

on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Pinterest, on Instagram

Find Anna Spinato

on the web, on Facebook, on Instagram

*Disclosure: I received sample wines for recipe development, pairing, and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.