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In 2006, I packed up my gear and traveled to the Mall of America for the Food Network Pizza Champions Challenge. Over the course of a very grueling day, we competed for three Guinness World Records in front of a big audience and a panel of famous judges. I won two of the world-record rounds: Biggest Pizza Continuously Spinning for Two Minutes, and Most Consecutive Rolls Across the Shoulders in 30 Seconds. By comparison, round three, the cooking challenge, felt as easy as pie. Four of us gathered at our stations to get our marching orders: create a gourmet pizza in ten minutes using none of the top ten toppings—no pepperoni, no sausage, you get the idea. So, my instinct was to combine two of my favorite pizza worlds, California and Italy. I grabbed five totally traditional Italian ingredients: prosciutto, fig jam, Gorgonzola, Asiago, and balsamic vinegar. They're classic, but the thing is, you'd never find them on a pizza in Italy, at least not all together. But to us "why not?" Californians, the combination makes perfect sense as a pizza topping, and it made sense to the judges, too.

• 1 (13-ounce/370-gram) ball Master Dough , preferably with starter made with Poolish
• 1 cup (255 grams) balsamic vinegar
• 3 parts flour mixed with 1 part semolina, for dusting
• 2-ounce (55-gram) piece Asiago cheese, cold, for shaving
• 6 ounces (170 grams) whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1-1/2 cups)
• 1-1/2 ounces (45 grams) Gorgonzola cheese, broken into small pieces
• 2 to 3 tablespoons (40-60 grams) fig jam, preferably Dalmatia brand
• 3 ounces (85 grams) thinly sliced prosciutto (about 6 slices)
• 2 pizza baking stones or steels, pizza peel

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