Pizza Dough

2 1/2-3 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons fast rising yeast (or fast rise, 1 envelope)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup very warm water (120 to 130 degrees)

2 tablespoons oil

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt; blend well.

2. Gradually add water and oil to mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. By hand, add 1 1/2 to 2 cups flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl (I did all of this in my Kitchenaid.)

3. On floured surface, knead in 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover loosely with plastic and let rest in a warm place for about 15 minutes.

4. Press out dough onto (2) 12-inch pizza pans. Prick randomly with a fork. Let rest again in a warm place for 10-15 minutes.

5. Brush crusts lightly with oil then prebake them in a 450 degree oven for 5 minutes.

6. Top as desired, then bake again in 450 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, or until desired doneness.

This is the first time I have ever used this recipe and we really liked it. We normally just put random ingredients on top of our pizza (whatever we happen to have.) This particular time we did a BBQ chicken pizza (BBQ sauce, chicken, and bacon) and a chicken pesto pizza (pesto sauce, artichoke hearts, chicken, and bacon.) Both were delicious. If I had had tomatoes on hand I would have put them on the pesto pizza.

Real Italian Calzones

REAL ITALIAN CALZONES

INGREDIENTS

* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
* 1 cup warm water
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup diced pepperoni
* 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
* 1 egg, beaten

You can really put what you want in these. Chicken and broccoli are good. Sausage is good. We like spinach and green peppers. Anything that you would want on a pizza could be good.

DIRECTIONS

1. To Make Dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the
oil, sugar and salt; mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually
stir in the rest of the flour, until dough is smooth and workable.
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until
it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 teaspoon olive oil,
then flip the dough, cover and let rise for 40 minutes, or until
almost doubled.
2. To Make Filling: While dough is rising, combine the ricotta
cheese, Cheddar cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms and basil leaves in a
large bowl. Mix well, cover bowl and refrigerate to chill.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 2 equal
parts. Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface.
Fill each circle with 1/2 of the cheese/meat filling and fold over,
securing edges by folding in and pressing with a fork. Brush the top
of each calzone with egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve hot.