1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

3 T tomato paste

2 T chopped fresh basil

1 T sugar

2 tsp dried oregano

Cheese

We use half mozzarella and half Provel, about 3 cups total

Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 T cornstarch

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup plus 2 T water

2 T olive oil

Whisk together all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the water and olive oil. Stir the water mixture into the flour mixture until the dough starts to come together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead 3 or 4 times, until it is cohesive.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a pizza stone (or inverted baking sheet) on the rack, and heat the oven to 475 degrees. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, press the dough into a small circle and transfer it to a piece of parchment paper dusted lightly with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll and stretch the dough to form a 12-inch circle, rotating the parchment as needed. Lift the parchment and pizza dough off the counter onto an inverted baking sheet.

Top 1 dough round with half of the sauce and half of the cheese. Carefully pull the parchment paper and pizza off the baking sheet and onto the hot baking stone. Bake until the underside is golden brown and the cheese is completely melted, 9-12 minutes. Remove the pizza and the parchment from the oven and transfer the pizza to a cooling rack. Cool for 2 minutes. Repeat with the second dough round and the remaining sauce and cheese. Cut the pizzas into 2-inch squares and serve.

By Volume
4 cups Molino Caputo Tipo 00 flour (or decent bread flour)
1 ½ cups, plus 2 TBL water
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry active yeast

By Weight
500gr Molino Caputo Tipo 00 flour (or decent bread flour)
325gr water (65% hydration)
10gr salt
3gr active dry yeast

We usually substitute ~1/2 cup of the flour for semolina.

Mix the dough in a stand mixer, by hand or in a bread machine. If you are using a stand mixer, mix it slowly for two minutes, faster for 5 minutes, and slow again for 2 minutes.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, or until double. Punch it down and push out the air bubbles. Form the dough into a large ball, then cut it into 4-5 equal pieces.

Gently roll your dough into a ball, then stretch the top of the ball down and around the rest of the ball, until the outer layer wraps around the other side. Pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer “skin.” Set your ball seam-side down where it can rest. Dust your pizza balls with flour, and store them under a damp towel, in a proofing tray, or under plastic wrap for ~ 1 hour. Be sure to cover them, or they will form a dry crust.

Once dough as doubled, carefully stretch each one to form a thin disk. Flatten the ball with your hands and pinch it into a disk, then pull it carefully with your hands while on a floured surface. Rotate a few degrees and repeat. You can also pick up one side gently and let the weight stretch it out.

Once you have formed the dough into a thin pizza shape, transfer to a pizza pan, peel, or piece of parchment paper. Quickly top with sauce and toppings and bake in a 500F oven for ~4-8 minutes.

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast (such as SAF brand)
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ cups water
1. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast and salt. Add the water and stir until blended (the dough will be very sticky). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 12 to 24 hours in a warm spot, about 70°.
2. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and lightly sprinkle the top with flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Generously sprinkle a clean cotton towel with flour and cover the dough balls with it. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
4. Stretch or toss the dough into the desired shape, cover with toppings and bake on top of a very hot pizza stone.

Makes six 9 by 4-Inch Calzones.   Published September 1, 2003.

To make this recipe, you will need a standing mixer or food processor, parchment paper, and a pizza stone. The stone must heat for an additional 30 minutes once the oven has come up to temperature; if your oven heats slowly, begin heating it about an hour into the dough’s first rise. Leftover calzones must be refrigerated; to reheat, heat the oven with the pizza stone just as you did when making the recipe, then set the calzones on the hot pizza stone for about 10 minutes. A simple tomato sauce is a nice accompaniment to the calzones.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. FOR THE DOUGH (see below for food processor method): In bowl of standing mixer, whisk flour, yeast, and salt to combine. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer; with mixer running at medium-low speed, add olive oil, then gradually add water; continue to mix until mixture comes together and smooth, elastic dough forms, about 10 minutes. Lightly spray large bowl with nonstick cooking spray; form dough into ball, transfer it to bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and let rise in warm spot until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
2. FOR THE FILLING: While dough rises, stir together garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes in 8-inch skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant and sizzling and mixture registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool until warm, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
3. In medium bowl, stir together cheeses, egg yolk, oregano, salt, black pepper, and cooled -garlic-pepper oil until combined; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
4. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, set pizza stone on oven rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray parchment lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Turn risen dough out onto unfloured work surface. Divide dough in half, then cut each half into thirds. Gently reshape each piece of dough into ball. Transfer to baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let dough rest at least 15 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.
5. Cut eight 9-inch squares of parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping other pieces covered, follow illustration 1 to roll dough into 9-inch round. Set round onto parchment square and cover with another parchment square; roll out another dough ball, set dough round on top of first, and cover with parchment square. Repeat to form stack of 3 rounds, covering top round with parchment square. Form second stack of 3 with remaining dough balls and parchment squares.
6. Remove top parchment square from first stack of dough rounds and place rounds with parchment beneath on work surface; if dough rounds have shrunk, gently and evenly roll out again to 9-inch rounds. Following illustrations 2 through 6, form calzones. With pastry brush, brush tops and sides of calzones with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt. Trim excess parchment paper; slide calzones on parchment onto pizza peel or rimless baking sheet, then slide calzones with parchment onto hot pizza stone, evenly spacing them apart. Bake until golden brown, about 11 minutes; use pizza peel or rimless baking sheet to remove calzones with parchment to wire rack. Remove parchment, cool 5 minutes, and serve. While first batch bakes, form second batch and bake after removing first batch.
7. FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD: Made in an 11-cup cup food processor, the dough bakes up with slightly less chew than we like.
8. Alternative Step 1: Pulse flour, yeast, and salt to combine, about five 1-second pulses. While pulsing, add olive oil through feed tube, then gradually add water; continue pulsing until dough forms ball, then process until smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and knead by hand a few turns to form smooth, round ball. Transfer dough to oiled bowl and proceed from step 2.

Ricotta Calzones with Sausage and Braccoli Rabe

1. Follow recipe for Ricotta Calzones through step 1 to make dough; while dough rises, combine cheeses, egg yolk, oregano, salt and black pepper in medium bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed. Remove casing from 8 ounces hot or sweet Italian sausage. Wash and dry 12 ounces broccoli rabe and trim stalks to about 1 inch below leaves; cut broccoli rabe crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Cook sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon and breaking sausage into 1/2-inch pieces, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes; stir in 1 T pressed or minced garlic and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Stir in broccoli rabe, 1 T water (I usually end up needing about 1/4 cup or more), and 1/8 tsp salt; cook, stirring constantly, until broccoli is tender-crisp and water has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Transfer mixture to large paper towel-lined plate and cool to room temperature; once cooled, pat with paper towels to absorb excess moisture and set aside until needed.

2. Continue with recipe from step 4. To fill calzones, divide sausage mixture evenly into 6 portions on plate; place 1 portion sausage mixture on top of cheese filling on dough round and continue with recipe to seal and bake calzones.

Step-by-Step

Making Calzones

1. With fingertips, press dough ball into 5-inch circle. With floured rolling pin, roll outward from center in all directions until dough forms 9-inch circle. If dough sticks, dust flour under it.

2. Place scant 1/2 cup cheese filling in center of bottom half of dough round. Using small spatula, spread/press filling in even layer across bottom half of dough round, leaving 1-inch border uncovered.

3. Fold top half of dough over cheese-covered bottom half, leaving 1/2-inch border of bottom layer uncovered.

4. With fingertips, lightly press around silhouette of cheese filling and out to edge to lightly seal dough.

5. Begining at one end of seam, place index finger diagonally across edge and gently pull bottom layer of dough over tip of index finger; press into dough to seal. Repeat until calzone is fully sealed.

6. With very sharp paring knife or razor blade, cut 5 slits, about 11/2 inches long, diagonally across top of calzone, making sure to cut through only top layer of dough and not completely through calzone.

Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad for a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.
2. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)
3. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
4. One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.
5. Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.
6. OPTIONAL: Add toppings, including tomato sauce, etc.
7. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes, sprinkling rosemary over top and rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Brush dough lightly with remaining tablespoon oil. Slice and serve immediately.

¾ cup warm water

2 teaspoons yeast

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

Method:

Combine wine, water and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, salt and olive oil and mix thoroughly. Start by adding 1 cup of flour and make a wet paste. Add remaining flour and incorporate.

Place dough on a lightly floured board and knead for 2 to 3 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for 45 minutes.

Makes two 12-inch pizzas

Dough 1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast 1 cup water (8 ounces), room temperature 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces), plus extra for dusting work surface and peel 1 cup cake flour (4 ounces) 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt 2 teaspoons sugar Topping 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 small clove garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (optional) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil Table salt 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (see note above), cut into 1-inch chunks 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Cheese Pizza Vegetarian Italian See Illustrations Below: Getting the Dough Shape Just Right FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, set pizza stone on oven rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. In liquid measuring cup, whisk yeast into water to dissolve. In food processor fitted with metal blade, process flours, salt, and sugar until combined, about 5 seconds. With machine running, slowly add liquid through feed tube; continue to process until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of workbowl, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (If after 1 minute dough is sticky and clings to blade, add 1 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and continue processing. If dough appears dry and crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and process until dough forms ball.) Divide dough in half and shape into smooth, tight balls (see photo 1, below). Place on floured counter or baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart; cover loosely with plastic wrap coated with nonstick cooking spray and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. FOR THE TOPPING: In clean bowl of food processor, process tomatoes until crushed, two or three 1-second pulses. Transfer tomatoes to fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and let drain at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to release liquids. Just before shaping pizza rounds, combine drained tomatoes, sugar, garlic (if using), 1 tablespoon basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl. TO SHAPE AND COOK THE PIZZAS: When dough balls have doubled in size, dust dough liberally with flour and transfer balls to well-floured work surface. Press one ball into 8-inch disk (photo 2). Using flattened palms, gently stretch disk into 12-inch circle, working along outer edge and giving disk quarter turns (photos 3 and 4). Lightly flour pizza peel; lift edges of dough round to brush off any excess flour, then transfer dough to peel. Spread thin layer of tomato topping (about 1/2 cup) over dough with rubber spatula, leaving 1/2-inch border around edge. Slide onto stone and bake until crust begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove pizza from oven with peel, close oven door, and top pizza with half of cheese chunks, spaced evenly apart. Return pizza to stone and continue cooking until cheese is just melted, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to cutting board; sprinkle with half of remaining basil, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and pinch salt. Slice and serve immediately. Repeat step 3 to shape, top, and bake second pizza. STEP BY STEP: Getting the Dough Shape Just Right 1. Divide dough immediately after mixing and shape into smooth balls. 2. Flatten round into 8-inch disk to eliminate large air pockets. 3. Stretch outer edges with flattened fingers while giving quarter turns. 4. If dough develops weak spots, stretch edges using backs of hands.