Make It Tonight With Pizza Dough

Whether or not pizza Fridays are a thing at your house, fresh pizza dough can be a lifesaver when it comes to getting dinner on the table fast. Sure, it’s simple to make yourself, but rising time makes the process a little less fast and easy.

One of the most significant elements of good pizza dough is time—most good pizzerias make their dough at least a day in advance, to allow the flavour and texture to develop. Picking up a ball of pre-made dough is not only fast and inexpensive, the dough is fantastic by virtue of the fact that it has spent a longer time as dough before being baked.

Of course there are plenty of things you can do with pizza dough besides pizza—pat it on a baking sheet, poke your finger deeply into the surface, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with chopped rosemary and salt and bake for fresh focaccia. Roll pieces into ropes and tie into knots, or fold your rounds and pinch closed to enclose your fillings (a great way to use up leftovers!), add a bit of grated cheese (or not) and you have calzone, which also makes a fantastic portable lunchbox option.

Butter Chicken Calzone

Ingredients:
1 lb pizza dough, thawed if frozen
1 cup chopped or shredded cooked chicken
1 cup butter chicken sauce
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup grated mozzarella
milk, cream or beaten egg, for brushing
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Divide the dough into four pieces, and roll each into a 6-inch circle. Transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, sauce and cilantro or peas. Divide the mixture between the dough circles, leaving half an inch around the edge, and sprinkle with cheese. Fold each circle over and crimp the edges to seal. Brush with milk, cream or beaten egg, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until deep golden.

- Julie Van Rosendaal

Three Make It Tonight recipes for Pizza Dough

	Parmesan Garlic Knots
	Butter Chicken Calzones
	Prosciutto Pizza with Arugula