PIZZA BUNDLES

With the weather being as fickle as it is being, and the rain making us all dozy, I thought homemade pizza would be welcome for Supper tonight (and the preparation would keep me awake; LOL), so I pulled out this old recipe and got busy ;-)

This recipe is an oldie, but goodie; I clipped it decades ago from the local paper. It is an original recipe submitted by Marya Evans from the Silver Lake area – the recipe is her own adaptation … which I changed a bit myself tonight to use what I had on hand. Her recipe calls for sausage or hamburger – I used pepperoni slices, cut into tiny squares. Her recipe all calls for mozzarella or provolone cheese – I used Swiss cheese. Her recipe calls for nutmeg & anise – I used allspice. The recipe is easily adaptable for your own favorite filling recipe … or for substitutions if necessary:-D

I was doing a couple loads of laundry to this afternoon, and the dryer was a good warm place to set the dough to rise. Hey – you gotta do what you gotta do, and use what you can use, to get things done, right?

READ THE RECIPE ALL THE WAY THROUGH BEFORE STARTING!

PIZZA BUNDLES ~ Makes 6

PIZZA DOUGH: 2-1/2 cups Flour * 1 package active dry Yeast (or 2-1/4 tsp. bulk dry yeast) * 1 tsp. Salt * ½ tsp. Sugar * 1 cup warm Water (110-115 degrees) * 2 TBSP Olive Oil or Salad Oil * ¼ cup grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese

In a large bowl, place water and stir in yeast and sugar; allow to activate for 8 minutes.

Gather supplies to begin while yeast activates.

Stir in remaining ingredients, using as much flour as needed to make a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface, and knead until elastic. Cover and allow dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk – about 1 hour or so.

Olive oil gives best flavor to crust.

Blending pizza dough ingredients with bread hook.

Kneading dough until elastic and thoroughly blended.

Place kneaded dough into bowl to rise.

Dough placed on warm dryer to rise under a basket and bath towel to trap heat.

While dough is rising, prepare the FILLING: ½ pound Italian Sausage or Hamburger * 1 cup chopped Onion * 1 clove chopped Garlic * 1 cup sliced mushrooms or 1 can mushroom pieces, drained * 2medium tomatoes, chopped or 1 can tomatoes, drained * 1/3 cup tomato paste * ½ tsp. Sugar * 1 tsp. crushed Basil * ½ tsp. crushed Oregano * Dash Nutmeg * Drop of Anise * Salt and ground Black Pepper to taste * 1-1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella or Provolone Cheese * 1 beaten Egg

Frozen Pepperoni slices thawed above warm coffee pot. LOL

Crushing the basil ... homegrown and coarsely dried.

Pizza Bundle Filling being prepared. Cubed pepperoni slices and red wine.

WHEN DOUGH IS RISEN: Divide dough in half and cut each half into 3 pieces to make 6 pieces total.

Pizza dough risen and ready to be rolled and filled. (Sorry so dark - a cloud passed over the skylight ...)

Baking sheets lined with Parchment Paper. 2 baking sheets were used.

Dough separated into 6 equal sized pieces for uniformity.

On a floured surface, roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Spoon about 2/3 cup of meat mixture onto half of each circle; spread ¼ cup cheese over filling. Moisten edge of dough with a mixture of egg and 1 tsp. water – fold in half and seal edges by pressing down along the edge with fork tines.

Dough rolled to 8-inch circles.

I rolled all 6 pieces at once ...

... and filled them with equal amounts of filling and cheese.

Prick the tops of each bundle with a fork and brush with remaining egg/water mixture. OR spray the bundle tops with butter flavored Cooking Spray.

Pizza Bundles rolled, filled, pricked, sprayed with butter flavored cooking spray, and ready for the oven.

Bake on greased baking sheets in a 375-degree oven for 20 – 30 minutes. NOTE: If using parchment paper, greasing the sheet is not necessary.

Baking bundles smell GOOD!

I baked these for 25 min’s., but probably should have only baked them for 20 minutes. They are crisp. But every oven bakes differently, and I am still getting used to my new one ;-)