What to do with all this dough?

So you decided to make a fresh batch of dough to make a fresh pizza. But the problem is that you just made too much.

What can you use all that excess dough for besides tossing the dough (get it because that's the name of the blog. Alright, that was a pretty lame joke)? Easy, a calzone.

(Every once in a while, you can take a break from pizza.)

A calzone is an Italian-take on a turnover. Picture a pizza pie that is folded in half and sealed. That is essentially a calzone.

A calzone has all of the ingredients of a pizza, but it can be less greasy on the hands because all of the greasy mozzarella is on the inside.

(A tasty alternative use for pizza dough.)

What do you need?
Again, it's a simple grocery list:
-One canister of pizza dough (do not buy a prepackaged crust like Boboli for a calzone because the dough needs to be fresh enough to fold before baking). Size will depend on how big you roll out of the dough before folding (12" dough will feed should two about two people, 14" will feed three to four).

-Handful of flour

-Mozzarella cheese

-Ricotta cheese (if you do not like ricotta, substitute another cheese or just lose the second cheese all together)

-Garlic butter (more for garnishing, this is not a necessity)

-Parmesan cheese (again, this is for garnishing, but you can do without it)

-Pizza sauce or marinara sauce for dipping

-Something to stuff it with (pick your favorite pizza toppings and throw them together)

Something to note: What is the difference between a calzone and a stromboli? A calzone has ricotta cheese and a stromboli does not. If a restaurant offers both, their take on the calzone will likely have ricotta, but ask before ordering to be sure.

(Stuff it with whatever you wish.)

How do you make it?
1. Spread your flour on a bread cutting board (a wooden one). Coat your hands and the dough with the flour. Roll out the dough to your desired length (I recommend 12" because it's easier to manage than 14"). To roll the dough, lay the dough ball on the cutting board. Use your hands to spread the dough out, being sure to rotate the crust so you don't end up with an oval.

2. This is the stuffing part. Place whatever you are stuffing in the center of the crust. Add your cheese(s) and whatever you are stuffing the calzone with. I personally love sausage calzones, so I'm going to add my mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. Then, I'm going to add grilled sausage that I have cut into small cylinders, red and green peppers, and onions.

3. Close it. Take the half of the crust without stuff and fold it over the stuffing. Firmly press down on the edges of the folded crust to enclose the stuffing.

(This is how your folded dough should look.)

4. Take a knife and make three slits on the top of the calzone. These slits help the stuffing cook and give you an idea of how the inside is cooking.

5. Place it in the oven at 450F for 20-25 minutes.

6. When the crust is cooked (it will look exactly like the crust of a pizza), take it out of the oven and add your garnishes (garlic and Parmesan cheese).

(The crust will be dry on the outside, but very moist within. Serve with sauce to combat that dry outside.)

7. Serve with marinara or pizza sauce and enjoy.