Turnovers

We usually make turnovers once a month and it involves buying refrigerated dough and fixings and just throwing them together. I'm getting ambitious and decided to make some homemade dough. You might be asking at this point what new toy caused me to be this ambitious. My new pizza stone. I tried a recipe for Emeril's basic pizza dough and it was good, but I still would like to try some more pizza dough recipes out. I felt like it was too floury (?) but Casey said that they were the best turnovers he'd ever had so you can be the judge. We added fresh sliced mozzarella, pepperonis, ham, and grated parmesean to the inside. I rubbed olive oil on the top to brown the crust and more fresh parmesean along with garlic bread seasoning and italian spices.

(Source: Emeril)
Servings: 2-4

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
pinch of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour plus more if necessary
Cornmeal for dusting

In large bowl combine yeast with water and sugar and stir well to combine. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add salt, olive oil, and half of the flour and mix well. Add all remainnig flour except 1/2 cup and mix well with hands, incorporate flour little by little. Dough should be sticky. Transfer dough to floured work surface and knead dough for at least 5 minutes and up to 7 minutes if needed and add flour as necessary to form a smooth and elastic dough that is not sticky. Or get your husband to punch it around for you when your arms get tired.


Transfer dough to oiled 2 or 3 quart bowl and turn to coat with oil.

Cover with damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, usually at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough into 2 portions (for two large turnovers or two 11 inch pizzas) and form into balls. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with damp towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Tranfer to a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to desired thickness. Transfer dough to pizza peel (or cutting board in my case) and sprinkle with cornmeal beforehand to help move the dough easier. Transfer to pizza stone and bake until golden brown. I baked around 15 minutes.