I usually like to use my homemade pizza dough the day I make it, but life happens, you end up at a friend’s birthday party, and the dough goes in the fridge. It still works though, and the dough still get fluffy and crunchy. Just make sure you bring it to room temp before you start rolling it out. I’ll put my favorite pizza dough recipe below, and you can add oregano, parm, garlic, whatever you’re craving that day, just to the dough. The fillings are endless, and it’s a good way to use up things you have in the fridge before they go off. Most of the ingredients for the dough you already have in your pantry, and its good to have the active dried yeast in there too, and you can make homemade leftover calzones or pizzas any night. I used cherry tomatoes from the farmer’s market, buffalo mozzarella torn, and prosciutto. Bake at 500F for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is oozing and the crust is hard to the touch. Note: Make sure you slice a few vents in the calzone so it doesn’t explode. No fun. Here’s how I make my pizza dough:

1 cup warm water (105-115F)

1 envelope active dry yeast (Fleischmans is the most common)

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, stirring to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add about 1.5 cups flour and the salt, mixing by hand or with a large spoon, until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until the dough is smooth but slightly sticky. You might not need all the flour. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth but still slightly tacky, 3-7 minutes.

3. Oil a large mixing bowl with remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place (I place it on my stove while the oven is preheating), until its doubled in size, about 1.5 hours. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces for calzones, roll out with a rolling pin, place fillings in the center. Fold dough over and pinch down the ends. Cut vents in top of calzone, and bake for 15-20 minutes at 500F.