Filled Pizza

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 envelope dry active yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce

• 3 pounds plum tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Oregano, to taste
• 3 ounces tomato paste
• Basil, to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Parsley, to taste

Filling

• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup onion, sliced
• 2 cups (8 ounces) mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 cup green bell peppers, sliced
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

Dough

1. Sprinkle yeast on warm water, letting stand until dissolved.
2. Add oil, salt and 1/2 of the flour, beating well.
3. Gradually add more flour to form a soft dough.
4. Turn out dough on a floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1/ hours) or refrigerate overnight to rise.

Sauce

1. Combine first 4 ingredients and simmer until thick, about 20 minutes, stirring often.*
2. Add herbs.

Filling

1. Punch down dough and turn out on a floured board. Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger for the bottom. Roll larger portion out to fit a 12 inch round and 1-inch deep pizza pan with a slight overhang.
2. Spread bottom with mozzarella cheese, 1/2 of the mushrooms, 1/2 of the green peppers and garlic.
3. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Roll out the other portion of dough and cover, folding in the edges with the bottom crust, pinching to make a standing rim.
5. Bake in a preheated 450 degrees F oven on the bottom rack for 7 minutes.
6. Remove from oven.
7. Add tomato sauce, remaining mushrooms and vegetables.
8. Sprinkle with the herbs and garlic.
9. Return to oven, reducing heat to 400 degrees F and bake an additional 25 minutes until brown and set. If edges turn brown first, cover with foil.
10. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.