In a pizzeria, the oven has a very hot brick floor on which the dough is baked from the bottom while the cheese melts on top. Although your home oven may not work this way, you can make a really delicious pizza. Part of the trick is to bake the dough until nearly done before you put the tomato sauce, cheese and other ingredients on top. This recipe is designed for a home oven that will take a standard 14x17 inch aluminum cookie sheet.

Start the dough at least 3 hours before you plan to serve it so it has time to rise. Start the pre-cooked ingredients such as sausage and fried peppers at least 1 hour before serving time so that they are cool enough to handle at the time of final assembly.

DOUGH:

2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. lukewarm water
1 pkg. dry baking yeast

Warm a large mixing bowl in the oven. Dissolve the yeast in the water, about 5 minutes. Mix the flour and salt in the bowl. Stir in the yeast and water to make a dough. Knead the dough on a floured board or counter top. Dough should be quite stiff and not sticky. Knead by folding, pressing, and turning about 30 times. Form into a ball, replace in bowl, cover, and put in a warm place to rise. This dough need rise only once.

FILLING:

1 lb. Mozzarella cheese
2 sm. cans tomato paste
2 green peppers
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tbsp. oregano

Oil a frying pan with a few teaspoons of olive oil. Fry the sausages, covered, for about 15 minutes, turning once, or until cooked through. While this is cooking, cut up the green peppers into 1-inch squares. When the sausages are done, remove them to a cutting board to cool; slice into disks 1/8 inch thick and set aside.

Discard the sausage fat, add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and fry the peppers, uncovered, stirring frequently until a few start to brown at the edges. Set aside to cool. While the peppers are cooking, dice or shred the Mozzarella cheese; cover; set aside. Open the cans of tomato paste.

PREPARING THE CRUST: Set oven at 550 degrees (very hot) to preheat. Punch down the dough, remove from bowl and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Flour the board heavily, pat dough out flat, roll it out thin, turning it over and flouring it occasionally.

It's easy to make a round pizza, but your oven won't be big enough. By rolling and pulling the corners, shape the dough to cover a rectangular 14x17 inch cookie sheet. To get dough onto cookie sheet, flour the dough, then quickly perform the following steps: fold it back on itself several times, lift it onto the sheet, unfold it again. The quickness is so that the dough won't stick to itself. Stretch the dough to fit the sheet. Fold and pinch up a rim around the edge.

Do not let the dough rise very long after this step. Put it in very hot oven and bake about 7 minutes, and watch for the thinnest parts just start to turn golden. Watch carefully, as it goes very fast at this stage. When golden color appears, remove sheet from oven, but leave oven at full heat.

ASSEMBLY OF THE PIZZA: The dough may have blistered and become wavy, but don't worry. With a spatula, spread the tomato paste over the whole surface but not on the rim crust. Next, scatter the oregano on the paste, then scatter Mozzarella cheese. On top of the cheese, place the sausage slices, then the fried peppers and other ingredients you may like, such as mushrooms, anchovies, olives, etc. Finally, sprinkle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the pizza.

Replace it in the oven for another 10 minutes. Then start watching it carefully. Take it out when cheese has melted and begins to sizzle a little, but before much of the cheese starts to brown.

Using a pizza cutter or heavy sharp knife, cut into 12 rectangular servings. With a salad, this pizza will make a meal for 4 or 5.