Dough:

1. In a large bowl, combine the Caputo "00" Chef's Flour and salt.
2. Add the cut butter, and using a dough cutter or fork, blend the butter and flour mixture until the butter is in very small pieces, but do not over-mix. Visual butter in the dough equals a flaky crust!
3. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, water and Olitalia Extra Virgin Olive Oil together. 
4. Add to the flour mixture using a fork until it starts to come together. 
5. Turn the dough onto a cutting board and knead together. If it is too dry, add an additional teaspoon of water. Once the dough is together, do not over-mix. 
6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate it for at least one hour. 

Filling:

1. While the dough is chilling, mix together all of your filling ingredients.

   (leave out 1 egg to use later for the egg wash). Set aside the filling until the dough is ready to roll. Be sure this is fully incorporated. 

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mini: Approximately 24 mini pizza rustica’s can be made using a muffin tin. 

1. Separate the dough into three pieces (wrap pieces you are not working with). This is so that the doguh does not dry out. As you run out of dough, unwrap and roll out your other pieces of dough as needed and continue.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a piece of dough out to 1/8”.
3. Using round cookie cutters or a sharp knife, cut out 2 dough pieces per muffin tin spot (a 4” circle for the bottom, and a 2.5” circle for the top).  
4. Scraps of dough can be reformed and used one time.
5. Place the bottom dough pieces in the muffin tin spots, lightly pressing the dough into place. Be sure to have the floured side down when placing the dough. 
6. Scoop approximately 2.5 Tablespoons of filling into each muffin tin with a dough bottom.
7. Gently flatten and add the top piece of dough.
8. Gently crimp the sides of the dough together to create a seal around the edges. Repeat until all the muffin tins are filled. 
9. Using a fork, mix an egg with a little bit of water to use as an egg wash. 
10. Brush the egg wash thoroughly over the tops of each mini pizza rustica. 
11. Place in the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees F. 
12. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until dough is golden brown. 
13. Cool for 5 minutes before running a knife around the edges and removing from the muffin tin. 

Large Pizza Rustica: Using a 9” Springform Pan.

1. Separate the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other.
2. Roll the larger piece of dough out to 1/8” on a lightly floured surface. 
3. Gently place bottom dough into the springform pan, curving the edges around the top to stabilize.
4. Fill the bottom with your filing mixture.
5. Roll out the top piece of dough to 1/8".
6. Place the top piece on top of the filling carefully, cutting away any uneven edges. 
7. Gently press to ensure the filling is evenly distributed and flat.
8. Fold over and crimp the bottom dough to the top dough evenly around the edges with a fork.
9. In a separate bowl, mix an egg with a little bit of water to use as an egg wash. 
10. Brush the top with egg wash and bake in the middle rack for approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F once placed in the oven.

Notes:

1. Double the dough recipe for muffins to ensure you have enough dough.
2. Replace meat with roasted or blanched vegetables for a delicious vegetarian version. Add an additional teaspoon of salt if you replace meat with vegetables. 
3. Purchasing pre-sliced meat from the deli section makes weighing and dicing much easier.