Herbed Pizza / Calzone Crust

I love Pizza.  It is my kryptonite, my weakness.  Try as I might to avoid it, I always crave it.  I like all kinds - from traditional and simple (Martguerita) to experimental (Fig, Arugula, Prosciutto).  If I can have fantastic ingredients baked onto a scrumptious crust, then I'm happy.

Today I turned my attention to the crust.  Crust is the foundation for any good pizza.  Without a good crust, it's hard to be satisfied with any form of pizza.  In this recipe I incorporated a small amount of dried oregano into the mixture.  Adding flavorings to the dough gave me tons of ideas for other combinations - but I don't think it's appropriate for the crust to dominate a pizza.  It should be a subtle flavor everything else rests on.  Oregano offers the perfect flavor profile to compliment traditional pizza interpretations.

Oregano Crusted Calzone stuffed with Pepperoni, Pepperoncini, Mushrooms, Onions, and Smoked Mozzarella

Ingredients:
~Sponge
1/4 C warm water
1/2 t. sugar 
1 envelope active dry yeast (1/4 oz)
2 T. olive oil
~Dry Mix
3 Cups bread flour (sifted)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
~Knead
3/4 Cup warm water
additional flour (for kneading surface)
~Fermentation
1 T. olive oil

Yield:
Two or Three 12" pizza crusts - depending of thickness. (Three Calzones).

Method:

1. (Sponge) In a small bowl: Add warm water, sugar, dry yeast, and oil.  Stir gently until yeast and sugar dissolve.  Set in a warm place for 10 min. or until foamy.
2. (Dry Mix) In a large mixing bowl: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add dried oregano and combine to distribute evenly.  Make a well in the center and then add Sponge mixture to center of well.  Running fingers around the edges of the dry mixture, pushing dry mixture into wet mixture.  Incorporate until dry ingredients are is moistened.  If your fingers are sticky, continue to incorporate and distribute evenly the wet / dry combination.  Mixture should by chunky and still fairly dry - but evenly distributed.
3. (Knead) Form another well in the mixture and then add 3/4 C warm water.  Once again, with your "wet" wet hand, stir around and combine ingredients until a loose dough is formed.  Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 6-8 min until dough is smooth, monolithic, and elastic.
4. (Ferment)  In a separate bowl, smear evenly with 1 T olive oil.  Add dough ball, and then turn over to evenly coat with oil.  Cover bowl with a clean, dry cloth and place in a warm part of the kitchen free from drafts.  Let mixture ferment and raise until approximately double (1.5 - 2 hours)
5. (Pre-form & Dock)  Divide dough into 2 or 3 even portions and roll into balls.  Dough be frozen at this point.  If using immediately let portions rest another 10-15 min.
6. (Final form and bake):  Roll our or toss to desired portions and top with ingredients.  Bake at 475F for about 10 min. or until evenly golden brown.   An egg-wash of the crust would enhance baking appearance - but I feel it toughens the softness of this crust.  The picture was done without egg-wash.