Calzones

What:

Calzones

Recipe by: Dawn E

 

Why:

Because who doesn’t like a stuffed pizza! But really, this is a very good recipe I got from my mom a few years back. I’ve only altered the recipe slightly to give it a little more flavor, though I’m still working on it.

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients

• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 3/4-3 1/4 cups flour

Filling Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 beaten egg
• Desired toppings: pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, whatever you like! Just make sure you have enough for six calzones.

 

I’m going add here that for the crust directions, if you have a stand mixer, use that, it makes the process significantly easier! So for these directions in parentheses I’ll put the speed that I used when I made the crust. Otherwise using a spatula will work just fine.

 

Crust Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water

Stir in sugar, oil, salt, and 1 cup flour (Start on mixer speed low, then move speed up to 2 or so)

Beat until smooth

Mix in enough remaining flour, until dough is easy to handle (If you have a kitchenaid mixer, level 2 to 4)

Remove dough on lightly floured surface

Knead dough until smooth and elastic

Place dough in grease bowl, spray top of dough with cooking spray to keep moist

Cover dough and let rise until doubled

Once doubled, punch down dough (Punching the dough removes air pockets and gets it ready to be rolled out)

Remove dough and divide into 6 equal parts (I formed a long, uniform log, to get the most equal parts that I could)

Roll into 7″ circles on lightly floured surface (When rolling, place the rolling pin in the center of the dough portion and gently roll out. Then roll the other side. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the process until you have your circles)

 

Filling Directions

Set oven to 375 degrees

Mix together tomato sauce, basil, oregano, and garlic

Spread mixture over half of each dough circle

Top with the toppings of your choice

Carefully fold dough over toppings and pinch edges to seal (Pinch firmly as they tend to split open if not completely sealed)

Place on greased baking sheet (I actually didn’t do this and my pan isn’t non-stick and they came off just fine, but if you really want to do this, go for it)

Let rest for 15 minutes

Brush each Calzone with egg

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and, if you have it, Italian seasoning (This is an optional thing to do. I like it for the little extra flavor)

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown

 

My Thoughts/Variations:

To start off, the only variation that I added was the final step of sprinkling the Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning on top of the Calzone. I also cooked the sauce before spreading over the crust. I think this marries the flavors of the sauce and makes it that much better, of course, this is optional as the sauce will cook while baking. I really like this recipe as it feels good to know where all of your ingredients came from and nothing is pre-made, sitting in a freezer or wherever. It does take some time, as the dough has to sit and rise and rest, but it is well worth the time and effort! The dough is pretty easy and a great way to start learning the basics of bread making.

 

Review:

Though this takes a little time, it’s well worth it. Instead of spending too much at the local pizza place, give this one a try, you may find you won’t order pizza as often :).