By now you've probably noticed that we eat a lot of pizza on Saturday nights. Sometimes I get tired of pizza -- unlike my children, it's not my favorite dish. I try to mix it up a little, every once in a while and serve burgers or stromboli or calzones. They are all easy Saturday night dishes. This past weekend I mixed it up with Calzones. Basically all the ingredients of a pizza are involved and you're just changing the method for baking them. We attended Saturday evening Mass, so I made my dough and sauce ahead of time, and assembled them when we returned.
The dough is almost my pizza dough. I add a little more oil so you get a crispy exterior on the calzone. This is really not so much a recipe as a method because you can fill them with whatever you want. Some of my kids like just pepperoni and cheese and some like everything, so these are made to order. You can make meat calzones, veggie calzones, or a mix. Mine (pictured) had sausage, mushrooms and cheese. If you're using sausage (I use Bob Evans Italian or spicy Italian), brown it and cool slightly before filling the calzone. I sauté mushrooms, cool, then squeeze out the moisture on paper towels. Green or red peppers, onions, hot pickled peppers can all be used raw.
Calzones
makes 8
Dough
2 c. warm water
2 T. sugar
2 packets yeast (or 4 t.)
1/4 c. olive oil
5 to 6 cups flour
2 t. salt
Filling
1/3 cup cheese for each calzone (total about 3 cups for 8 calzones)
meat or veggies -- about 1/2 cup all together for each
Sauce for dipping
1 large can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/8 t. pepper
For dough:
Place water in a bowl and add sugar.
Sprinkle yeast over the surface and allow to sit for 10 minutes (until it foams). Add the oil, 3 cups of flour and salt, and mix until smooth.
Knead with dough hook for 3-5 minutes (or 7 minutes by hand)
adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.
Dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands or the side of the bowl. The amount of flour may need to be adjusted if the weather is very dry or very humid. Just add flour slowly by the tablespoon and allow to incorporate before adding more. Place dough in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes to an hour, until doubled.
While the dough is rising, start sauce. Heat a medium pan over med-high heat; pour in olive oil; turn down to low. Add garlic and stir until it is fragrant and hot, but not cooked. Add tomato puree, sugar, salt, and spices. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to taste, adding more sugar if desired, or salt and pepper.
When dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
To assemble calzones, punch down risen dough. Cut into eight equal size pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough piece to about an 8 to 10-inch circle.
On one half, place meat and/or veggies and cheese. Flip other side of dough over the meat and cheese and pull the bottom dough up over the top and crimp to seal. It doesn't have to be pretty, just sealed. You can mash the edge with a fork if that's easier. Place calzone on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with sauce to dip.
.
makes 8
Dough
2 c. warm water
2 T. sugar
2 packets yeast (or 4 t.)
1/4 c. olive oil
5 to 6 cups flour
2 t. salt
Filling
1/3 cup cheese for each calzone (total about 3 cups for 8 calzones)
meat or veggies -- about 1/2 cup all together for each
Sauce for dipping
1 large can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/8 t. pepper
For dough:
Place water in a bowl and add sugar.
Sprinkle yeast over the surface and allow to sit for 10 minutes (until it foams). Add the oil, 3 cups of flour and salt, and mix until smooth.
Knead with dough hook for 3-5 minutes (or 7 minutes by hand)
adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.
Dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands or the side of the bowl. The amount of flour may need to be adjusted if the weather is very dry or very humid. Just add flour slowly by the tablespoon and allow to incorporate before adding more. Place dough in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes to an hour, until doubled.
While the dough is rising, start sauce. Heat a medium pan over med-high heat; pour in olive oil; turn down to low. Add garlic and stir until it is fragrant and hot, but not cooked. Add tomato puree, sugar, salt, and spices. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to taste, adding more sugar if desired, or salt and pepper.
When dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
To assemble calzones, punch down risen dough. Cut into eight equal size pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough piece to about an 8 to 10-inch circle.
On one half, place meat and/or veggies and cheese. Flip other side of dough over the meat and cheese and pull the bottom dough up over the top and crimp to seal. It doesn't have to be pretty, just sealed. You can mash the edge with a fork if that's easier. Place calzone on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with sauce to dip.
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3 comments:
My 8 year old son and I are making your pizza tomorrow night. I will let you know how it turns out! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing all your recipes. Your blog is one of my favorite stops.
At what temperature do you bake your calzones?
Liz
Whoops! So sorry, Liz. I bake at 450 degrees -- I fixed the recipe. You can't know how many times I read that over, with all its pieces and parts, and still missed something major! Duh!
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