My Favorite Calzone Recipes

MY FAVORITE CALZONE

Steps:

• Place oven rack on bottom rack of the oven. (If you have a baking stone, place that on rack). Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Make Recipe #265466 according to instructions. Cut ball of dough to however many calzones you are making. DO NOT CUT if making one large calzone. You can cut it to a maximum of 4 calzones.
• Roll out balls of dough (one at a time) on a lightly floured surface to desired thickness. Carefully place on a peel that has been lightly dusted with flour (or with a sheet of parchment paper that can slide off onto the stone).
• Keeping a 1/2" rim, place the ingredients as follows; ricotta cheese, mozzarella, ham, and then sausage onto one half of the round dough.
• Brush egg wash over 1 half of the RIM ONLY (around the filling side). Fold dough over to form a half moon shape. Press edges firmly to seal and/or tuck underneath.
• Cut slits (3 for a large, 2 for medium, and 1 for small) in the top to allow steam to escape. Brush tops very lightly with remaining egg wash. Bake 10 to 20 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

EASY CALZONES

Steps:

• Place the frozen rolls (or frozen bread loaves) on a baking sheet to thaw. Cover with a tea towel and let thaw and rise for 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Add the sausage and cook until brown, crumbling the sausage as you stir. Add the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Remove from the skillet and allow to cool on a plate.
• In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, salt, some pepper, parsley and 2 eggs.
• When the sausage is cool, stir it into the cheese mixture and set aside.
• When the rolls are thawed and risen, roll them out on a lightly floured surface until paper thin. Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of the filling onto half of the dough circle. Fold half of the dough over itself, and then press the edges to seal.
• Brush the surface of each calzone with the beaten egg, and then bake until nice and golden brown, 10 to 13 minutes. Serve with warm Marinara Sauce.
• Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a hot pan over medium-high heat and throw in the garlic and chopped onions and give them a stir.
• Now add the wine (or chicken broth), whisking to deglaze the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the liquid reduces by half.
• Add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Toward the end of the cooking process, chop up your fresh parsley and basil and add it to the sauce to taste, stirring to combine.

CALZONE

Steps:

• For the bread:
• Stage 1: Making a Well Pile the flour on to a clean surface and make a large well in the center. Pour half the water into the well, then add your yeast, sugar and salt and stir with a fork.
• Stage 2: Getting It Together Slowly, but confidently, bring in the flour from the inside of the well. (You do not want to break the walls of the well, or the water will go everywhere). Continue to bring the flour into the center until you get a stodgy, porridge-y consistency, then add the remaining water. Continue to mix until it's stodgy again, then you can be more aggressive, bringing in all the flour, making the mix less sticky. Flour your hands and pat and push the dough together with all the remaining flour. (Certain flours need a little more or less water, so feel free to adjust).
• Stage 3: Kneading! This is where you get stuck in. With a bit of elbow grease, simply push, fold, slap, and roll the dough around, over and over, for 4 or 5 minutes until you have a silky and elastic dough.
• Stage 4: First Proof Flour the top of your dough. Put it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to proof in a warm, moist, draught-free place until doubled in size, about half an hour. This proof will improve the flavor and texture of your dough, and it's always exciting to know that the old yeast has kicked into action.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C/gas 4).
• Chop and mix all the ingredients for the filling and season well.
• Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll into balls, using flour for dusting. Then roll into little frisbee shapes just over 1/4-inch (0.5 centimeter) thick. Place a good spoonful of your filling into the middle of each, brush the edges with a little water, then fold the rounds in half, pushing their edges to seal. Some people prefer to use a fork to do this but I just pinch them with my fingers. Dust with flour, do the same with all the others and move to a flour-dusted baking tray. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then score the top of the bread to allow your filling to bubble over when cooking. Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes, until golden and scrumptious-looking, and allow to cool. Always good for picnics or as portable food.

GRILLED CHERRY PIE CALZONE

Steps:

• Add the cherries, brown sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons orange juice to a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cherries have released all of their juices and the mixture is bubbly, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice with the cornstarch and add it to the cherry mixture. Stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Turn the heat off and cool the mixture to room temperature.
• Preheat a well-oiled grill over medium heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll the pizza dough into a circle 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Top one half of the dough with the cherry pie filling, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Fold the empty side of the dough up and over the filling. Pull the bottom edge of the dough up over the top edge, then fold and crimp the edges using your thumb and index finger. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the calzone with vegetable oil.
• Carefully transfer the calzone, oil-side down, to the grill. Close the lid of the grill and cook until the base is set and nice grill marks have formed, 4 to 5 minutes. Brush the exposed side of the calzone with vegetable oil. Use a fish spatula to slide under the calzone and gently flip it over. Close the lid of the grill and cook until the dough is cooked through, another 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the calzone to a serving platter and dust with the confectioners' sugar. Cut into slices and serve immediately.

AIR FRYER CALZONES

Steps:

• Mix flour and Greek yogurt together in a bowl; transfer to a work surface floured with self-rising flour. Knead dough, adding more flour as needed to keep dough from being too sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Preheat an air fryer to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) according to manufacturer's instructions. Spray the bottom of the basket with cooking spray.
• Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured work surface into a flat circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Spread 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce over the bottom half of each dough circle. Top each with 1/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese and a quarter of the pepperoni. Fold dough over filling to form half circles and crimp edges to seal. Coat well with cooking spray.
• Transfer calzones to the air fryer basket (you might need to work in batches). Cook for 4 minutes, then flip the calzone over and cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes more.