Calzones

 

Right, I got carried away and meant to come back to share this recipe for Calzones.  But!  Here!  Here it is, our favorite recipe for Calzones.  And once you try it, you will see exactly why that is. 

Boy I'll tell ya, writing a baking blog is fun, all the baking?!, but when you've sat down to write a little and your tummy is growling, that is absolutely the wrong time to be writing about Calzones.  Or baking.  Or food.

Because these are so freakin' good.  And now I need these Calzones stat, omg.  Be right back, gotta rearrange the meal planning calendar....

Ok.  Got it.  All right.  So good, I'm telling you.

In my One-Hour Calzone Dough post, I blathered on about my first calzone experience ever so I won't bore you with a retelling of that, don't worry.  Heh, I probably should have saved that for this post though, doh.

Oh, haha, doh, almost a pun.

So first, yes, you need that One-Hour Calzone Dough recipe for this.  You could use store-bought or another dough recipe, but I have not tried the former and the latter can be hit or miss. 

As I pointed out in that post, gah I am resharing the darn post sorry, not all doughs work for all types of pizzas, I'm finding.

Since the One-Hour Calzone Dough takes merely an hour and change to assemble and rise, mostly hands-off, it's worth saving yourself the hassle of a grocery run.  Plus, you know this dough works for this Calzone recipe.  Win win.

If you're not down with the added time and effort, no worries, I get it.  Store-bought should be fine.  Someday though, please, try the homemade stuff as there's a world of difference.

So key to this recipe is the ricotta.  As I've mentioned previously, you can make your own for this and you absolutely should.  Your mind will be blown at how good this ricotta is, and blown further when you eat it in these here Calzones.

The luxuriant creaminess of it....mmm!  Just mmm.

Granted, ok, this is probably not the healthiest meal out there but these Calzones are tiptop delicious, ethereal, and if it's once in a while...moderation is key, eh?

Anyway.

We love these Calzones.

Things tend to cool off while photographing so know it's creamy cheesy delicious.

Having made them quite a few times (eh so much for moderation), I've picked up a trick or two to make the assembly process easier.  Or, have for myself anyway, but maybe you have some even better tricks.

What helps me most is rolling* the dough circles out, setting one half of the dough onto the baking sheet* and letting the other half hang off.  This way, once the Calzones are filled, folded, and sealed, there's no having to move it.

Set the rounds down and flip 'em open so dough hangs off.

Trust me, once these puppies have been filled, it's near impossible to move them; I figure it's best to avoid doing so.

Right so get the dough made and the ricotta made and sauce stirred and when you're ready to go, divide the dough into four pieces.  Four makes for some ample sized Calzones, just fyi.

Dust up your work surface with some flour and roll each ball out to about eight or ten inches in diameter-ish or a little less than a quarter inch thick.  Thin enough but not too thin that the dough rips at the folding part.

Set half of each circle on a large, lightly greased baking sheet.

Now it's time to pile up the toppings.  Start by spreading the sauce around on the dough half that's sitting on the sheet, leaving an empty edge of about a half inch or so.  I do find the sauce tends to weep so it helps to kind of work quickly here.

If the sauce weeps onto your empty edge, it's ok, not the end of the world, but it is an invitation for leaks while baking, and it is harder to seal up the edge.

Next up...We, of course again, are pepperoni lovers so that's what we do.  You're welcome to do veggies or sausage or whatever you like. 

Too, the measurements in the listed recipe have some wiggle room, so add as desired.  Maybe don't overload them but do what works for you.  I surely drop on a wee bit more pepperoni than what's called for.

Time for the glorious ricotta.  Divide that up into fourths and dollop little blobs onto your toppings, all around.

Lastly, the shredded mozz.  Sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle, skootch any errant bits off  your empty edge.

Dip your finger into a little dish of water and spread the water along your empty edge.  This is your "glue" to help keep the Calzones sealed and leakproof.

As you can see, I had some sauce weepage which made for a bit of a mess but when they're this delicious, no one will care.

Fold the empty half up over the topping half.  I find if you grab it with both hands and give it a wee stretch, that helps.

Squish the edges together or squish and pinch or squish and roll which is what I do, or squish with fork tines but any way you choose to seal, make sure you've got a good seal.  It truly is a drag to pop open the oven and see everything has oozed out.

All right.  Snip the tops with a pair of kitchen scissors* or slash with a very sharp knife* a couple two 'tree times for steam to escape then whisk up the egg with the water.  Brush* the tops with the egg wash and it is now time to bake up some awesomeness.

While those are doing their thing, melt the butter and stir in the garlic powder.  After twenty minutes, take the Calzones out and brush the tops with this.

Please do not skip this seemingly unimportant step.

Sprinkle the tops with the grated Parm, pop back into the oven for five or so minutes more, and whoooie.  They are ready.

Go for a deep golden brown and you'll be rewarded with a niiice crispy top.  Mmmm....oh man.

I'd have gone a little longer but Finn was very upset, demanding his dinner right that minute.

You might want to let them cool for a moment before serving as they are scorching freaking hot.

But dig in.  Enjoy.  Oh man.  Now I am definitely famished.

Calzones!  Yum!  Happy dinner baking!

*The rolling pins, baking sheets, kitchen scissors, sharp knives, and pastry brushes are Amazon affiliate links.  Happy baking, thanks!  Please see the "info" tab for more, well, info.