So I lied. I was going to get to posting this recipe on Saturday, but that just didn’t happen. Somehow I spent the whole day lounging on the couch, doing laundry, watching Letters to Juliet, going to the grocery store [my first visit to Aldi’s], and baking cookies. What did you do this weekend?
[Anyways, enough about my unproductive Saturday. On to regularly scheduled programming…]
You know how there are some foods that seem really difficult to make well at home? Some of the foods that make my list for difficult to prepare well at home are chicken fingers [or really any coated meat], tofu, tortillas, and many fancy Italian-restaurant favorites. Pizza used to be on that list. It’s not anymore. So did calzones. Now they aren’t. Yay!
There are several local restaurants that serve amazing calzones, and I’ve tried to make them at home before with no success, so I was intimated to try again. But try again I did, and this time, was very pleased with the results. I had a lot of leftover pizza sauce in the freezer and As my husband described them, the dough was perfectly cooked–crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside… exactly as you’d want it to be. I’m excited that now I can satisfy my calzone craving at home. I love saving some dough [ha ha ha, I crack myself up] and controlling the ingredients. It’s a win-win situation!
Calzones
from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger, recommended by Life As Mom
Ingredients:
- 1 1/8 cup water
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 3/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast
- 2/3 cup pizza sauce + more for dipping
- mozzarella cheese
- desired toppings [I used about 1/3 cup sautéed chopped onions and green peppers; Ben used pepperoni.]
- water for basting
Directions:
Add all dough ingredients [water, olive oil, flours, salt, yeast] to the pan of your breadmaker according to the manufacturer’s directions. My breadmaker calls for liquids and salt, then dry ingredients, then yeast, but yours may be different.
Turn on the breadmaker using the “dough” setting.
When dough is prepared, remove from the pan and turn out the dough on a floured work surface or countertop. Divide the dough into desired number of portions–we just made two huge calzones for baking ease, but you could make 4 medium-sized calzones or even 8-12 small, appetizer-sized calzones.
About 30 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 425 degrees and oil and cornflour a baking sheet [or use parchment paper].
Use a rolling pin to roll out dough thinly, then place desired fillings [1/3 cup sauce, cheese, and anything else you dream up] over half of the dough. Be sure to leave a one inch border so it can be closed up easily.
Then fold over the dough side [on right in the above photo] and pinch up the sides with your fingers pie-crust style.
Baste top of calzone with water. Cut slits in the calzone for air ventilation and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Allow to rest for about 10 minutes prior to eating. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.
Notes:
Each calzone is really large if you split the dough in half, fyi. I ate about 1/3 of mine in one sitting, then ate the rest as leftovers.
While I haven’t done this personally, tips for converting breadmaker recipes to manual [aka your own two hands] recipes can be found here and here. Good luck! 🙂
What are some foods that you’ve always thought would be difficult to make at home? Have you ever tried to create them at home?
The Pajama Chef 
This just confirms my suspicion that I need a bread maker. Looks great!
LikeLike
I love having a bread maker! I found a great deal on one from Craigslist.
LikeLike
It sounds simple and easy! I definitely have to try this.
I use think ribs are so difficult to make but once we tried it was really worth making 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve never made ribs… sounds good!
LikeLike
Yum. I haven’t had a good calzone (or ANY calzone, actually) in years! And I should probably put an end to that soon by making a calzone. They’re just so great . . .
I’m glad you had a “do-nothing” Saturday–we need those days once in a while to keep us going the rest of the time. =)
LikeLike
It was a fun day 🙂
LikeLike
My mom used to make calzones when we were kids all the time. She called them “pizza pockets.”
LikeLike
That’s a fun name!
LikeLike
I really love a good calzone but haven’t had one in FOREVER! I need to try this filling. So good.
LikeLike
it’s really simple but really tasty!
LikeLike
I love homemade calzones! So glad you had fun making them. What did you think of Aldi? We absolutely love it. We have a Saturday morning “grocery circuit” (I know, completely dorky). We go to Aldi first, and then the larger chain grocery store down the street to pick up everything Aldi didn’t have.
LikeLike
i had mixed feelings about aldi… i’ll have to email you, maybe you can give me some tips 🙂
LikeLike
Yum! I love calzone and making your own definitely saves money and is generally much healthier. Yay for that! This looks wonderful 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve only just succeeded in de-mystifying pizza dough and bread, so that’s been my big command and conquer as of late, Calzones will definitely have to go on my list though because they are most definitely a perfect fall/winter food.
As for a delicious restaurant dish I’ve needed to reincarnate, there’s a contemporary seafood-place downtown where they serve a dip that is basically a mound of guacamole surrounded by cubes of sashimi tuna tossed in seasoned salt, served with tortilla chips. It’s SO easy to do at home and so, incredibly delish!
LikeLike
oh yum, that sounds incredible!
LikeLike
Dude those look awesome!!! I love love love calzones. I used to get them a lot as a kid and I look back fondly… I need to get my hands on one again! For me, gnocchi was one of those things I never thought to try to make but finally did here. It turned out okay… but way too much work 🙂
LikeLike
I never had a calzone til HS!
LikeLike
I love homemade calzones! Your’s look delicious.
I thought making crackers at home would be hard… but it turns out they are so easy and taste amazing.
LikeLike
i’ll have to try it sometime 🙂
LikeLike