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Calzones are a savory Italian turnover filled with whatever you want. I have made so many Calzones over the years. I made them a lot as an easy to grab meal from the freezer for my husband, so that he was fed and watered while I was away on work trips. Calzones are great for a household of picky eaters because you can customize the fillings to each individual's preferences. A pro tip is to line your baking sheet with parchment paper and write whoever's name next to their calzone so you can remember which one has no onions, no mushrooms and no joy in it.
Calzone Stuffing Combo Ideas:
- Pepperoni, Olive, Onion and Mushroom
- Feta, Spinach, Onion and Chicken
- Ham, Onion, Pineapple
- Chicken, BBQ Sauce, Onions
- Italian Cured Meats, Mushrooms, Onions, Garlic, Peppers (Our Favourite)
- Your Favourite Pizza Toppings
Something I have learned over the years is to keep the stuffing ingredients dry. You want to steer clear of anything with too high of a moisture content (such as fresh tomatoes) if you want to include a wetter type of ingredient (canned olives, pineapple etc) be sure to drain off as much liquid from it as possible. The Key to good Calzones is rolling the dough pretty thin. and layering the ingredients. You don't want the filling too saucy as it will be difficult to seal and explode.
What Dough Should I use to Make Calzones?
I use my Herb and Garlic Pizza Dough recipe for making Calzones. This recipe makes 2 12" Pizza Crusts. This same recipe makes 8 Calzones. When making this for a crowd I find that is is best to consider how many pieces of pizza the individual would consume and then use that amount of dough to make their calzone. A standard 12" pizza has 8 pieces. My kiddos would normally eat 1 piece of pizza so I make their calzone half the size of a normal one.
Pro Tips for Pro Level Calzones
- Similar to Pizza, dust your work surface with semolina flour or corn meal. This prevents that dry raw flour taste that most homemade pizza is known for! I usually use Cornmeal.
- Make sure you have good yeast. If yeast has been opened it should be stored in the fridge and is good for 6 months after being opened. To make sure you still have good yeast, let it sit in the water before adding the other ingredients. If it foams up then it is active and you can go ahead with the recipe.
- Cut a couple vents in the top of the calzones before they head into the oven
- Brush them with eggs wash (an egg beaten with a tad bit of water added) This helps them brown up
- Slice your Cheese instead of grating it. This helps in the sealing part, nothing worse than all that cheese falling out as your try to seal your pocket of happiness.
- Don't use too much sauce! A tablespoon or two will do.
- For sealing, I always pinch to two sides together then pinch, roll and tuck. If this method is not working out well for you, use a fork to seal the Calzones.
- You'll know its done baking when its golden brown.
📖Recipe
Calzones
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 ¼ Instant Yeast 1 Packet
- 1⅓ Cups Water 40°C-50°C
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil or Canola
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Dried Parsley
- 1 teaspoon Table Salt
- 3½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Semolina or Cornmeal for dusting
- 1 Egg For Egg Wash before they go into the oven
Filling
- Any Filling Combo Works Here is what I use
- 16 tablespoon Pizza Sauce such as primo
- 175 Grams Salami di Primavera Genoa Salami, Parma Salami, Salami with Prosciutto and Calabrese Salami
- 1 Red Bell Pepper Diced
- 1 medium Onion Diced
- 4 cloves Garlic Minced or Finley Diced
- 500 grams Mozzarella Sliced
Instructions
Dough
- In a mixing bowl add warm water, yeast and sugar. Stir to combine. let sit for 5 minutes until yeasted foamy and ready to party.
- add oil, seasonings and salt to the yeasted water along with the flour. Mix until a ball is formed and is no longer sticky. if all the flour is added and it is still sticky, add more flour.
- Grease the bowl you mixed the ingredients in and put the dough ball back in it. Cover and let rise until doubled in size about 45mins-1 hour.
Filling
- While the dough rises. Prepare the filling! I like to mix the veggie portion of my toppings so its easy to assemble and evenly distributed and it also makes for a more pleasant eating experience. I dice up the mushrooms onions pepper and garlic and stir to combine them in a bowl.Slice the cheese into 16 even sized pieces
Assemble
- Divide the dough into 8 even sized pieces.
- Working one at a time with the others under a clean kitchen towel to keep from drying out.
- Roll out the dough, I aim for about 8-10" disc
- Layer toppings on one side of the disc, being sure to leave at least an inch from the edge. Sauce - Meat - Veggies - Mozza
- Fold over and Crimp the edges with a fork sealing the calzone. You can also pinch the edges or pinch and twist. Do whatever works!
- Cut 3 vents into the top of each Calzone
- Brush Tops with an Egg Wash
- Bake in a preheated 425°F Oven for 20Mins or until golden brown and Crispy
