I’ve been making homemade pizzas for a while now and, as Mr. King says, the ‘thrill is gone’. However, my family loves pizza and would not appreciate missing a favorite meal because of my need for a challenge! Calzones were the answer.
The following recipe, like all of my bread recipes, comes from King Arthur's Flour website, (if you haven’t visited I highly recommend it. After trying their Classic Sandwich bread recipe, store bought loaf bread doesn’t darken my door.
Calzone
Ingredients
- 2 cups of lukewarm water
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon or packet of yeast
- 6 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
- 1 Tablespoon salt
Preparation
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in water; let proof about 5 minutes or until bubbly.
Stir 1 cup of flour into the yeast mixture.
Add salt and stir or start mixer (a KitchenAid is indispensible here); gradually add 4 ½ cups of flour working up to the full amount as the dough starts to form a ball.
Only add enough to make the dough form, depending on humidity you might not need it all.
Once dough forms a ball, (pulls away from the sides of bowl & sticks together), turn the mixer up one speed and knead dough for about 6-10 minutes.
Dough should be smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky.
Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning dough so it is coated with the oil.
Cover with a towel or loose plastic wrap and place in draft free area (I preheat oven to 170 then turn off and place dough inside), and let rise until double in bulk.
*Dough is fully raised: Push a finger into the dough, lightly dimpling it. If the indention doesn’t fill back out it is ready.
Spray counter top with non-stick spray. Squeeze air out of bread (called punching but it is better to gently squeeze the air out rather than punching it) and split into two equal pieces.
Roll dough into rectangles about 10x14.
Top with selected fillings and roll, jelly roll style.
Sprinkle jelly roll pan with cornmeal and place dough on it; loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise again for about 45 minutes.
Slash tops, bake for 15 minutes at 450.
Turn heat down to 400 and bake another 15 minutes or until tops is golden brown.
Allow calzone to ‘rest’ for 10 minutes and then slice and enjoy!
Filling ideas:
Sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, mushrooms with marinara sauce. (I sautéed the vegetables, caramelizing the onions, and fried the pepperoni to make it crispier and get rid of some of the grease). Provolone and mozzarella cheese make this a winning combo!
Provolone, Mozzarella, Parmesan with marinara or Alfredo sauce.
Cooked chicken, mushrooms, Asiago, Mozzarella, and Alfredo sauce. Spinach would be great here too!
Mexican: Taco seasoned, cooked ground beef, onions, peppers, Colby Jack or Pepper jack. Sauce could be enchilada sauce or creamy refried beans!
Use your imagination but be sure to post on When Salad Met Bacon's Facebook page, so we can all try it!
Rachel Lynne
Suspense … Southern Style!
Ring of Lies available at The Wild Rose Press
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