They say there are five love languages – words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts & physical touch. But I will argue for a sixth – pizza…or any derivation thereof!! I do love pizza. But I’ll argue that calzones are even better. They’re portable, less messy & frankly you can’t go wrong with dough filled with delish goodies!! Calzones (which means “trouser” in Italian) originated in 1700’s Naples as a meal for working folks, who didn’t have time for a sit-down meal with knife & fork, to eat while walking. What began as simply a pizza folded in half has morphed into a fully enclosed meal complete with dipping sauce. And thanks to a 1996 episode of Seinfeld (click here to watch the calzone clip), American restaurants got on board & began offering calzones on their menus! They do take a bit of work to make. But, trust me, the results are worth it. Enjoy these lovely Ricotta Calzones!
Makes Six 9×4″ Calzones
Ingredients
For Dough:
- 4 c bread flour, plus additional for dusting work surface
- 2-1/4 t (1 envelope) instant yeast OR 2-3/4 t regular yeast
- 1-1/2 t salt
- 2 T olive oil
- 1-1/2 c + 1 T water, slightly warmer than body temp
For Filling:
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/4 t red pepper flakes
- 15 oz (1 container) ricotta
- 8 oz mozzarella, shredded
- 1-1/2 oz Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 lg egg yolk
- 1 T oregano, chopped
- salt & pepper
For Tomato Sauce:
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 3 T olive oil
- 2 T basil, coarsely chopped
- Pinch sugar
- 1-1/2 t salt
To Make Dough:
Using Regular Yeast…In a small bowl, proof yeast by sprinkling it on top of 1 T of warm water. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on top of yeast & let sit until foamy, about 05 min. Mix flour & salt in bowl of stand mixer. Attach dough hook. With mixer running at med-low speed, add olive oil & foamy yeast, then gradually add remaining 1-1/2 c of water. Continue with next step.
Using Instant Yeast…Mix flour, salt & yeast in bowl of stand mixer. Attach dough hook. With mixer running at med-low speed, add olive oil, then gradually add remaining 1-1/2 c of water. Continue with next step.
Next Step…Continue to mix until mixture comes together & smooth, elastic dough forms, about 10 min. Lightly oil a large bowl, form dough into ball & transfer it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap & let rise in warm spot until doubled in size, about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs.
To Make Filling:
While dough rises, stir together garlic, olive oil & red pepper flakes in 8″ skillet over med heat until garlic is fragrant & sizzling, about 1-1/2 to 2 min. Transfer to small bowl & cool until warm, stirring occasionally, about 10 min.
In med bowl, stir together cheeses, egg yolk, oregano, salt, black pepper & cooled garlic-pepper oil until combined. Cover & refrigerate until needed.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, set pizza stone on oven rack & heat oven to 500 deg. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil parchment. Turn risen dough out onto unfloured work surface. Divide dough in half, then cut each half into thirds. Gently reshape each piece of dough into ball. Transfer to baking sheet & cover with clean towel. Let dough rest at least 15 min, but no more than 30 min.
To Make Tomato Sauce:
Heat oil & garlic in 10″ sauté pan over med heat until fragrant, but not brown, about 2 min. Stir in tomatoes & simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 min. Stir in basil, sugar & salt & cook, stirring constantly, for 1 min.
To Assemble:
Cut eight 9″ squares of parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time & keeping other pieces covered, with fingertips, press dough ball into 5″ circle. With floured rolling pin, roll outward from center in all directions until dough forms 9″ circle. If dough sticks, dust with flour.
Set round onto parchment square & cover with another parchment square. Roll out another dough ball, set dough round on top of first & cover with parchment square. Repeat to form stack of 3 rounds, covering top round with parchment square. Form second stack of 3 with remaining dough balls & parchment squares.
Remove top parchment square from first stack of dough rounds & place rounds with parchment beneath on work surface. If dough rounds have shrunk, gently & evenly roll out again to 9″ rounds. Place scant 1/2 c cheese filling in center of bottom half of dough round. Using small spatula, spread/press filling in even layer across bottom half of dough round, leaving 1″ border uncovered.
Fold top half of dough over cheese-covered bottom half, leaving 1/2″ border of bottom layer uncovered. With fingertips, lightly press around silhouette of cheese filling & out to edge to lightly seal dough. Beginning at one end of seam, place index finger diagonally across edge & gently pull bottom layer of dough over tip of index finger. Press into dough to seal. Repeat until calzone is fully sealed. With very sharp paring knife or razor blade, cut 5 slits, about 1/2″ long, diagonally across top of calzone, making sure to cut through only top layer of dough & not completely through calzone. With pastry brush, brush tops & sides of calzones with olive oil & lightly sprinkle with salt.
Trim excess parchment paper. Slide calzones with parchment onto hot pizza stone, evenly spacing them apart. Bake until golden brown, about 11 min then remove with parchment to wire rack. Remove parchment & let cool 5 min. While first batch bakes, form second batch & bake after removing first batch. Serve with generous portion of tomato sauce placed on top of calzone. Enjoy!!
Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.