I have been craving cozy, filling dinners. And as I said in my last post, I've been making an effort to get back into planning ahead for what I want to make throughout the week. I have a pizza dough recipe that is fool-proof every time, and that led me to thinking about calzones!
So a few quick thoughts: I don't want to demonize bread and gluten. However, I don't often have bread due to how it hurts my digestion. I haven't had a test when it comes to gluten, but I have noticed a correlation with processed breads and pastries. It could be due to gluten, but it could also be due to how highly processed those products are when you buy them in common grocery stores. Overall, I would say I currently eat paleo-based food, but I don't want to label myself as a paleo eater because that doesn't always happen. My main priority is paying attention to how my body and skin reacts to certain foods. With that being said, if I am able to make a bread/dough product from scratch (in this case, the calzone) then I'd rather do that and know exactly what ingredients are in it.
Just remember what I constantly say (and will continue to say): do what works for YOU. Eat what helps YOU.
So this dough recipe only has six ingredients and is fairly simple to execute. There are a few things I would change in terms of temperature and time in the oven, but I'll get to that below. You'll see notes on oven information.
Dough Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
7 oz. warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil (plus more for brushing)
Directions
Sift together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
Add the water and olive oil and mix it into a dough. I used my mixer with the dough attachment, but you can just use a spatula and fold it all together.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for three minutes.
Rub the inside of a bowl with olive oil, and put your dough ball in it.
Cover the bowl with towels and let rise for 1-2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, prepare your fillings. We made two calzones; mine had marinara sauce, ground sausage, red onion, and bell pepper. Anthony's went down the breakfast route with ground sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.*
Punch down your now-fluffy dough. Split the dough into two pieces (you could even split it into four to make smaller calzones).
Roll out the dough very thin. Use the "windowpane" tactic: you want it so thin that you can hold it up and almost see through it, obviously without creating any holes.*
Layer your filling choices on half of the dough, leaving a little room around the edges.
If you want to make the dough for the next day (planning ahead!) then let it rest in the refrigerator overnight; keeping it chilled will slow down the rising/yeast.
Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling and pinch/fold the edges closed.
Put your calzones on a parchment-lined baking tray and brush the tops with olive oil.*
Cut three slits on the top of each to allow air to escape while baking.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until they are crispy and golden.*
*Notes
When I made mine, I had my oven at 400 degrees F and let them bake for about 30 minutes. I've made them at 475 degrees for 12 minutes (as suggested above) and I think this resulted in a better golden color on the crusts. However, if your oven doesn't go that high, you can definitely execute them at a lower temp with a longer bake time.
As you'll see in the pictures, mine turned out fairly thick and this is after rolling the dough out very thin. I could have gone thinner to avoid the thick pinched edges; trust me, this dough will bake and rise a lot!
I brushed mine with olive oil for the taste and texture of the crust, but you can also use an egg wash.
Thank you so much for supporting my blog! I hope you're eating and making yummy, cozy meals and staying warm. Be safe out there, and happy holidays!
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