Excited to make this easy homemade calzone recipe with pizza dough that anybody can easily prepare. It's a mini calzone pizza stuffed with pizza sauce, salami/pepperoni and lots of mozzarella cheese baked in oven to give it a signature brown color. These handheld pizza pockets are so easy to eat and best to serve with dinner as appetizer or simply serve with evening tea.
Looking for bread recipes for dinner? Check out my Garlic Knots, No Knead Dinner Rolls, Sweet Bread, and Pizza Pockets. You will surely love these recipes to add value to your dinner table.
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What is Calzone?
Calzone is the folded mini pizza that comes from Italian cuisine prepared with leavened dough. Pizza dough can be used to make flatbread, filled with a variety of stuffing like salami, veggies, and lots of cheese. Mostly mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta cheese used. Pizza and Calzone both are from Italy so stuffing and baking are much more similar. Fold the pizza bread with stuffing give it a good twist from the edges and bake it in the oven to get nice golden brown color. It's soft, chewy and so light to eat.
Many people also curious to know, why is it called 'Calzone'?
Well in the Italian language, it refers to, trouser or leg part of the trouser. It's a long crescent folded baked pizza that is portable and easy to have.
Difference Between Calzone and Stromboli?
More or less both are the same only the folding technique is different. Both made with pizza dough. Calzone shaped like a crescent while the stromboli folded in a long cylindrical roll shape and after baking it's been cut into slices. Stromboli is the Italian-American creation while the calzone is purely Italian.
In the same way, the fried version of calzone called Panzerotti.
In America, calzone pizza dough contains yeast, flour, salt, and olive oil and then knead to get a rise. Rolled it on board to make a circular disk and then stuffed it with salami, veggies, and cheese. Fold it in a crescent shape (like a half-moon) and twist from the edges. Give it a brushing of egg wash from outside or simply with olive oil. Bake it! After baking many people serve it by marinara topping or other sauces that pair up well with the calzone.
Why You Should Try This Recipe?
I love this recipe as it's easy to make with pizza dough. You just need to place the ingredient in a flat dough to bake it. My reasons to make this recipe, it's easy to make, quickly prepare, easy to eat, best for lunch or dinner, good for lunch boxes, easy to store and reheat. You can try it with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For me, it's best as it's a family-friendly recipe! my whole family just loves it.
How to Make a Calzone
The homemade calzone recipe is so easy and quick. First, I will prepare homemade pizza dough and then roll the dough to make a circular disk to add stuffing. Folding is the important part. It needs to fold like a half-moon or crescent. Keep the filling in middle and fold it. Give it a good twist to seal the edges. Make an air vent with a knife and brush oil or egg wash at the top. Preheat the oven before 10 minutes and bake it for 15 minutes at 220°C Or 428°F. It will turn to nice golden brown color.
Calzone is soft and chewy from the inside. It will give the taste like pizza or baked sandwiches. Don't bake it for long otherwise, it will be hard and dark in color. As the light golden brown color comes up, take it out and serve with your preferred sauce.
Easy Tips
Here are some of my best practices to prepare the perfect homemade calzone that might help you in your kitchen.
- The dough is important! I used homemade pizza dough. The store-bought pizza dough can be used. Make sure the dough is perfect! it should be properly kneaded, and perfectly fermented.
- If you are using dough from the refrigerator then give it time to bring at room temperature for the best baking result.
- You can manage the calzone crust thickness by rolling the dough. If you want thick crust then make a thick disc. In the same way, for a thin crust, you can make a thin disk.
- Don't overfill the toppings otherwise, it can break or stuffing come out during baking.
- Make sure to give it a nice seal from the edges.
- Manage the cheese topping wisely in the fold. During baking, if you are using ricotta then it may release water that needs to properly cook. Mozzarella is good to have as it properly cooked while baking.
- Brush the calzone with egg wash or simply with olive oil.
- Properly manage the baking temperature. Bake at 220°C Or 428°F. 15 minutes are enough to bake.
Store And Reheat Leftover
Yes, you can store the baked calzone in the refrigerator packed in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Try to consume it as soon as possible as storing it for a longer period might activate bacteria in cheese. If you want to store it for a long time then it's better to store in the freezer without baking. In this way, it will last for 12 to 15 days.
To reheat the calzone, microwave it for 2 minutes and then take it to the preheated oven for 5 minutes. It will ready like a fresh one.
If you are taking out non-baked from the freezer then bring it to room temperature and bake it in preheated oven.
Serving Idea
As it's easy to eat recipe so you can simply serve with your preferred sauce. Mostly people topped with Marinara sauce along with it. Also make a mixture of garlic, olive oil, and some parsley and serve with it.
If you are serving lunch or dinner then the best option to place some oven-baked fries, and Roasted Carrots, or other roasted veggies. Coleslaw also goes well. If you are in love with mushrooms then pair up with garlic mushrooms or pasta. Kids will love it with honey garlic sauce.
Video
It's easy to make a homemade calzone recipe in your kitchen. You just need to prepare homemade pizza dough or take it ready-made and follow the recipe video. In this recipe video, I shared different options to add in the stuffing that will help you to play with your ingredients and make the calzone of your taste. Salami and mozzarella cheese are the main stuffing ingredients but you can add whatever you have in your kitchen. Let's watch this easy homemade calzone video recipe to follow quick steps.
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Easy Homemade Calzone Recipe With Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- Pizza Dough Ingredients:
- Water - 100 ml
- Instant yeast - 11gms
- Sugar - 1 Tbsp
- Salt - 1 Tsp
- All-purpose flour - 2.5 Cups
- Oil - ½ Cup
- Stuffing:
- Pizza sauce
- Pepperoni / Salami
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Chopped Onion
- Bell pepper
- Olive Oil for brushing
Instructions
- Preparation of Pizza Dough:
- In a deep bowl, add water, sugar and yeast.
- Mix well and and cover for 10 minutes to rise.
- After 10 minutes, add salt, all purpose flour and oil.
- Mix well and make a soft dough.
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes and keep it in bowl by drizzling a teaspoon of olive oil.
- Cover and let it rest for 2 hours to get rise.
- After 2 hours the pizza dough will be ready to make calzone.
- Take it out, punch the air and knead for 5 minutes.
- Distribute in portion and take a small portion and roll in a circular shape.
- Arrange the Stuffing
- First, make a layer of pizza sauce, then pepperoni and add some veggies.
- Fill with mozzerlla cheese.
- Fold it like a half moon (Crescent shape).
- Twist the edges to seal it properly.
- Prepare all the calzones.
- Prepare the pizza tray.
- Place Aluminum foil and brush it with oil.
- Now place all the calzone on it and brush the top part with oil.
- Prepare to Bake!
- Place in preheated oven 220°C or 238°F.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Soft and fluffy calzone pizza is ready to serve.
- Topped with Marinara sauce or and available sauce that goes well with calzones.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If using store-bought pizza dough then make sure to bring it to room temperature after taking it out from the refrigerator.
- Homemade pizza dough should be properly kneaded and smooth in texture. Make sure the yeast has fully risen after resting.
- Manage the thickness of the crust. You can keep it thin or thick as per your choice. After baking fermented dough will rise and will become thick in texture. So if you want thin and roll it accordingly.
- Don't overfill the toppings otherwise, it can break or stuffing come out during baking.
- Make sure to give it a nice seal from the edges.
- Manage the cheese topping wisely in the fold. During baking, if you are using ricotta then it may release water that needs to properly cook. Mozzarella is good to have as it properly cooked while baking.
- Brush the calzone with egg wash or simply with olive oil.
- Properly manage the baking temperature. Bake at 220°C Or 428°F. 15 minutes are enough to bake.
Hinz
Homemade Calzone Recipe is quick and easy to make recipe idea for foodies to prepare soft and chewy calzone pizza bread.