So I was kind of at a loss for dinner. I'd made pizza the night before and had tons of left over ingredients and some ground beef to get rid of. Solution? Calzones! Which is essentially pizza turned inside out right?
Rather than make individual calzones I made one giant one and sliced it up. The end result was quite tasty. Here's my recipe which includes my basic pizza crust recipe as well.
Crust
1 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
1 pkg rapid rise yeast
2 1/2 cups unbleached All Purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 tbs salt
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs olive oil
What the heck is Semolina!? Don't panic. Semolina is a high-protein flour made from durum wheat, which is yellow not white, and is used to make pasta. When added to bread dough it creates a wonderfully dense chewy texture. I love bread, the heartier the better. Semolina can be found in most stores with the specialty flours. If you don't have it don't worry just use 3 cups all purpose flour instead of the combination. Also, feel free to sub in a cup or two of whole wheat flour, though you may need to add a bit more water.
I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer to mix dough and it's really a life saver. If you don't have acces to a mixer, you can do this by hand in about ten minutes.
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast and sugar. Allow the yeast to bloom. As you look at it it will literally explode in little pockets in the water as it feeds off the sugar. When the yeast is all foamy on top it's ready. This will take about ten minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and combine with the dough arm of the mixer or by hand. The mix should form a soft slightly sticky dough. Adjust water or flour accordingly. Knead in the mixer for a few minutes or turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand.
3. Oil a medium sized rectangular cookie sheet or baking tray.
4. Divide the dough in two. Flour your hands and press one half into the bottom of the cookie sheet.
5. Over this bottom crust arrange any desired fillings. Leave a one inch border around the edge. To fill my calzone I used:
Seasoned Ground Beef
Pepperoni
Sliced Red Onion
Sliced Green Pepper
A few tablespoons good Marinara
A handful of Mozzarella
6. Stretch the remaining dough into a rough rectangular shape and lay over the toppings. Stretch and press the top crust over the bottom and press together around the edges.
7. Cut two small one inch vents in the top crust with a sharp knife and brush a bit of olive oil over the whole.
8. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Rather than make individual calzones I made one giant one and sliced it up. The end result was quite tasty. Here's my recipe which includes my basic pizza crust recipe as well.
Crust
1 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
1 pkg rapid rise yeast
2 1/2 cups unbleached All Purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina flour
1 tbs salt
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs olive oil
What the heck is Semolina!? Don't panic. Semolina is a high-protein flour made from durum wheat, which is yellow not white, and is used to make pasta. When added to bread dough it creates a wonderfully dense chewy texture. I love bread, the heartier the better. Semolina can be found in most stores with the specialty flours. If you don't have it don't worry just use 3 cups all purpose flour instead of the combination. Also, feel free to sub in a cup or two of whole wheat flour, though you may need to add a bit more water.
I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer to mix dough and it's really a life saver. If you don't have acces to a mixer, you can do this by hand in about ten minutes.
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl combine the water, yeast and sugar. Allow the yeast to bloom. As you look at it it will literally explode in little pockets in the water as it feeds off the sugar. When the yeast is all foamy on top it's ready. This will take about ten minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and combine with the dough arm of the mixer or by hand. The mix should form a soft slightly sticky dough. Adjust water or flour accordingly. Knead in the mixer for a few minutes or turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand.
3. Oil a medium sized rectangular cookie sheet or baking tray.
4. Divide the dough in two. Flour your hands and press one half into the bottom of the cookie sheet.
5. Over this bottom crust arrange any desired fillings. Leave a one inch border around the edge. To fill my calzone I used:
Seasoned Ground Beef
Pepperoni
Sliced Red Onion
Sliced Green Pepper
A few tablespoons good Marinara
A handful of Mozzarella
6. Stretch the remaining dough into a rough rectangular shape and lay over the toppings. Stretch and press the top crust over the bottom and press together around the edges.
7. Cut two small one inch vents in the top crust with a sharp knife and brush a bit of olive oil over the whole.
8. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
9. I cut the calzone into four parts and served it with Marinara sauce.
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