Real Italian Calzones

Chef #583577's Note:

I absolutely love this recipe! I got it from another on-line site long ago and have adapted it to my tastes. It is a "real Italian" calzone because there is no tomato sauce inside of it. I serve it with warmed tomato/marinara sauce to dip or pour over top! Feel free to change the filling to suit your own tastes! This makes a massive amount of calzone but it freezes well. I usually bake only 1 calzone (which will serve about 4 people) and freeze the other.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 50 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 (¼ ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ cup diced pepperoni
• ½ cup sliced black olives
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 egg , beaten

Directions:

1. In a small bowl dissolve yeast in the warm (not hot!) water. Add 1 tablespoons of the oil, sugar and salt, and mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour until the dough is smooth and workable.
2. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes or until it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing the other teaspoon of olive oil, flipping to coat dough in the oil. Cover and let rise from 40 minutes or until almost doubled.
3. While dough is rising combine all remaining ingredients except for the egg in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate to chill.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
5. When the dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into two equal parts. Roll the halves individually out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface.
6. Fill one half of each circle with half of the filling mixture and fold over. Seal the edges by pressing with a fork.
7. Brush the top of each calzone with the egg wash and place on a greased cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.
9. Serve with warmed tomato sauce if desired!

Reviews

[Chocolatl]

Oh, my, these are good. Like another reviewer, I made four smaller calzones. I served them with a jarred marinara sauce. We didn't think it was such a massive amount, though--our little family of three cleaned up the whole thing in one night! Thanks for posting!

[Daniel'sWife]

Delicious! The dough is what makes this so good. It turned out perfectly, and tasted so yummy, and it wasn't that hard or time consuming! Thanks for the great recipe.

[sheri826]

This was a great recipe. I've never made calzones before and this recipe was easy to follow. I cut the dough into four pieces and made four smaller calzones instead of two large ones. I served it with warm marina sauce and my husband loved it!