How to make homemade calzones

Think that calzones are too hard to make at home? Think again! Have your friends and family over for dinner and impress them with this traditional Italian favorite. Just like pizza, you can customize your calzones with your favorite fillings. I make the dough myself in the bread machine - there's nothing better than a fresh-baked crust.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• pizza dough
• pizza sauce
• shredded mozzarella
• fillings, such as olives, sausage (cooked), pepperoni, etc.
• knife
• cutting board
• flour
• cooking spray
• cookie sheet

1. Pizza dough after running the cycle again for a couple of minutes. Prepare calzone dough in bread machine (see my article, "How to make pizza dough in the bread machine"). After the dough cycle is finished, restart the cycle and let it run until the dough pulls away from the side of the pan, about 1-2 minutes. Turn off the machine and sprinkle with a little flour before removing the dough and placing on a floured board. Let the dough rest and rise for a few more minutes.
2. Dough rolled into a circle. Using a sharp knife, divide the calzone dough into five equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then use a rolling pin to make a 9" circle, sprinkling a little flour if the dough sticks to the pin or the board.
3. Filled calzone, ready for closing. Transfer the dough circle to the sprayed cookie sheet. Spread sauce on only one-half of the circle, leaving a one-inch margin without sauce around the edge. Pile cheese and other fillings on top of the sauce, again leaving a one-inch margin around the edge - whatever you enjoy on pizza would work in a calzone! Top off the pile with more sauce.
4. Carefully fold the empty half of the circle up and over the fillings, gently stretching the dough if necessary. Try not to get sauce or fillings in the one-inch margin around the edge. Pinch together the edges firmly.
5. Baked calzone, ready for eating! Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until done and slightly browned, approximately 13-16 minutes. The calzone will be extremely hot, so let it cool 15 minutes or so before eating. Serve with extra warmed sauce for dipping.

Tips & Warnings

• This recipe makes dinner-size calzones. If you want smaller calzones, slice the dough into 10 pieces instead. If you like your calzones really big, cut dough into 3 pieces.
• Calzones are easy to freeze - make a batch and freeze for an easy weekday meal! Defrost for 1 minute in the microwave, then cook on high for 1 1/2 minutes (cooking time may vary between microwaves).
• It is very important not to get sauce too close to the edge of the calzone! Having sauce on the dough will make it difficult to seal the edge of the calzone and the sauce will leak out while cooking (and burn on the cookie sheet...).
• If you are like me, you will be tempted to stuff the calzone very full. Listen to the voice of experience and try not to do this, as it will be very difficult to seal the edges of the calzone without squirting sauce out the side!