Our first scratch-made pizza dough recipe came with a 14-inch round deep dish pan. Over the years, we found that, among our 3 favorites, this dough has the absolute best texture for calzones. These hand-held pizza pockets are delicious either hot or at room temperature. Combined with a Mediterranean chickpea salad, we served them to a large group on our annual kayak camping trip. And they freeze exceptionally well, resisting sogginess. On a long Megabus trip, my daughter and I discovered that these calzones were delicious once thawed with no need to reheat. This is due in large part to the texture of the dough, a cross between an airy pizza crust and a crisp pastry.   

The Dough

The first pizza dough recipe that my husband made came with a large round 14.5 inch diameter "Chicago style" deep dish pizza pan. Along with a textured sauce made from crushing whole canned tomatoes (recipe below), we made many big pans of pizza, small personal-sized pesto pizzas, and these delicious calzones. He handled the dough and I prepped the toppings.

Over the years, we collected more pizza dough recipes. One standout from a Craftsy lesson by Peter Reinhart is an American-style "Neapolitan" pizza dough. These make for fantastic individually topped pizzas (no fancy dough twirling skills needed). 

American style Neapolitan dough from Peter Reinhart

The dough in the California Pizza Kitchen cookbook did not stick with us, but we love their Original BBQ Chicken Pizza topping combined with either of the above two doughs. 

Pizza dough #1 with BBQ Chicken topping from the California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook

Most recently, Anne Willan's Look & Cook series yielded a seriously good Chicago style deep dish pizza that holds up to being turned out of the pan for a dramatic presentation! 

Ann Willan's recipe for Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

But my daughter missed our original pizza dough recipe. This dough #1 yields a fantastic mouthfeel and flavor, a bit of a cross between pizza dough and a pastry crust, but with no need for fussy laminating steps. And therein lies the secret of its success, perfect for enveloping fillings from around the world.

This dough complements Cornish pasty-inspired beef and potato fillings with less grease and fuss compared to the traditional shortcrust pastry dough. And I'm sure it will do great with empanada fillings, too (still on the to-do list). 

It never seems to get soggy like the regular, more bready pizza dough, tasting wonderful hot, warm and at room temperature (even after thawing in a backpack until lunch time on a long bus ride)!

Notes on Calzone Fillings

Our most classic filling is loosely modeled after the broccoli, walnut, sausage pizza that I enjoyed at the historic Bel Canto restaurant in Cambridge, MA early in my college years. There was a choice of regular or whole wheat dough. Another interesting flavor was turkey, garlic and carrot.

Because my family prefers pepperoni to sausage, this was simplified to broccoli, walnut, pepperoni and cheese as our base calzone recipe.

The first step in preparing calzones is always checking for actively bubbling yeast.

Then while the ball of kneaded dough rises in a covered, oiled bowl, the ingredients are prepped.

Raw walnut halves are roasted in a toaster oven at 350°F for 5-8 min - taste a piece to determine when that raw, mouth puckering sensation is replaced by a crisp airy sweetness. 

Parcook the broccoli (microwave for 1-3 min with a bit of water or pansteam with a small amount of water) until it has lost its raw edge and is bright green, but is still crisp - it will further soften in the oven. Remove to a cool plate. 

Cut pepperoni into thin slices, wedges, or small cubes. Precook mushrooms (or sausage and onions). 

Grate the mozzarella cheese.

Divide dough into 8 or 9 pieces. Form a smooth ball, press to flatten with your palm. Take a rolling pin and roll out to 6 or 7 inches. Place a small amount of filling on one side and stretch the other side over.

Crimp shut with a fork, and poke holes to vent. You can form these holes into patterns or letters to represent different fillings, or the initials of the person who gets to eat it.

Bake for 16-19 min at 425°F. 

Let cool on rack for 5 min and enjoy!

Other fillings we have used for summer camping included the basic pepperoni, broccoli and walnuts, plus mushrooms, some fresh summer corn and spinach. 

For this batch, we enjoyed the smoky flavors of Dei Fratelli Fire Roasted Pizza sauce, and brought along some extra sauce for dipping.

And most recently, I added some lovely broiler-roasted long sweet red peppers, for a broccoli, walnut, red pepper, pepperoni and mushroom version. 

We pulled out a frozen jar of Peter Reinhart's Pizza Sauce for this batch.

Perfect for Kayak Camping

The largest batch we have made was a triple batch for our annual kayaking weekend. 

These were amazing, packed into the canoe and served at a stop on the river along with a Mediterranean Chickpea salad (recipe below), and bourbon pecan bars.

Love2Chow Enriched Calzone and Pan Pizza Dough  

 

Yield - 1 large round or rectangular half-sheet pizza, two 9" California Pizza kitchen-sized pies, 16 appetizer pizzas or 8-9 calzones

Ingredients

• 2 packages = 2 Tbs active, dry yeast

• 2/3 cup + 4 Tbs water (about 216 ml)

• 3 cups of all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 tsp salt

1. Warm water in microwave for about 30 sec. Water should be lukewarm (See 🐾 tip below). 

2. Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water. Let it stand for 5 min. There should be lots of bubbles on the surface. If not, start over. The yeast may be too old or the water may have been too hot, killing the yeast. 

3. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Knead for 5 min. 

4. Stretch dough into a ball, place a little oil in the bowl, and roll the ball to coat lightly with oil. Cover. Let rise until doubled in size about 1 h. 

5a. Hit dough and press into an oiled pan. Add cheese, Crushed Tomato Sauce (recipe below), and other toppings. Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 20-25 min.

5b. Or divide into 16 pieces, flatten. Distribute 1/2 cup of basil pesto among the pizzas. Bake for 12 min.

5c. Or divide into 8-9 equal pieces. Roll out into flat discs, about 6-7 inches in diameter. Place fillings on half of the disc, staying away from the edge. Pull other half of dough over top and press to seal. Use a fork to crimp all around the edges and to poke some vent holes into the top. Bake for 16-19 min. 

Crushed Tomato Sauce

Take a 28-oz can of whole peeled tomatoes, squeeze out the juice for another use. Keep the solids, breaking them up a bit. Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp oregano and 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad - from Food Network "50 Picnic Salads" (2015)

Toss together two 15-oz cans of chickpeas (rinsed) with 2 diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup chopped mint, 6 Tbs olive oil, 3 Tbs red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

🐾 Love2Chow Tips - when you drip lukewarm water on the inside of your wrist, it should not feel warm or cool. 

🐾 For more consistently sized calzones, weigh the dough before dividing into 8 or 9 portions. 

🐾 Place toppings only on one half of the circle, leaving a clear rim for crimping a good seal all around. 

🍃 Green Tips - cover the bowl of dough with a dishcloth instead of using plastic wrap.

DID YOU TRY THIS RECIPE?

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