Calzones are great, and surprisingly simple to make. I used a rather yeast intensive recipe last night, I think I would scale it back by a teaspoon or so if I use the same recipe.
The recipe I used for the dough:
2 3/4 cups of flour. I used mostly kyourikiko and a little bit of durum semolina and a little hakurikiko
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 cup 45deg C water
First you activate the yeast by pouring the warm water into a bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water and add the yeast. Let it sit for 5ish minutes, it'll start to bubble and make a foam on top when it's ready.
While the yeast is working, dump the flour and oil and salt into a bowl, then when the yeast water is ready, dump it in as well and mix up the dough and knead it for about 8-10 minutes. I have a bread machine so I just dumped everything in the machine and let it knead the dough for 10 minutes. Once kneading is complete, put a little oil on the sides of the bowl you used for mixing the yeast & dough and place the dough ball in there. The dough should be a little bit sticky but not overly so. Knead more or add more flour if it's too sticky to stay in one piece. Place a moist towl over the top of the bowl and let the dough rest in a warmish place for an hour.
After an hour the dough will look like the first picture. Punch it down (literally), then take it out and split it into 4 or 5 pieces. Roll out each piece and put in your favorite toppings. I use a wine bottle for my roller because it's easier to clean than a wooden rolling pin, wood stuff tends to get moldy.. especially when handling blue cheese! Just don't press too hard on the glass or you'll have a hospital visit in your future..! FYI always desanitize wooden utensils with alcohol if they come in contact with blue cheese, the mold will grow inside the wood if it's wet, and it's nearly impossible to remove.
Seal up the dough in the manner you like most, some people press down firmly with a fork, some people fold over the edges sort of like a pie. I did both. The dough is pretty stretchy and when it's baked it is very fluffy and moist on the inside, crispy on the outside, like a deep-dish pizza crust.
Put the dough in an oven preheated to 250c (or 200 if that's the highest it'll go). watch it carefully past the 15 minute mark as it can go from brown to burnt in a matter of seconds..mine just barely avoided burning the tops, though they got quite brown. i'll put them on the medium level rack next time.
I also recommend putting a cup of water in the oven while they're baking, the steam will make the crust crispier. if you have a pizza stone or terracotta tiles they are a good idea too, they'll make the bottom of the calzones cripsy.
not many basil plants remaining, the house is so cold they can't even survive inside anymore, only a couple of the hardiest ones are still going.
Baked up some calzones last night. Delicious!
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Re: Baked up some calzones last night. Delicious!
Man, that looks awesome. We've got a bread machine that is currently underused and that seems like the perfect excuse to dust it off and get it working again. Really tasty looking, now if only we had a bakers maki stove like Ian is getting.
That's fairly impressive that you still have basil going at this time of year, our whole crop got wiped out during the summer by betabyōki.
That's fairly impressive that you still have basil going at this time of year, our whole crop got wiped out during the summer by betabyōki.
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Re: Baked up some calzones last night. Delicious!
I have been wanting to get a panini press for ages, but I think some calzones might hit the mark and keep me happy until I can get my paws on a really good press (read afford the luxury).
The great thing about calzones is you can really put just about anything in them and they are going to taste awesome.
The great thing about calzones is you can really put just about anything in them and they are going to taste awesome.