Calzone: Closed Pizza

Name: Calzone Recipe: Homemade Closed Pizza with Mozzarella
Prep time: 2 h 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Cuisine: Italian cuisine
Ingredients: Pizza dough 400 g; Tomato sauce 3-4 tbsp; Mozzarella 150 g; Pepperoni or salami 50 g; Parmesan 50 g; Olive oil 50 g; Salt, oregano to taste

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3 h

Italian cuisine is associated first of all with two world-famous dishes, pasta and pizza in every possible variation. Pasta is made differently in different regions of Italy, pizzas are distinctive, and the cooking in general varies considerably. In the central and southern regions you can come across a pizza that isn’t round but shaped like a half-moon. This is calzone, a special “closed” pizza, or pie.

The dough may be little different from the usual one, but the filling is simpler and, as a rule, consists of mozzarella and tomatoes, sometimes sun-dried tomatoes. Some kinds of calzone have salami or pepperoni in the filling, along with herbs such as spinach, basil and oregano. I read somewhere that originally the filling was only cheese and tomatoes, and local names for closed pizza include panzerotti or panzerotto.

The distinguishing feature of a closed pizza is that all the filling sits inside a shell of yeast dough. The pizza is brushed with olive oil and then baked or, interestingly, fried. “Fried pizza” is a name you often come across, and it belongs to the Neapolitan tradition. For the most part, different kinds of pizza differ in their toppings, while the nuances of preparing the dough and the baking itself get little attention.

The remarkable simplicity and popularity of this pastry have produced many recipes and variations, often based on local traditions and the availability of ingredients for the filling. The principles of making the dough and filling, and the baking process, are similar to focaccia recipes, although focaccia is considered a bread, while calzone can even be an unusual dessert.

As a rule, a pizza with cheese and tomatoes is made large, one for everybody. The topping is spread rather unevenly over a big area of dough. Calzone, on the other hand, is an “individual” pizza: all the filling inside the dough is meant for one person.

Don’t put just anything into the filling, and don’t use too much. I know people who won’t eat pizza unless it has half a kilo of sausage on it. A closed pizza needs only a little filling, but there should be enough soft cheese and tomatoes. Other ingredients, as well as salami or pepperoni, are optional. The dough is no different from the usual one, and the amount per serving is exactly the same as for a regular pizza.

7 ingredientsTo the recipe

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Ingredients

2 servings

Pizza dough 400 g
Tomato sauce 3-4 tbsp
Mozzarella 150 g
Pepperoni or salami 50 g
Parmesan 50 g
Olive oil 50 g
Salt, oregano to taste

Step-by-step recipe

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You need to make the yeast dough in advance. I’ve already published the recipe for pizza dough , and it works every time. As a reminder, it’s all simple. Sift two cups of wheat flour (260 g), add 2 tsp sugar (9 g), a pinch of fine salt and 5-6 g of dry yeast (the kind for adding to flour, not for a sponge). Pour in 160-170 ml of warm water mixed with 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Knead a soft dough and set it aside to rise. After 45 mins, knead it down and let it rise again. Do this twice or three times. After that the dough for panzerotti is ready.
For the filling we decided to use the ingredients that are usual for this dish. Fresh mozzarella: you can take small balls and use them whole, or cut a large ball into pieces. To give the dish a pleasant tang, we added a little hard cheese, either Parmesan or Grana Padano. We also didn’t hold back on a few slices of mildly spicy pepperoni, which adds a special flavor.
You can use ready-made tomato sauce or make it from tomato pulp or good homemade tomato juice. Peel and seed a large tomato and purée it. Or use 100-120 ml of tomato juice. Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a frying pan, add the tomato, a pinch of salt and hot pepper, and 0.5 tsp sugar (2 g). If you have a mix of dried herbs for Italian dishes, you can add a pinch. Simmer the tomato sauce until thick.
Once the dough has finished rising, divide it in half. Shape each half into a circle 20-22 cm in diameter; geometric precision isn’t required. Leaving a 3-4 cm border, spread tomato sauce evenly over the center of the dough. Put 2 slices of pepperoni on the sauce.
On each circle of pizza dough, put half of the prepared mozzarella on top of the sausage and tomato. Sprinkle with grated cheese and a pinch of dried oregano. Put all the remaining pepperoni on top. All that’s left is to fold the calzone and bake it.
Fold the dough in half so the filling is completely covered and the calzone looks like a half-moon. Carefully pinch the edge of the dough all along the curve, taking care not to tear the dough, so the filling doesn’t leak out during baking. To be safe, it’s even better to pinch the dough with the edges overlapping.
To bake calzone you need a baking sheet or a round pizza pan. Brush the pan with olive oil and sprinkle it with a pinch of fine salt. Put both closed pizzas on the oil. Then, using a brush, generously coat all the dough with olive oil and salt it. Next, and this is very important, you need to make holes or slits for steam to escape. With the tip of an ordinary knife, cut through the dough in two or three places; the holes should be small but go all the way through.
There are options for baking. As a rule, authentic recipes call for baking calzone at quite a high temperature. In the “Pompeian” wood-fired oven in which Neapolitans prefer to bake pizza, the temperature can be above 300 degrees, so baking takes a few minutes. At home this is rarely possible, so we heat the oven to 220-230°C and bake the pizza, judging doneness by the top of the dough and its color.
Bake the pizza until the top of the dough turns a pleasant dark golden color with a hint of blush. Through the vent slits you will see the filling, which may bubble slightly. If the surface of the dough dries out, it’s perfectly fine to brush it with a little more olive oil.
As soon as the pizza is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for 4-5 mins. Be careful: the filling contains melted cheese and the dough has absorbed olive oil, so both are very hot. Transfer the calzone to a serving plate. For decoration you can add a sprig of basil. I suggest putting a small sauce dish with tomato sauce on the plate, since I like to dip the pizza in it.
By the way, you can freeze the pizza right after cutting the holes. It keeps well. For baking later, you don’t even need to thaw it, just add a few minutes to the baking time. Some people even freeze a baked pizza and then simply reheat it.