The Dough:
- 3 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 cup water
- egg wash (doesn’t go in the mix)
Mix dry ingredients and slowly pour in water and hand mix dough. Add only enough water until mixture becomes a sticky ball. Knead briefly and then add olive oil to coat the dough on all sides. Cover with a towel and place it in a dark, quiet place for 45 minutes.
*Note: your dough will not rise.
The Filling:
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 2 mild or hot Italian sausages
- 1/2 beef bouillon cube (Knorr)
- 1/2 onion dices
- 4 gloves of garlic minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 cups of shredded mozzarella
- pizza sauce or marinara sauce
- sautéed baby spinach, mushrooms & onions mix OR julienne strips of yellow, red & green bell peppers = optional
Brown beef & sausage (take casing off) and drain fat. Add onions, garlic and bouillon and 1/4 cup of water and continue to brown a little longer till onions are soft. *If you’re adding the other veggies, do it during this step. Add the rest of spices to your liking and set aside till it cools off. (make sure all juices have evaporated otherwise you’ll get a soggy calzone)
Lightly flour the counter and knead your dough. Make it nice and elastic but don’t dry it out to much by adding more flour to it. *If dough is really dry add just a little olive oil. Separate into 6 equal parts. Each part needs to be rolled out with a rolling pin to about 6 inches round. Don’t worry if it’s not round; you can make it square if that’s easier. To get an idea of what a 6-inch circle looks like, pull out a small salad dish from your cupboard which is usually 7-8 inches round and that should give you an idea. (dinner plates are 10+ inches round).
Spread a layer of pizza sauce and cover the whole dough. Then spoon 2 Tbsp of Meat mixture in the center and top it with 2 sizable pinches of Mozzarella. Take one end of dough circle and carefully fold it over the mix so that edges meet. Press the edges shut with a fork to seal them. Lightly puncture the tops with a knife to allow the steam to escape.
By now the pizza stone should be warm in the oven. If you don’t have one, just use a non-stick baking pan to place your calzone. Use a baker’s brush to apply egg wash on the tops of your calzones, which will give it a golden brown “bakery” look.
Bake for 18-22 minutes (until medium brown) at 400 F degrees.
When you pull them out you can sprinkle parmesan cheese & red pepper flakes (if desired) and serve with more pizza or marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
It took me about 2 hours from start to finish, but I made three different fillings for 3 people! The calzones are quite big because they are dinner size.
Enjoy!