Make-Your-Own Calzone

When my husband and I got married, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law put together a cookbook with some of their favorite recipes. It is such a great gift because it included recipes Jake ate growing up. 

When we moved a few months ago, I put all my cookbooks in a drawer and completely forgot about them. Luckily when I was wondering what to make for dinner this weekend, Jake remembered this calzone/pizza dough recipe and we pulled that cute red cookbook out of the drawer and got to baking.

This calzone was seriously the best I have ever had. I'm not a big fan of calzone, and probably haven't had any for quite a few years. Now I want to eat this calzone for every meal. Of course I won't, but if you come over for dinner sometime soon, there's a big chance we'll be making this.

Here's what you need:

Dough

-2 Packets dry active yeast

-2 c. warm water

-2 tsp Salt

-6 Tbs Olive Oil

-1 tsp sugar

-5 cups of Flour (and a little extra for rolling the dough)

Toppings It's up to you! Get creative. Here are a few suggestions.

-Marinara Sauce

-Mozzarella cheese

-Pepperoni slices

-Canadian Bacon

-Pineapple chunks

-Green pepper chunks

-Olives

Here's what you do:

Dough

-Dissolve yeast in water

- Add olive oil, sugar, and salt. Let sit for about 8 minutes

-Add mixture to the flour in a large mixing bowl. Kneed until smooth. (add more flour if needed)

-Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and set in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours. Dough will double in size.

-Preheat oven to 400 F

-Divide dough into 6 equal pieces.

-Roll out each piece on a floured surface until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick.

-Let each person assemble their calzone with the toppings they like.

-Fold calzones in half and fold over the edges to keep the toppings inside.

-Place calzones on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 min.

These are fun to make with a big group of people. Make sure you decorate the top of your calzone so you can pick yours apart from the rest after they bake.

Enjoy!