This recipe makes two large calzones that will serve two very hungry people! The traditional (well, traditional in New York) filling starts with ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese, but you can add other ingredients as you like.
1 package yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
2-3/4 cups flour
1 small container whole milk ricotta cheese
12 or 16 oz. chunk of whole milk mozzarella cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To make the dough: Dissolve 1 pk yeast in 1 cup warm water. Mix 1 tbsp. sugar, 2 tbsp. oil, 1 tsp. salt, 2-3/4 cup flour to yeast and water. Mix together till smooth. Knead and cover with towel for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough in approximately a 10 inch circle. (Or large enough to cover the open surface of a calzone maker if you have one.) Put approximately 1 to 1-1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese in the center of the dough. Place 1/2 to 1 cup of the grated whole milk motzarella chees on top of the ricotta cheese. Fold over and crimp the edges shut in a half-moon shape.
Place both calzones on a greased cookie sheet. After 15 minutes of cooking, brush with melted butter. Cook for a total of 25 minutes or until golden brown.
You can add many kinds of ingredients if you want to go beyond the basic, but delicious, cheese calzone. Pepperoni or cooked italian or pan sausage make a nice addition, for instance, as well as sauteed onions and peppers - if you add ingredients, reduce the amount of cheese in proportion so the calzones don’t get overstuffed and pop open during baking.
You can also use the dough recipe here to make an excellent pizza crust.
Recipe courtesy of Food Follies.
