Calzone

This homemade Calzone recipe is like your favorite pizza in a convenient handheld form. Melty ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, pizza sauce, and pepperoni are baked inside homemade or store-bought pizza dough for a family-favorite meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 13

Total Time 28

Servings servings

Calories 583kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

1 pizza dough (1 pound/450g ball)
½ cup pizza sauce (120ml)
1 cup ricotta cheese (230g)
⅓ cup pepperoni slices (44g)
1 cup shredded mozzarella (113g)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 475°F with the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, divide the pizza dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 7-inch circle (about ¼-inch thick).
Working with 1 dough round at a time, spread about 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce on one half of the circle. Top with 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese, about 6 pepperoni slices, and sprinkle with ¼ cup of mozzarella. Fold the empty side of the dough over the fillings and crimp edges to seal. Place the calzone on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining pizza dough, sauce, ricotta, pepperoni, and mozzarella, placing each calzone with some space between them on the pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the calzones lightly with egg wash. Cut 3 (about 1/2-inch long) slits in the top of each calzone to allow steam to escape.
Bake for 13 to 16 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Immediately brush the hot calzones with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve with additional pizza sauce.

Notes

Allow the dough to sit at room temperature before using. Let the dough stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to make stretching and rolling it much easier. This is especially helpful if using refrigerated store-bought dough.
Work on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the work surface before rolling out the dough rounds. This will prevent the dough from sticking.
Place filling only on one half of the dough. It is easiest to fold over the dough if you’ve only put sauce and toppings on one half. When spreading the sauce, don’t go all the way to the edge of the dough. You’ll need an outer rim of dough to seal the top and bottom together.
Use your fingers to crimp the edges. Use your fingers to crimp the dough around the curved edge to seal the filling. This will lock in the fillings, prevent them from spilling and burning, and add a decorative edge to the dough!
Apply the egg wash to the top of each folded calzone. The egg wash promotes browning and helps the crust slightly crisp for the ideal texture. Use a pastry brush to top each calzone with the egg wash.
Cut 3 slits in the top of each calzone before baking. This step is vital! Use a sharp knife to cut three slits on each calzone. This will allow air and moisture to escape from the dough pocket so that the dough cooks and crisps and doesn’t become soggy or burst open during baking.
Bake on a large baking sheet or pizza stone. A pizza stone is not required for this recipe, but you can use one if you have it. The calzones will bake and brown well on a stone or regular baking sheet.
Brush baked calzones with oil to help the parmesan stick. To make the parmesan cheese garnish, stick to the top of the calzones, and brush each hot calzone with olive oil before sprinkling on the cheese.

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