Breads | Soupbelly

Making calzones couldn’t be easier. The fillings can be versatile, just like making pizza. I stuffed mine with pepperoni, basil and mozzarella, and served it with some spicy marinara sauce. You can also make it with sausage and peppers, cauliflower and cheese, sausage and cauliflower, spinach and ricotta, etc. Or stuff it with your favorite pizza toppings. After adding the filling onto the dough, seal the edges tightly, crimp them with a fork, brush egg yolk on the top (to get that crispy brown surface) and make a few slits with a knife (so they don’t explode in the oven).

Two rules I follow when I make calzones: 1) if I use 1/2 pound dough per calzone, I try to use around 1/2 pound of toppings inside (or less). I don’t have exact measurements for the fillings in my recipe. 2) I don’t add sauce or fresh tomatoes inside the calzone. Sauce/tomatoes always end up leaking out and creating a mess.

They work great as a lunch to take to work too. I mean, wouldn’t you rather take this than a cold sandwich?

Calzones (makes 2)

Ingredients:

1 lb. pizza dough
pepperoni slices
mozzarella
fresh basil leaves
1 egg yolk

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Dust the pizza dough with some flour to prevent it from sticking to your hands. On a baking sheet, divide the pound of dough in half and stretch into circles. Place fillings on each half of the dough, and fold over to seal the edges. Crimp the edges with a fork. Brush the tops of calzones with egg yolk, and using a knife, make 4 slits onto the tops of the calzones.

3) Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until browned. Let cool for 5 minutes and cut into slices. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Dust the pizza dough with some flour to prevent it from sticking to your hands. On a baking sheet, divide the pound of dough in half and stretch into circles.

Don’t worry if your circles of dough aren’t perfect looking, as you can see, mine aren’t. As long as you’re not puncturing holes or anything you’ll be fine.

Place fillings on each half of the dough, and fold over to seal the edges. I first added a handful of pepperoni to each –

followed by a handful of basil and handful of mozzarella.

Crimp the edges with a fork.

Brush the tops of calzones with egg yolk, and using a knife, make 4 slits onto the tops of the calzones. The cheese will bubble out of the slits, but not that much. Slitting the dough helps release the steam getting built up inside the calzone.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until browned. Let cool for 5 minutes and cut into slices.

Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

I couldn’t choose which photo I was in love with more so I decided to post all of them. I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman’s website, so check out her process photos if you’re interested. I tweaked it a bit though; I substituted coconut milk for the milk and heavy cream she used (for the lactose intolerant few of us), halved most of the ingredients for the recipe, added raisins, and used a quarter stick of butter for the crumbly cinnamon topping rather than the entire stick.

This is a great recipe for old loaves of bread you’re about to throw out.

Baked Cinnamon French Toast – 12 servings

adapted from ThePioneerWoman.com

Ingredients:

1/2 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
4 whole Eggs
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Topping Ingredients:

1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
1/4 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Salt
1/4 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
Fresh Fruit (optional)

Directions:

1) Grease 7 x 11-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.

2) Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.

3) In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and chop into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.

4) When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you’re using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.

5) Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

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