Stuffed Then Baked Bread! aka - CALZONES!!!

So... obviously it's been forever, but I have a good excuse! My school keeps me busier than ever. Plain and simple! But, I'm back... for now... Next term is going to be super-crazy! Hopefully it will go by both quickly and successfully (just like the first one)!

This calzone recipe was actually made back in January (YEAH - that's how life has been!) Being on break this week, I finally got around to editing and uploading the pictures on blogger! The calzones turned out really tasty! Probably because they HAD to! It has a 4.5/5 from 442 reviews! It better be good! LOL! So - first things first I make the dough - yeast, water, sugar, salt and flower. I knead it once it's been mixed, and then let it rise for about 45 minutes.

About 30 minutes into the rise, I get the fillings ready. Yeah - that's pepperoni. But that's why calzones are soooo good! Everyone can have their choice of filling! Besides the pepperoni, I also had on hand spinach, mushrooms, onions, and jalapenos! That's another reason why calzones are great: just fill them with any and all leftovers around the kitchen!

I changed up the cheese just a little bit from the original recipe. I used part skim ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning in place of the basil. I also didn't mix all the veggies (and meat for Ronnie and Matt) with the cheese. Next time I will though! That would have been better than my layering technique.

Once the dough has risen, I flatten it out...

And separate it into four "equal" pieces. (Equal is not easy! LOL!)

Next, I roll the dough into "circles". (HAHA - that's not easy either! You can tell I'm not a baker.)

And then my favorite part of any calzone - the fillings! Like I said, I will mix the cheese and veggies together next time. It was more of a logistical reason this first time. (I didn't want pepperoni in mine!) But I think the final product would have been even better if I had gone for a mix! So I'll just make that happen next time.

I close the the calzone and push the edges with a fork to make a seal. Finally I brush the top with some olive oil.

And there they are! Ready to go in the oven! I marked the vegetarian ones with jalapenos - super easy and super smart!

While the calzones are baking I heat up some marinara sauce for dipping! YUM! This is also the time that everyone at the Luckey-Meyer house is getting anxious to eat the calzones that make the kitchen smell yummy! (Ronnie LOVED these - they're great for the entire family!)

30 minutes have passed, we made some salads to go along with our calzones, and dinner is served!

These were a bit time consuming but super easy to make! I made them on a Sunday, so I had plenty of time for dinner. I think the next time you need something to please everyone on a weekend - these calzones are the way to go!