Calzoni Quattro Stagioni #BakingBloggers

This month, Sue at Palatable Pastime had a fun challenge for the Baking Bloggers. She asked us to make calzoni. Here's the line-up...

• 100% Whole Wheat Veggie Calzone by Sneha's Recipe
• All Mixed Up Calzone by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Calzoni Quattro Stagioni by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Classic Ham and Ricotta Calzone by Palatable Pastime
• Ham and Cheddar Pretzel Calzones by Cookaholic Wife
• Loaded Vegetable Calzone by Hardly A Goddess
• Spicy Beef Curry Calzones by Food Lust People Love
• Spinach, Ricotta, and Three-Meat Calzone by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Toddler Friendly Calzones by A Day in the Life on the Farm

It's funny: I make homemade pizza all the time; and we love to make empanadas. But I have never made calzoni. Never. Not once. When I served these, My Precise Kitchen Elf called them 'Italian empanadas.' Close enough.

I made three different versions of my pizza dough - one with herbs, two regular, and one whole wheat - to create Calzoni Quattro Stagioni, Four Seasons Calzones. Pizza Quattro Stagioni is usually a single round with one-quarter dedicated to Spring, one to Summer, one to Autumn, and one to Winter.

For Spring, I used grilled, marinated artichoke hearts. For Summer, I picked tomatoes and fresh basil. Autumn is represented by mushrooms; and Winter featured prosciutto. All had a basic marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella.

My favorite pizza crust is Mark Bittman's "No Work Mostly Whole Wheat Pizza Dough." This is the easiest pizza dough I have ever made! But it does require lots of lead time. The recipe suggests letting the dough ferment for six to twelve hours and that the longer you let it ferment, the more complex the flavor.

 Ingredients

Basic Dough makes 2 to 3 calzoni, depending on size

• 2 C whole wheat flour
• 1 C white flour
• 1/2 t active dry yeast
• 1 t salt
• 2 T olive oil
• 1-1/2 C warm water

For the Herb Dough: add 1/4 C fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used parsley, basil, thyme, and oregano)

For the Whole Wheat Dough: use 3 C whole wheat flour

Calzoni

• marinara sauce
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs beaten
• For Spring: 1/2 C grilled, marinated artichoke hearts
• For Summer: fresh torn basil leaves
• For Autumn: 1/2 C sliced mushrooms (I used shiitake)
• For Winter: 3 to 4 slices proscuitto

Procedure

Basic Dough

Mix all of the dough ingredients together in a large bowl. The texture will be a wet, sticky dough. Cover and let ferment for as long as you can - between six and twelve hours. At the end of that, use the dough as you would use any pizza dough.

Calzoni

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Divide the dough into two or three pieces, depending on how large or small you want the calzoni. Roll the dough into an oval shape on your silicone mat or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Spread a dollop of marinara sauce on one half of the oval, leaving a small border. Sprinkle cheese on the sauce and add your toppings.

Gently stretch the top part of the oval over the filled side and press down on the edges to create a seal. Brush the top with beaten egg and sprinkle the top with more cheese.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes - until the dough is browned firm to the touch. Let rest for 3 minutes before slicing. Take care that the steam doesn't burn you!