Calzones

Do you have those days where you are really craving something?  It just sounds so good and you want it so bad?  Yeah, that was me on Saturday.  I really wanted a calzone.  And a funny thing about that, I never ate calzones before my diet change.  But, I really wanted one, so I thought, maybe if I used my pita bread recipe as a starting point, that might work.  And work, it did!  My husband (who is the gluten eater in our family) absolutely loved it!  He told me he actually likes it even more than my usual pizza crust.  My little one only finished about half of his huge calzone...but asked me later that evening if he could have the rest, "because it is just so good."  And my older son, who is going through a 'non-eating' phase (he eats, just not very much) ate it really well, too.  So this was a huge success and will be made again and again in my home, so I hope your home enjoys it as much as ours has!

 This picture is to give you an idea on how much sauce to use, and how much space to leave for crimping.

 How it looks right before going into the oven.

Calzones
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon fast-rising yeast
1 tablespoon honey (or agave)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3 cups GF flour blend
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup additional warm water
Pizza Sauce
Pizza Toppings (pepperoni, cheese (daiya cheese), Canadian bacon, veggies, etc)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl mix together water, yeast, honey, oil, and vinegar.  Let sit for 5 minutes to proof.

In a stand mixer, combine flour and salt.  Add in the yeast mixture and mix on low until combined.

Add in enough additional water to make the dough sticky but stay together as a ball.  This won't be the typical gluten-free bread dough which is a thick, sticky batter.  It's does actually resemble regular bread dough, but is quite a bit sticky. I added in just under 1/4 cup to get mine to the right consistency.

Once the consistency is right, mix it on high speed for 3-5 minutes.

Place the dough on parchment paper that has been sprinkled with GF flour. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and form each into a ball. Roll out each ball into a circle about 1/8" thick and about 9-10" in diameter. (note: I made the calzones one at a time, because it meant moving that dough, just once)

Top one half of the dough with a little pizza sauce and toppings of your choice, making sure to leave space around the edges to seal it.

Fold the dough over and crimp the edges together (like you would with a pie crust).

Transfer the calzone to a parchment lined baking sheet (or transfer it on the parchment paper you rolled it out and prepared it on) and continue on with the next calzone.  Once all the calzones are ready, brush them with a little olive oil and bake them at 400F for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with additional pizza sauce, or ranch in my families case.

Makes 4 large calzones (which was just enough for 2 adults and 2 hungry little boys).

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, Whole Foods Fridays, and Gluten Free Fridays.