Individual Calzones

These Individual Calzones are delicious.  This was our weekend treat.  It might seem like a lot of work to do, but it really isn't.  I had made the  Pizza Dough  last week, I cut it in half, made a Deep Dish pizza and saved the other half to make these calzones.  The Homemade Pizza Sauce is made from scratch and really easy.

Most of the times we are in the kitchen trying to figure out what to cook.  The pizza dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for about a day or freeze it in a ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months.  It's great to have it ready to go for those days when you want something quick.

Deep Dish Pizza

Back in the days when my husband used to travel to Chicago for work, he would always come home talking about a Deep Dish Pizza from Gino's East.  My husband described it as the best pizza he ever had.  Coming from Connecticut and eating pizzas in different places including NY, that was a big statement.

I have not had the privilege of eating it yet, I will soon as Chicago is one of the places I would love to visit in the near future.  Even thought this deep dish pizza is not Gino's, my husband says, it is delicious and perhaps even better.  After bragging about Gino's, I'm not sure if I believe him, but one thing I do know, my deep dish pizza is really good.

Pizza Dough

This is such an easy Pizza Dough to make.  You can make any kind of pizza  you like, Deep Dish Pizzas, thin crust pizzas and calzones too.  This dough makes 2 12-inch pizzas or 8 individual calzones.  What I normally do is cut it in half, use half for a deep dish pizza and the other half for about 4 calzones.

I love this dough recipe and it's the one I always make.   Make it early in the morning and have it ready for dinner time.  You can refrigerate the dough for a few days.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

The best thing about this Homemade Pizza Sauce, is that you can control what goes into it.  It's not salty, it has great flavor and is my go to sauce when making pizzas or calzones.

This sauce is a little thicker in texture compared to a Marinara Sauce for dishes like Chicken Parmesan.  It's not runny and perfect for pizza or calzones. 

Ingredients

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1-28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes

1-12 oz can of Tomato Paste

1-8 oz can of Tomato Sauce

1 med size onion chopped small

4 garlic cloves-Minced

1 tsp of sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of dried oregano

1 tsp of dried sweet basil

In medium size pot add the olive oil, garlic and onions..cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, salt, black pepper, oregano and basil. Cook until nice and thick, about 15-20 minutes.

Traditional Pizza

Today, I'm going to teach you how to make a Traditional Pizza.  Starting with the dough and then the sauce.  I've been making pizza now for about 10 years, and is worth taking the time to make it.  Pizza is so easy to make, you are going to be surprised. With this pizza dough you can also make calzones.

With just one recipe you can make two 12-inch pizzas. I usually make two, with one I'll make a regular pizza and a deep dish,  and I save the other one in the freezer to make calzones. Some of my favorite toppings are sausage (I buy it ground and cook it in a pan), pepperoni, and then I chop onions and peppers, and mozzarella cheese.  You can add any topping you want..make it your own. Make sure you have a pizza pan and a cutter.

This is a really delicious pizza.  The crust is crispy and the cheese melted really nice.  

Add all of the toppings you enjoy eating, and make sure to add extra cheese too.

Dough Ingredients

2 1/4 Cups of warm water (110-115 F)

3 tbsp sugar

3/8 ounce active, dry yeast (about 3 1/2 teaspoons)

2 1/4  tsp salt

3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

6 cups of all purpose flour

flour for dusting

extra virgin olive oil

In a large mixing bowl (or mixer bowl) add the warm water. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.  Add the yeast and lightly stir again.  Set aside for 10 minutes so that the yeast develops..you will see it turn foamy on top. Then add the salt and olive oil to the yeast water..combine.  Add the first cup of flour slowly, mixing good every time.  Then continue to add the remaining flour, one cup at a time.

Mix well so that the dough comes together and all the liquid is gone.  If you don't have a mixer with a dough hook, then on a lightly flour countertop start to knead the dough.  Fold the dough in half an press into itself with the heed of your hand, over and over again for about 10 minutes.  If you have a mixer with the dough hook then that's the way to go..much easier.  After you are done kneading the dough turn it into a ball.  Coat the ball with olive oil and set inside a large well oiled bowl.  Cover with a damp cloth (so dough won't dry out) or plastic wrap and set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours..until double in size.

Pizza Sauce Ingredients

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes

1 12 oz can of Tomato Paste

1 8 oz can of Tomato Sauce

1 med size onion chopped small

4 garlic cloves-Minced

1 tsp of sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of black pepper

1 tsp of dried oregano

1 tsp of dried sweet basil

In medium size pot add the olive oil, garlic and onions..cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, salt, black pepper, oregano and basil. Cook until nice and thick, about 15-20 minutes.

Now get all of your toppings together.  Time to start making the pizza. Make sure that the pizza dough is ready.

Take the dough and split in half. Each half is good for a 12 inch pizza. Using your hands, press the air out of each half and turn into a ball, tucking any loose dough under the ball.  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin if you have one and then place on your pizza pan.  Start assembling your pizza. Add the sauce..the cheese and all of the other toppings and sprinkle with olive oil.. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until the dough is nice and brown and the toppings are nice an bubbly and cheese has melted.