Lunch Week 14: Vegetable Calzones

So every Sunday, I head over to the kitchen to whip up a big batch of food for lunch next week. Yes, I brown bag. And I almost always do it, unless I become too busy to even buy cold cuts from the deli. I do it for several reasons being health, finance, and laziness. Now, you may think that spending hours on a day off to prep and cook five meals at once is hardly lazy. But let me remind you, I hate it when the time comes to decide what to eat for lunch every day. I work in Midtown so the choices are endless. My problem, the more choices, the harder it is for me. So it's much easier for me to have my lunch ready and already decided.

So my lunch for the week: Vegetable Calzones

This past weekend, Mr. M&P and I made homemade pizzas. I'm still trying to master pizza dough and I just bought a new pizza peel to help ease my pizza transfer from pizza stone in oven to cooling rack. Since I already went ahead and made a large amount of dough as the recipe said, I used the rest to make calzones for lunch. Why calzones and not pizza? For ease of transportation.

I started off by using Jim Lahey's No Knead Dough recipe. Please note that the extended fermentation time (18 hours) means you'll need to prep the dough the night before. Luckily there are only 4 ingredients (flour, water, yeast, salt).

Let it sit until it gets all bubbly and have doubled or even tripled in size.

Then cut into 6 even pieces and shape into balls again.

Let rest for another hour until it doubles in size again.

Now with floured hands and a floured surface, stretch out the dough. Lahey recommends using the knuckles of your hands to slowly stretch the outer ring. This is really difficult. I've tried many times over and haven't gotten it just right. Some pizzas are better than others but most of the time I end up with a hole to patch up.

Once your dough is stretched to your liking, place on floured pizza peel.

Then add toppings and cheese. Do not be overly generous with the toppings. The heavier the pizza, the more difficult it will be to get it off the paddle and onto the stone. Trust me, I've made that mistake with Mr. M&P's massive pepperoni and sausage pie which had to be turned into a calzone instead. He is a toppings whore.

So for the calzones, I added a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom then layered on broccoli, baby bella mushrooms, onions, garlic, olives, red bell peppers, and tomatoes. A sprinkle of mozzarella and parmigiana cheese on top.

Note that I placed all the vegetables on just one side of the calzone. This helps ease the closing of the dough. Now take the other end and place it over the vegetables and cheese. Press gently on the edges to seal. Then in an over and tuck-in method, I closed up the edge. I took one end, rolled it over slightly and pressed it into the body of the calzone to seal. I repeated this process until I got a braid along the entire edge. Make sure the ends are secure. Finally, make one small slice on top so the steam can escape when baking.

Slide the calzone towards the edge of the pizza peel, then in one swoop, shake it off onto the hot pizza stone while pulling the paddle out. This may take a couple of tries but the point is to keep trying. Calzones are easier to practice with because no toppings spill over and burn. Everything is enclosed nicely.

Bake at the highest temperature that your oven allows for about 10-15 minutes until the dough is browned. Remove with same pizza peel and let rest on cooling rack. Be careful because it is extremely hot and liquid make leak out at this point. Let cool until you can handle it with bare hands. Slice in half and enjoy!

The vegetables, tomato sauce, and cheese were really well balanced. The calzone tasted filling without being fatty or heavy. I was certainly fulfilled. The dough was exceptional and is the best tasting homemade dough I've made. I'll definitely reuse the recipe over and over again.

Recipe below courtesy of Bon Appetit and Jim Lahey:

No-Knead Pizza Dough
RECIPE BY Jim Lahey
PHOTOGRAPH BY Tara Donne
MARCH 2012

This dough is chewy, bubbly, and better than what you'll get at most pizza places. It bakes wonderfully in a home oven, on a pizza stone or a baking sheet. And thanks to the brilliant no-knead method of Jim Lahey—owner of New York's Sullivan Street Bakery and pizza spot Co.—it's easy to prepare, deriving its character from overnight fermentation, not laborious kneading. Just remember to start at least 1 day ahead.

MAKES SIX 10"–12" PIZZAS
ACTIVE TIME: 90 MINUTES TOTAL TIME: 20 1/2 HOURS

INGREDIENTS
7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (1000 grams) plus more for shaping dough
4 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

PREPARATION
Whisk flour, salt, and yeast in a medium bowl. While stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add 3 cups water; stir until well incorporated. Mix dough gently with your hands to bring it together and form into a rough ball. Transfer to a large clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature (about 72°) in a draft-free area until surface is covered with tiny bubbles and dough has more than doubled in size, about 18 hours (time will vary depending on the temperature in the room).
Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Gently shape into a rough rectangle. Divide into 6 equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, gather 4 corners to center to create 4 folds. Turn seam side down and mold gently into a ball. Dust dough with flour; set aside on work surface or a floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining portions.
Let dough rest, covered with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, until soft and pliable, about 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Wrap each dough ball separately in plastic wrap and chill. Unwrap and let rest at room temperature on a lightly floured work surface, covered with plastic wrap, for 2–3 hours before shaping.

TO MAKE THE PIZZAS
During the last hour of dough's resting, prepare oven: If using a pizza stone, arrange a rack in upper third of oven and place stone on rack; preheat oven to its hottest setting, 500°–550°, for 1 hour. If using a baking sheet, arrange a rack in middle of oven and preheat to its hottest setting, 500°–550°. (You do not need to preheat the baking sheet.)
Working with 1 dough ball at a time, dust dough generously with flour and place on a floured work surface. Gently shape dough into a 10"–12" disk.

IF USING PIZZA STONE
When ready to bake, increase oven heat to broil. Sprinkle a pizza peel or rimless (or inverted rimmed) baking sheet lightly with flour. Place dough disk on prepared peel and top with desired toppings.
Using small, quick back-and-forth movements, slide pizza from peel onto hot pizza stone. Broil pizza, rotating halfway, until bottom of crust is crisp and top is blistered, 5–7 minutes.
Using peel, transfer to a work surface to slice. Repeat, allowing pizza stone to reheat under broiler for 5 minutes between pizzas.

IF USING A BAKING SHEET
Arrange dough disk on baking sheet; top with desired toppings. Bake pizza until bottom of crust is crisp and top is blistered, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a work surface to slice. Repeat with remaining pizzas.