Calzone, or Who Needs New York

Melissa Clark's columns in the dining section of the New York Times are inevitably funny, informative, and hungry-making.

Last week, not only did she make her own ricotta (swoon), but she made calzones. Since we frequently make pizza on Sunday nights, I decided that this week my pizza would be a calzone, according to MC's instructions.

Well. John made tomato sauce from scratch, which was delicious. He also made dough from scratch, in the Kitchenaid. 

His proportions for the dough for two pizzas are 350g "00" flour to 218g (weigh it!) lukewarm water, and a small packet of instant yeast. You can scale these up or down as needed. Add a desert-spoon of olive oil and several large pinches of salt. Mix together in a stand mixer or knead by hand until silky and awesome. Leave it to rise in a warmish place for about an hour and a half, until it doubles in size. If you poke it and it doesn't collapse but the dimple stays, it's perfect. Do NOT knock it back.

For pizza:

Roll it out with a rolling pin, and put it on a floured tray, then add your toppings (not too many), and put it on a pizza stone in the oven heated as high as it will go, until it's bubbling and crispy.

For Melissa Clark's calzone of awesomeness:

Roll it out until it's about 12" in diameter. Smear a little bit of tomato sauce on the bottom (she didn't; I did, it rocked). Add mozzarella, ricotta, some sauteed spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes). 

Use your finger to dab water around the edge of the calzone, then fold over and pinch closed. Brush the top with olive oil (or drizzle it on and smear it with your mitts if you can't find the pastry brush, gosh darn it).

Bake in the oven at super-high (ours was at 350C, the highest it will go) until it's golden and crispy and sounds hollow when you take it out and knock on it. Mine was in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Shut up. Who needs New York? This was the best calzone I've ever tasted. And I was a pig and ate the whole thing. Along with two lactose pills.

Special thanks to the Husband for making such awesome pizza dough.