The Perfect Sourdough Calzone | Easy and Delicious

We love to have a pizza night once a week and generally have a sourdough crust with toppings. Recently, I decided to try my pizza crust recipe and make it into sourdough calzone instead. To say this was a good idea is an understatement!

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I think we can all agree that pizza night is the best night of the week, ha ha! All that cheese, the perfectly crisp crust, and the tang of the tomato sauce make for the perfect dish, in my opinion.

Years ago, I visited a local restaurant that served calzones. I had never had one before and thought it sounded delicious, so, I tried it.

The memory of that calzone stuck with me for a long time. So much so, that I would order a calzone at any restaurant that served it.

Fast forward to my recent years cooking from scratch and making my bread products with sourdough, I had to convert my pizza crust into a calzone.

Why Sourdough?

Sourdough is a process of fermenting your bread dough with a sourdough starter. This process breaks down the gluten and proteins that can sometimes be hard to digest for gluten sensitive people.

In order to get the most benefits of the fermentation process, you need to let your dough ferment for at least 12-24 hours.

As you can see, the process of sourdough can be very helpful for many people. If you’ve never made a Sourdough Starter it’s easy and fairly quick to do.

The great news is that once you have an active starter, as long as you maintain it, it will last for as long as you want it.

There are starters that have been handed down through generations!

I choose to grind my own wheat in my kitchen to use in my sourdough baking. It’s actually quite easy these days.

It’s a simple as turning on a machine and adding the wheat berries to have fresh milled flour.

This is the grain mill I use: Nutrimill Grain Mill

It super easy to use and one of the most affordable electric grain mills on the market.

Of course, working with freshly milled flour in sourdough can be a little tricky. However, with sourdough pizza crust and calzones, it is quite easy to convert to fresh flour!

What is Active Sourdough Starter?

Active starter is starter that was fed within the last 24 hours and is bubbly and active.

What is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough starter discard is hungry starter that has not been fed recently. It will have a liquid on top and smell of acetone.

What you will need for this recipe

• Flour: I use freshly milled hard white wheat. You can use all purpose flour, bread flour, or whole wheat flour.
• Sourdough Starter: You will need to use active sourdough starter.
• Water: For best results, use filtered water.
• Salt: I use Redmond Real Salt

I use my Sourdough Pizza Crust recipe as the base of this crust.

Step by Step Instructions for making this Sourdough Calzone Recipe

The morning before you want to make pizza for dinner, add the starter, water, salt, and 2 1/2 cups of the flour to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Start the mixer and slowly add the remaining half cup of flour on low speed.

Let knead for 10-15 minutes or until it becomes glossy and very stretchy. I use a Nutrimill Artiste Stand Mixer however you can knead by hand if you prefer.

Place the ball of dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 4-8 hours at room temperature.

Note: If your kitchen is particularly cool, find a warm place for the dough to rise.

Alternatively, you can place the dough in the fridge after it rises for at least 4 hours and make the pizza whenever you want.

After your dough has risen for several hours it will be bubbly and have an airy feel when pressed with your finger.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

Divide the pizza dough into 4 equal portions.

Roll dough ball into a circle measuring approximately 10 inches in diameter.

Add sauce, cheese, and any other favorite pizza toppings you prefer on one side of the circle of dough.

Fold the other side of dough over the toppings and pinch the seams closed in a half circle shape. You can take a fork to crimp them tightly.

Place each prepared calzone on a prepared baking sheet.

Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Another option is to preheat a pizza stone and bake the calzones on the stone.

Variations

Try adding bell peppers, onions, and mozzarella cheese for a delicious calzone!

Add fig jam, bacon, and goat cheese for a figgy piggy option!

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Store in freezer safe bags in the freezer for up to 3 months.