Horseshoe Calzone Pizza

If you have been reading my blog regularly, you will all know my husband's obsession with pizza. He loves pizza. He says if he was stuck in a island with only one kind of food to eat, it will have to be pizza. So I have been trying to make different kinds of pizza once every two weeks or so. This one was definitely one of the best! We tried this amazing horseshoe shaped calzone pizza in Pismo Beach, CA and I looked everywhere to find a good recipe. Then I saw this one stromboli recipe on "Let her bake cake" and decided to give that a try with a few changes. Hilary uses about 2 cups flour but I used 1 cup flour and it made a very soft and crunchy dough. The first time I tried making it, I failed because I measured things all wrong! But the second time, I kind of made up my own recipe based on the stromboli recipe and my goodness, it turned out fantastic! It was just like the one we tried in Pismo Beach and my husband was happy. HAPPY. We will definitely try it again, maybe with different fillings next time.

Horseshoe Calzone Pizza

Dough Recipe
(inspired by "Let her bake cake")

1 cup flour, plus 1 or 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lukewarm water
Eggwash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water whisked together)

Filling

8-10 slices salami
10-12 slices pepperoni
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
10 basil leaves
4 small sweet red peppers, sliced in rings
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated or cut in cubes
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese, fresh or powder to sprinkle

Direction:

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast together in large bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil, then pour in about half the water. Mix using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula (my favorite thing to mix dough with!) adding more water as necessary, until you have a shaggy dough. It should be easily come together but not too wet when touched.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. You may need to add flour to the surface as you go, to keep the dough from sticking. Shape the dough into a ball, lightly coat with love oil and place it into a bowl. Cover with a damp towel. Let rise for one hour.

Punch down the dough gently in the bowl once or twice. Turn onto a lghtly floured surface and knead for another 5-8 minutes. Shape into a ball, coat with oil and return to the bowl, covered, to rise another hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Punch down the dough again. Return the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it out to rough rectangle, about 10 X 16, 1/4 inch thick. (Don't roll it out too thin)

On the dough, spread tomato sauce and sprinkle Italian seasoning. Layer with salami, pepperoni, sundried tomatoes, basil leaves, and Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.

Roll the dough from top tightly into a tube and seal the edges. Curve the both ends slightly to make it look like a horseshoe. Brush the dough with eggwash thoroughly and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Using a knife, make small slices on the dough as shown in the picture above. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the dough becomes golden brown. Serve warm!

Yummy! Enjoy!!