Pork-Filled Calzones

Often thought of as “street food”, these sandwich turnovers are great at home, too!

Makes 12 Calzones

Ingredients

  • Filling Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ground pork butt
  • 1 large onion, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 ribs celery, minced
  • 1 carrot, minced
  • 1 sweet yellow or red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Fine sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
  • Dough Ingredients
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup warm 1% low-fat milk
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 4 - 1/2 to 5 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 - 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 egg slightly beaten
  • Sesame seeds for sprinkling
  • Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water and mix with a spoon until the yeast dissolves. Let the mixture proof for about 5 minutes. Small clusters of chalky-looking bubbles should appear on the surface. Stir in the milk. With a fork, beat in the eggs one at a time. Set the mixture aside.
  2. To make the dough in a bowl, mix together 4 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, and salt. Break up the butter over the dry ingredients and work it in with your hands until a crumbly mixture is obtained. Add the yeast mixture and mix with your hands until a ball of dough is formed. Add additional flour if necessary to obtain a dough that is soft but not too sticky.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it for 3 to 4 minutes, until smooth. Let the dough rest on the work surface for 10 minutes, covered with a towel or inverted bowl. Knead the dough again for 5 minutes, until smooth and no longer sticky.
  4. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking oil spray or lightly coat with butter. Gather up the dough, place it in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
  5. Pork Filling
  6. In a sauté pan, brown the pork in its own fat, along with the onion and garlic. Pour off the fat.
  7. Add the celery, carrot, sweet pepper, and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft; the mixture will be fairly dry. Add the wine and raise the heat to high; continue cooking until most of the wine has evaporated. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the tomato sauce. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Set the mixture aside to cool while you roll out the dough.
  8. Punch down the dough, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 3 to 4 minutes, until smooth and no longer sticky. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered with a towel.
  9. Roll each piece out on the floured surface into a 6- to 7- inch round. Spread about 1/3 cup of the filling over one half of each round. Fold the dough over the filling to form a turnover or half-moon shape, and crimp and seal the edges with a fork dipped in flour.
  10. Place the calzones at least 1 inch apart on baking sheets that have been sprayed with olive oil spray. Brush the tops of the calzones with the beaten egg and sprinkle sesame seeds and coarse salt over the tops. With scissors, cut a small X in the center of each calzone. Allow the calzones to rise for 20 minutes.
  11. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
  12. Bake the calzones for 25 to 30 minutes, until they are golden brown on the top and bottom. Remove them from the baking sheets with a wide spatula and let them cool slightly on cooling racks. These are best eaten warm.

This recipe was featured on Season 20 - Episode 2016.

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