Recipe: Sausage Calzones (Italian Pizza Pockets)

Sausage Calzones (Italian Pizza Pockets)
Calzones are a favorite meal at home. They are kind of like an inside out pizza (bread on the outside, pizza stuff on the inside). They are fairly easy to make, very filling and very good! - rec.food.recipes/Kirk Pearson/1990

Pasta Sauce:
Use your favorite homemade, canned or powdered sauce. Make a lot to pour
over the calzones.

1 lb sausage (Italian sausage works well)
1 medium size container ricotta cheese
1 lb parmesan cheese
pepperoni (as much or little as you want)
1 egg

Prepare roll dough (see recipe below). Separate dough into 6 portions (can make more smaller calzones or fewer larger calzones). Roll out each portion into a circular shape (about 1/4" thick, 9" diameter).

Brown the sausage in a skillet. Drain and set aside.

Beat the egg into the ricotta cheese (this will thicken the ricotta when it cooks). Grate the parmesan cheese if it isn't already grated.

Spread a layer of ricotta over half the dough circle. Add a layer of parmesan (thick or thin, according to taste). Add a layer of sausage. Add a layer of pepperoni. Sprinkle oregano and/or red chilies on top if you like.

Fold the empty half of the dough circle over the filled half and crimp the edges so it forms a wedge-pocket. Place on a lightly-greased cookie sheet.

Bake calzones at 450 degrees F for 7-9 minutes. The dough should look like roll dough looks when it is finished.

Pour the pasta sauce over the top of the calzones and enjoy!

Notes:
Sausage and pepperoni are the main ingredients in my mother's calzones. Feel free to add or subtract other ingredients, such as green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives, for a different taste. A vegetarian version of this recipe would work well. Ricotta cheese was not an original ingredient in the recipe, but it helps make the calzones less dry and tastes good. The roll dough is a general purpose roll dough. It is less dry than the original dough used in the recipe, and its slight sweetness complements the overall flavor.

Basic Roll Dough
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 package yeast
1 egg

Heat milk and butter until warm. In a large bowl blend sugar, salt, yeast and egg. Beat for 2 minutes with the beater on low setting. Stir in flour by hand. Knead until smooth and elastic. Turn in greased bowl. Let rise.

If you are just making rolls, let the dough rise until it doubles, then bake at 450 degrees F for 9 minutes.