Filling:

1 lb. sausage (or use ground beef)
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can tomato paste + 1 can water
basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste
mozzarella cheese, the amount depends on how cheesy you like it.


For 1 crust:

1 pkg dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. oil
2 1/2 cups flour

Brown the sausage with the onion and garlic. Drain the grease. Add the other ingredients and combine them well, letting them heat together for a few minutes.

The amounts listed for crust ingredients will make 1 pizza crust. For these calzones, I doubled it to get 2 crusts. (Original poster's comments, when I made, I made dough as listed, which was enough for four good sized calzones. I would not double for us.)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the other ingredients (I used a stand mixer with a dough hook for this step.) Beat the ingredients until well mixed. Let the dough rest 5 minutes.

Now it's time to assemble the calzones.

I rolled out half of my dough (remember, I doubled the dough recipe) on the counter. Spread half the meat mixture onto one side of the dough and add the cheese. Fold the dough over the top and lift the whole thing up onto a baking stone or lightly greased cookie sheet.

Now, you know my mistake. I would have taken a picture of it but I had dough, meat and cheese all over my hands. Hot meat placed directly on unbaked dough creates a sticky mess. Nearly impossible to lift onto a baking stone. I did manage it, but it made for a pretty ugly calzone. I was smarter with the next one. I rolled the dough on the counter and transferred it to the baking sheet before filling it.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes. I'm guessing it might take a shorter amount of time if you make smaller calzones.

These wouldn't have won any beauty contests, but they tasted wonderul. We had a whole one left for the next day's lunch. I just heated it in the oven. It was crunchier than the night before, but every bit as wonderful.


Stacy's Notes:
Made this for the first time June 2010. Tim had been wanting calzones and this one looked good, not to mention I had most of the ingredients on hand. Made the dough as directed (did not double), and I used what yeast I had on hand (bread machine yeast in a glass jar). Did the dough in my Kitchen-aid mixer with the dough hook. Once it was mixed up, I let it go on the lowest speed for about 4-5 minutes, then let rest for a few minutes. I did as her instructions said, and was sure to roll out the dough onto the baking sheet before I added the filling and cheese. I didn't measure mine well and three of them were larger than the other one, but that worked out fine for us :)

I used one package of spicy ground sausage, jarred minced garlic, and everything else the same (less than one can of water though). There was more filling than for my four large pieces of calzone dough. Cooked in my oven for about 22 minutes on 400-425. Really good, Tim said I could make again any time :) Next time, I'll probably experiment with different fillings and I might also just use jarred pizza sauce instead of tomato paste and water.