A calzone is a pizza that is folded in half. This is great for lunch boxes because it is portable and the kids can eat it with their hands. It also makes a great lunch for field trips. This is fun for a slumber party/play date. I let Trader Joe’s do some of the work by using their premade raw pizza dough. I like the wheat one. It doesn’t get as fluffy as the Bridgeford Frozen bread dough since it is pizza dough not bread loaf dough. Unfortunately Bridgeford doesn’t have a wheat dough, but everything in moderation. My kids get whole wheat for all their other sandwiches so I feel once in a while the white is fine.

Hardware – cookie tray/pizza pan, rolling pin, cutting board, flatwear teaspoon, knife, pastry brush (if you child won’t put a finger in the egg wash), parchment paper,

Software – tomato paste with Italian herbs, raw pizza dough, string cheese cut into fourths, low fat salami/turkey sausage/(even the brown and serve breakfast sausages work great) cut in half, dried oregano, garlic powder, egg, 1 tsp milk, any other pizza toppings your family enjoys i.e. drained crushed pineapples, sautéed mushrooms, diced bell pepper, artichoke, sun-dried tomatoes,

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 F.
2. Sprinkle flour on your cutting board so the dough won’t stick to the board. Sprinkle flour in your palm and rub your palm up and down your rolling pin to prevent sticking of your dough.
3. Pull off a piece of dough and roll it in your hands so you have a racquetball size ball of dough. Place it on your cutting board and put your rolling pin in the center of the ball. Gently roll the rolling pin away from you. Place the rolling pin in the center again and roll towards you.
4. Pick up your flattened dough and rotate it 90 degrees. Repeat the rolling process. Rotate and roll again until you have a nice flat disc about half an inch thick.
5. Using the back of a silverware teaspoon to swipe on about 1/2 tsp of tomato paste.
6. Put 1/2 a piece of breakfast sausage or 1 piece of salami then add 1/4 of a stick of string cheese.
7. Dip your index finger in the dish of water and apply water to the edge of the dough. Pull up the dough to meet each other. I say look at your dough like a compass. the North meets the South and the East meets the West. Then pull up the other left over edges and pinch everything together. It is important that the seal is tight.
8. Roll the dough ball over so the seam is underneath. Place it on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
9. Make an egg wash by cracking the egg in a small dish. Add the milk and scramble it together as if you were making scrambled egg. Using either your finger or a pastry brush, apply a thin layer of egg wash on the calzone. Sprinkle it with garlic powder and oregano.
10. Take your sharp knife and lightly cut across the top of your calzone to vent it. Cut 2 slashes. Be careful not to cut too deep. You should be cutting the dough until you see the filling.
11. Bake til golden brown and delicious. About 20 mins.
12. Enjoy.

You can also make this into a breakfast Hot Pocket by adding cooked scrambled eggs in it. I did this with the leftover egg wash. Make it into scrambled eggs. Put the eggs, cheese, meat, tomato paste in one. and enjoy a handheld breakfast on the go.