Homemade Calzone

I remember the first time I heard about calzones. I was in high school, and while over at a friend's house, we ordered pizza from a local place around the corner. After trying my very first calzone, I was hooked! I love that they're like little (or big!) pockets of pizza.


So I attempted to make my own after finding a recipe online. I used a trusted pizza dough recipe and threw in my own toppings. Here's how I did it:


Ingredients
For the crust:
Check out this tried-and-true pizza dough recipe


For the filling:
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
3-4 baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small can black olives
1/4 lb. small pepperoni, from the deli counter
1 cup grated cheese (I used an Italian blend)
1 (15 oz.) can Hunt's tomato sauce
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Dried Italian seasoning (or dried oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Make the pizza dough according to directions.
*Note: I added some dried herbs into mine to add a little color.
3. Meanwhile, slice and prepare the vegetables and garlic.
4. Once the dough has had time to rise, roll it out into a long rectangle.
*Note: do this on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or it will be difficult to move the finished calzone into the oven. 

5. Spread the desired amount of tomato sauce along the middle of the dough, leaving approximately 1/2" on each end and 1-1/2" inches on the sides.

6. Add the toppings on top of the tomato sauce, followed by the cheese, creating a mound in the center.

7. Now, to create the braided top, cut 1/2" strips from the tomato sauce to the end on both of the long ends of the dough. 
*Note: don't cut all the way to the filling, or it will spill out.

8. Wrap the calzone by criss-crossing the strips diagonally, alternating sides and overlapping the previous piece.

9. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

10. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.