GF Calzones

This GF Calzone is fluffy, moist, and simply delicious. I think I've created a phenomenal recipe; I love that it is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside!

However, this great recipe didn't come easily. It has taken me 3 tries to create the perfect gluten-free calzone recipe. It was totally worth the effort and frustration. The result of my first try was dough that was too sticky to roll out easily. This resulted in my creation of a semi-"scrambled" calzone on the pizza stone; however, the cooked dough tasted delicious! For the second try, I altered the ingredients to make the dough less sticky. Unfortunately, I made too many alterations because it was way too sticky to fold into a calzone and the flavor wasn't as good as the first attempt.

The third time was a charm! I went back to the original recipe with a few adjustments. I also learned the trick to working with sticky gluten-free doughs - grease, grease, and more grease! By grease, I mean extra virgin olive oil cooking spray. So, please take my suggestion to grease the parchment paper, your spoons, your hands, and your spatulas with olive oil cooking spray. I've learned this by experience! :)  I'm completely overjoyed with the delicious results of my third try! The GF Calzone rises nicely and, of course, tastes As Good As Gluten!

I made a Chicken Alfredo calzone (using my Low Cal Alfredo recipe) with green peppers, pineapple, and onions. The flavors complemented the calzone dough well. I've also made a calzone with marinara sauce, sausage, and onions and a three cheese calzone with tomato and basil, which both tasted delicious. The GF Calzone recipe below also makes a great pizza crust. 

GF Calzones
Ingredients:
·¼ plus 1/8 cup warm water
·1 package yeast
·¼ cup sugar
·Dash of salt
·1 tsp baking powder
·1½ tsp garlic powder
·1½ tsp onion powder
·1½ tsp Italian seasoning
·1¼ cup GF flour
·1 tsp xanthan gum
·1 egg
·1 TBS butter, softened
·¼ cup applesauce
·1½ TBS extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Directions:
Preheat oven and pizza stone to 400˚. Combine yeast and sugar with warm water to proof the yeast. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients from salt to xanthan gum. Add egg, butter, applesauce, EVOO, and proofed yeast. Mix until well combined – the dough will be sticky.

Roll the dough out between two pieces of greased parchment paper (My photos are of 1 large calzone, which turned out great. But, from previous experience, it is easier to make 2-4 smaller calzones instead of 1 large calzone).  Peel off the top piece of parchment paper and add desired toppings to one side of the calzone dough. Then, fold the bottom piece of parchment paper (with the dough on it) over to cover the other half of the dough that has the toppings on it (essentially “folding” the pizza in half to form a calzone). Use the back of a greased spoon to form the edges and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the top of the calzone with additional spices/seasoning.

Carefully remove the hot pizza stone from the oven and sprinkle the pizza stone with corn meal. Using a greased spatula/turner, carefully transfer the calzone from the parchment paper onto the pizza stone. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough is cooked and the calzone is browned.

Yield: 4-6 servings

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sunday's