*Dough can be made ahead of time and chilled or made the same day.
**Chicken requires overnight marinating – figure this into your recipe plans.
Calzone Ingredients:
(This makes 2 giant calzones, so I tripled the recipe for freezer club)
1/2 batch pizza dough* (see note)
2C cubed chicken breast
1/2C+ Buffalo sauce, divided (I used Frank’s Red Hot buffalo wing sauce)
1C mozzarella cheese, shredded
1C mild cheddar cheese, shredded
If prepping dough a day ahead, do so following the directions. Keep in a greased and covered bowl after the full rise time. Toss in the fridge until ready to use. Pull out of the fridge 45-60 minutes before making your calzones.
Prepare chicken by trimming any fat and cutting into bite size cubes. Toss cubed chicken into a bowl or food safe storage container. Top off with 3 tbsp buffalo sauce. Stir to coat. Cover container with plastic wrap or lid. Store in the fridge to marinate overnight.
Heat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. Cook chicken and additional 2 tbsp buffalo sauce. Stir well, cooking chicken for 5-10 minutes or until fully cooked. Transfer to a clean bowl. Add an additional 1/4C buffalo sauce to chicken. Stir to coat. Set aside. (For freezer club, I bake the chicken in a roasting pan at 350 for 35-40 minutes--less hands on time)
Prepare a baking sheet with one of the following: silpat, parchment, olive oil or cornmeal. Choose which works best for you. Divide dough into as many portions as you’d like. I made two (out of the half a batch of dough*). Stretch dough into a large circle or rectangle. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Let gravity help as well as pushing on the dough gently while resting on your prepared baking sheet. Flip and continue process until you are satisfied with the size.
Option:(Coat one half of the dough with chunky blue cheese dressing – almost to the edge but not quite. This is optional if your family likes blue cheese. I omitted for freezer club)
Top off with cooked buffalo chicken. Sprinkle with a mixture of both cheeses – roughly a handful will do. If making two or more calzones, keep this in mind as you grab and sprinkle the cheese… make sure you’re leaving plenty for the other(s).
Fold over the dough. Roll and pinch the edges to seal. Repeat process with remaining dough and ingredients on a second baking sheet.
Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut with a serrated knife into as many slices as desired.
Serve warm and enjoy. May dip in blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing.
*Pizza Dough (Again I tripled for freezer club):
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 pkg instant yeast
1 1/2 cups water, room temp
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
In a bowl or multi-cup measuring cup dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until the yeast puffs up, about 5 minutes or so. Add in second batch of water and oil, stir to combine.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix dry ingredients. Add in your liquid mixture slowly. You want this to form a fairly nice mass. Remove from your bowl and knead by hand for 5-10 minutes. Form your dough into a ball and tranfer to a large greased bowl. Flip the dough after tossing it in so both sides are now greased a bit. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, but not hot, location. Let your dough rise until it almost doubles in size, 2 hours or a bit more.
Divide dough into two equal parts. On a lightly floured work area, shape each part into a small ball knead and add more flour if necessary. If it sticks to your hands, add some flour, but just a small bit at a time. Cover with a damp towel. Let rise for 10-20 minutes more.
Preheat your oven to 450. Take one of the balls and roll out or stretch with your hands, to fit your pan.
