Breakfast Calzones
Backstory:
One of my long time subscribers "ŦĦ3 Ḧḭṽḕ" requested my take on a breakfast pizza. Me being me I made two versions but neither was really a pizza. This is the recipe for the breakfast calzones.
Ingredients:
24 oz of pizza dough
4 large eggs
8 oz whole milk ricotta
8 oz breakfast sausage, loose not patties or links
8 oz sliced ham
4 oz mozzarella, grated whole milk low moisture
4 oz sharp cheddar, grated
8 oz cremini/baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Optional:
1/4 cup of pickled peppers of your choice (optional but highly recommended for balance)
Any other fillings you desire
1 egg for egg wash
Method:
Over medium-high heat, brown your breakfast sausage. Break into medium crumbles. Once brown remove from pan and set aside and allow to cool. Retain fat in the pan.
In the same pan sear ham until browned to your liking. Set aside to cool.
Saute mushrooms in sausage fat over medium-high heat. Add salt to taste. Deglaze pan with white wine or water as necessary to keep the sausage fond from burning. Once well-browned add unsalted butter and thyme and toss to combine. Set aside and allow to cool.
In a medium mixing bowl add eggs, ricotta, and salt to taste. Whisk until well combined. Pour into a cold medium saucepan.
Heat saucepan over medium-high while stirring egg/ricotta mixture constantly until the mixture just starts to firm up and lose it's liquidy state. This will get cooked again in the oven so we don't want to fully cook it here. Remove from pan and allow to cool.
Cut your pizza dough into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Work with one at a time while the others are covered with a damp towel or an overturned bowl.
Preheat oven to 500 Fahrenheit.
Roll out a dough ball into a 9-inch circle. Flatten the edges a bit thinner than the rest so as to create less thick overlap when we seal this.
On the near half begin placing your fillings. Be sure to maintain about 1 inch of uncovered edge in order to properly seal the calzone later. Using 1/4 of each ingredient: In this order place your ham, sharp cheddar, egg/ricotta mixture, mushrooms, sausage, pickled peppers (if using), mozzarella.
Dampen the outside edge of the dough with a wet finger to assist with sealing. Fold the far half towards you and over the fillings. Stretch it until it just reaches the inside edge of your 1-inch border and poke it down to get it to stick. Roll the outside edge of the border in towards the middle and push down to seal as you go. You can make a crimped pattern if you like but it is not necessary.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or dust with cornmeal. Ensure the calzone is not stuck to the work surface with a spatula or bench scraper. Using two hands lift the calzone onto the lined baking sheet. Repeat 8-11 until all calzones are rolled and filled.
Cut 3 slits in the tops of each calzone to allow steam to escape. Optionally you can also brush down the calzones with an egg wash of 1 egg mixed with 1 tbs of water.
Place into the center of a 500 Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes or until well browned and crispy. Remove from baking sheet and allow to rest/cool for 10 minutes.
Serve with a side of your marinara of choice.