Mo pizza you say?

Let's face it, kids (and adults) love pizza.  Especially if it is in a convenient pocket style crust!  I am not a fan of the high salt, high fat, and low flavour store bought varieties.  That cute little dough man should be ashamed of himself!!

I have made these twice now and they are perfect to pack in school lunches.  When I ran out of pizza filling, I used ham and cheese.  There is no end to the possibities when it comes to fillings.  Whatever your family likes!!  When I make these, I like to do a big batch for the freezer so I have doubled the dough recipe. With this doubled dough recipe, you can make 32 tasty packets of yumminess.  I have adapted the basic dough recipe from Mitch's basic dough recipe to accomodate my stand mixer. There is no need to double the filling recipe as it makes lots, but if you do run out, fill the pops with whatever you have on hand! 
This is a multi step process but the results are well worth it and store well in the freezer.

Home made calzone goodness

For the filling:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter

        heat butter and oil in the pan and add:

• 1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped

         saute until the water has evaporated  season with salt and pepper and add:

• 1 500gram stick (log??) of pepperoni, chopped
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can water (or enough to thin paste to desired consistency)
• 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp oregano
• hot pepper flakes to taste

Allow filling to cool while dough rises.
For a double batch of pizza dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer), mix together

• 2 cups warm water
• 4 tbsps yeast (you can use less if  you would like but using this much yeast gives a great flavour)
• 4 tbsps honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil

While the yeast is getting its foam on:

In a bowl, combine:

• 7 cups flour (in the last batch I switched half of the flour for whole wheat)
• 1 tsp salt

Add the flour to the mixing bowl 1 cup at a time and knead with the dough hook on low.  Keep an eye on the dough as it mixes.  If it is too sticky, add more flour 1 tbsp at a time.  If the dough is too dry, add water 1 tbsp at a time.  Knead the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise for about an hour.
Punch the dough down and divide into 32 pieces.

Glorious dough, ready to go!

***If you really want to be nerdy like I am, measure out approximately 50 grams of dough per pizza pop!

Be careful with the dough balls, they will rise again and stick together!

Say cheese!
I have used shredded cheese in the past but tonight I found it easier to cut the mozzarella into slices and use a couple of those in each calzone.

• Mozzarella, shredded
• Provolone, thinly sliced 
• add some parmesean!

Assemble the pops!!

Measure out approximately 50 g of dough

Roll a ball of dough into a circular shape

 

Add 2 scoops of filling

Top with cheese

Press edges together to seal.

Crimp the edges to keep the seal closed.

Press down with the left finger whil pushing up with the right finger.

• Bake at 400 degrees F. for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

If you are freezing these, place cooled pops in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once frozen, transfer to zip top freezer bags and watch the kids make their own lunches!