When I noticed that Publix had their pizza dough on sale this week for just $1.29, I knew a pizza-kind-of-night was in store at our house! We love Publix pizza dough, and while it's not quite the same as homemade, it's awfully easy to work with and tastes fantastic. (I'm also really curious about this cauliflower pizza dough . . . if you need something gluten free it might be worth checking out!)
You do have to be willing to work a bit to get the dough all pressed flat (which gives you a nice little arm workout while you get dinner cooking. . . ) Once your dough is ready, add whatever extra toppings your family enjoys to each calzone ~ my kids had just pepperoni and cheese, but my hubby and I added mushrooms, onions, and green peppers to ours. (I wish we'd had spinach or even diced chicken on hand because I think a those would have been yummy too!) So, rather than just ordering take out tonight, grab a few simple ingredients and get cooking.
Fresh Baked Calzones
Homemade Calzone Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon of basil or italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon of garlic salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions with Bread Machine:
- Put in liquid ingredients in bread machine then add dry.
- Mix on dough setting
Directions Without Bread Machine:
- Mix all ingredients in bowl
- Mix by hand or if you have a kitcheaid use the hook attachment for 10 minutes
- Cover bowl with towel or plastic wrap for an hour (should rise)
You can freeze by putting in a resealable bag if making balls either freeze them separately or put wax paper to separate them. Just take them out of the fridge the morning you want to have them for dinner.
Ingredients
- Pizza Dough (we used two loaves of Publix Pizza dough to make two huge calzones at our house, but you could also make your own, or even try out this Cauliflower Pizza Dough!)
- Pepperoni
- Olive Oil
- Cheese
- Italian Seasoning
- Butter or margarine, melted
- Additional toppings (mushrooms, spinach, onions, green peppers, tomatoes . . . whatever you choose!)
- Marinara sauce for dipping
Directions
- Roll out pizza dough into large round circle. If you're having a hard time getting it to roll out thinly, try holding it up to let the weight of the dough stretch it out.
- Brush inside of crust with olive oil.
- Add pepperoni and any additional toppings.
- Sprinkle cheese ~ I used about 1 1/2 cups per calzone.
- Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning ~ I used between 1/2 and 1 tsp. on each calzone.
- Fold crust and press to seal. (Note: I thought mine was sealed pretty well but it definitely started to “poof” while it was baking! It may not be the prettiest calzone ever, but I promise it'll be delicious.) 😉
- Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't brown too quickly.
- Brush crust lightly with melted butter or margarine. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and a little garlic salt (optional).
- Serve with marinara sauce.
Thanks to I Heart Publix for the coupon matchups, and check out $5 Dinner Mom for more bargain meal deals! If you need a little more menu inspiration, go HERE.
I’ve frozen the pizza dough from Publix and used it up to 3 weeks later and had no problems with it. I usually buy several when it is on sale and put them in the freezer. I’ve also never been disappointed with the dough I’ve purchased. Yes, it will give you a workout and you will spend some time stretching it out, but be patient; it’s all worth the effort! Laurie, after awhile, I also hold it and let the weight of it stretch it out and just work it around. I’ve also been know to work it, stretch, and tuck it under my pizza pan several places around and let it sit for a few minutes to stretch. I’ll do anything!!
I’m getting ready to tackle that dough this afternoon ~ thanks for the tips Susan! (I think I may set it out of the fridge for 30 minutes prior to preparing it so it might be more malleable, we’ll see if that helps.) Love the idea to freeze it!
what a yummy recipe and easy to make Ty
I made this tonight and added ricotta. Very good!
So glad you like it! We need to add it to our menu plan again soon ~ love the idea of adding ricotta! 🙂
I bought it last week and couldn’t get it to rise for calzones. They came out really thin and the dough wouldn’t stretch. Maybe the dough was old and had been in the refrigerator too long before I bought it. My daughter and I still ate it but was a flat calzone…lol
Hmmmm…. I flattened mine out really well with a roller (which seemed to take forever, I probably spent 15 minutes trying to stretch it out by rolling and finally just held it up so that the weight of the dough would stretch it out!) It did fluff up then in the oven as it baked. I hate that it didn’t work for you Kristie! 🙁
Have you ever frozen the Publix pizza dough? Definitely want to try this recipe and thought about stocking up on the pizza dough while it is on sale.
I haven’t… but can’t think of any reason you couldn’t really ~ it definitely would be worth checking at the bakery though because I’m betting they would know (they might even get it frozen!) Let me know if you find out!
Well, I checked and the ladies at my Publix bakery stuck by what the label on the pizza dough said and that is that it can be frozen after purchase but should still be used within 7 days of date on label. I may risk $1.29 and freeze one with my Foodsaver and see what happens!