Apulian calzone: the recipe

How can you resist a crumbly shell of fried leavened dough that contains a delicious filling of tomato and mozzarella? Walking through the streets of Lecce and Gallipoli you can’t help but come across some takeaway window where trousers are put on display, these extraordinary delicacies that can also be enjoyed during a walk or while stopping at a bar table. The Apulian calzone recipe is one of the most replicated in Italy, which is why we want to share the original one with you.

Here is the recipe for the Apulian calzone

Ingredients for approximately 15 calzoni:

• 500 g of “00” flour
• 80 ml of milk
• 150 ml of water
• 25 g of brewer’s yeast
• 10 g of salt
• 10 g of sugar
• 40 g of lard

For the stuffing:

• an egg yolk
• fior di latte mozzarella
• tomato sauce
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• Origan
• sunflower seed oil for frying

Preparation

• To prepare the calzone dough, sift the flour into a well on a pastry board together with the salt; in the meantime, heat the milk and water together slightly: they should be lukewarm.

• Add the sugar and yeast inside and then begin to gradually incorporate the flour, kneading continuously. At this point, add the lard, continuing to work the mixture until it becomes compact. Sprinkle the dough with olive oil and let it rise in a bowl until it has doubled in volume (it will take approximately 3 to 5 hours)

• In the meantime, prepare the filling. Cut the mozzarella into very small cubes and in a bowl mix together the mozzarella and tomato puree; salt and flavor with oregano. Once the dough has risen, take the dough and make approximately 15 balls from it which you will roll out with a rolling pin until each ball reaches a diameter of 13 – 15 cm and a thickness of around 3 mm.

• Now fill the center of each disc with the tomato puree and mozzarella filling that you have previously prepared, seal the edges of the dough with the beaten egg yolk, close it in half, thus forming a crescent and press well on the edges with the fingers, to prevent the calzone from opening during cooking and the filling from coming out.

• Let the calzoni rise for another hour and then fry them in a pan with plenty of boiling oil until they become a nice golden colour. Drain them on absorbent paper and serve them hot! Didn’t your mouth water? Enjoy your meal!