OAMC Homemade Hot Pockets or Calzones
Three fillings
Serve these hot. Because they have fillings that may spoil, once baked, refrigerate them as you would any other meat or cheese sandwich. If you are making them to freeze, remove from the oven when light brown instead of golden brown, and reheat preferably in the oven.
Notice that all the fillings are fully cooked before being wrapped in the hot pocket dough.
Favorite bread dough recipe using 6-7 cups flour (2 large loaves)
cornmeal for baking pan
4 eggs, beaten, for egg wash
Filling for 16 pockets
Filling #1 Veggie Supreme Pizza/Calzone
1 1/4 quarts tomato sauce
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 pounds grated mozzarella cheese
1 pound sliced medium mushrooms, sauteed
4 cups chopped artichoke hearts
3 red onions, diced
3 cups sliced olives
Filling #2 Meat and cheese
2 1/2 pounds diced cooked ham, sausage, roast, or tiny meatballs
OR 3 pounds ground beef, turkey or pork, cooked and drained
2 pounds diced or shredded cheese
1 pound (2 cups) diced cream cheese mixed with
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano
OPTIONAL 3-4 cups sauteed seasoning veggies, onion, bell pepper, diced tomato, etc.
Filling #3 Oriental Tofu and spinach
Freeze tofu overnight, then thaw, before mixing this filling
2-3 pounds firm tofu, frozen, thawed, crumbled and drained, mixed with
1 tablespoon low salt soy sauce or hoisin sauce and
2 tablespoons mild white miso
2 pounds fresh spinach, steamed, shredded, drained
1 pound fresh bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, or mixed Chinese
veggies, sauteed and drained
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1 6 ounce can slivered water chestnuts
OPTIONAL 3 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds to garnish bread
Make a yeast bread dough from your favorite recipe. If you are using your bread machine, set the machine for “dough” so that it will rise but not bake. By hand, let rise once until double, knock down and let rise again.
After the dough is ready to handle, divide it into bun-sized pieces, eight pieces for a 1 pound loaf from 3 cups flour or 16 for a 2 pound loaf from 6-7 cups flour. Let rest 10 minutes. Roll each piece flat with a rolling pin into about a 7 inch circle.
Mix the filling and divide the filling evenly among the 16 pockets. Place the filling, meat, cheese, and condiments in the center of the bread pieces. Wet the edges of the dough with a little water or beaten egg, pull the dough around the filling like a turnover, pinching the seams closed. The dough tends to pull apart on the seams as it rises the last time, so pinch the seams tightly together making sure that they are bound and sealed well.
Place the buns seam side down on a greased baking sheet which was sprinkled with cornmeal on the bottom of the sheet pan to help prevent the pockets/calzone from sticking. Brush with the beaten egg. Let the dough rise until puffy and doubled. It will take longer to rise than regular dough alone because of the cool filling in the dough.
Bake in a 400øF oven for 13 - 18 minutes (varies because of the bread dough), until the dough is golden and the filling is hot and melted. You may brush the dough with olive oil when it comes out of the oven, giving it added flavor. The olive oil will also soften the crust a bit after it has cooled. To recrisp the crust, bake at 500øF for 2 - 4 minutes.
Serve these hot. Because they have fillings that may spoil, refrigerate them as you would any other meat or cheese sandwich. Great for picnics and box lunches.
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