Whole Wheat Calzone with Chicken, Red Chard & Gorgonzola Cheese

For the dough:

For the dough, I used 1 pound of Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg’s master recipe from their new book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. If using this recipe, make the dough, refrigerate it, and then cut off 1 pound (about the size of a large grapefruit) of the dough. It is not necessary to let the dough rise for 90 minutes on the pizza peel when making calzones, flatbreads, and pizzas. However, here I am providing you with the recipe for my (partially) whole wheat pizza dough recipe.

Pour the yeast into a large bowl. Add water and honey, and stir. Let the mixture sit until foamy bubbles appear on the surface of the water, about 10 minutes. Add the flours, salt, and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 5-6 minutes. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the ball of dough in the bowl and lightly spray the surface with cooking spray. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let the dough rest in a warm, draft-free room for 1 hour.

For the calzone:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place a pizza baking stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat for 30 minutes. On a rack underneath or above the pizza stone (arranged so that it does not interfere with the pizza stone and calzone), place an empty metal broiler rack.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and cook until the chicken is barely cooked. The chicken will cook further when baked in the calzone, so you don’t want to overcook it at this stage. Set the chicken aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in the same large skillet over medium heat. Add the chard, season with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and cook until the chard is just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.

On a well-floured surface, roll the dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle. Place the chicken, chard, and Gorgonzola cheese on half of the dough. Brush the edges with water, fold the unfilled portion of dough over the filling, and press to seal the edges.

Using your hands, carefully transfer the calzone to a pizza peel covered in cornmeal. Brush the surface of the calzone with water. Cut three slits in the dough, making sure the cuts go all the way through the top layer of dough.

With a quick jerk, slide the calzone onto the baking stone. Quickly pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler rack and close the oven door immediately.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let rest for about 5 minutes before slicing. Serve.