Vegan Calzones
 
 
The Seventh Grader wanted calzones for his birthday dinner and it's so easy to let guests make their own with their choice of ingredients. I made some tofu ricotta cheese, had mushrooms, spinach, black olives, and green bell pepper to fill up the calzones. Bake, then top with warm marinara and you're ready to eat!
Author:
Ingredients
  • Dough:
  • I packet (2-1/4 tsp) yeast
  • 1 C warm water
  • 2 Tbs agave
  • ¼ C olive oil
  • 3-1/2 C flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Calzones:
  • Veggies of your choice, such as: spinach, mushrooms, tofu ricotta, bell pepper, roasted red pepper, Daiya Mozzarella, etc.
  • 1 jar marinara sauce (This was enough for 5 calzones)
Directions
  1. Using a mixer, combine the water, yeast, and agave and blend well. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to get foamy. In medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. With the mixer running, add the oil, then gradually, the flour.
  2. Squeeze the dough together tightly and knead it a little to get a smooth ball. Place it in a large, oiled bowl.
  3. Cover with a dish towel and place it in a warm place for about an hour. It ought to nearly triple in size.
  4. Punch it down and transfer to a floured surface. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, or until you no longer hear "dough-farts." I divided the dough into 5 parts or five calzones, but you can easily get 6-7 calzones from this recipe. I rolled them out ahead of time and layered them in between sheets of waxed paper.
  5. If you do this, I recommend lightly greasing the waxed paper sheets. I then placed the stack in a large ziplock and stored them in the fridge until we were ready to assemble them.
  6. Preheat oven to 350. Fill up the calzones with whatever veggies you'd like. You can also ladle some marinara sauce inside, too. I've never been good about making things like this look pretty, so we ended up with a motley crew of calzones.
  7. Bake for 12-15 minutes--not too long, or the tops will get hard and crunchy.
  8. Top with some marinara sauce and enjoy!
Recipe by Epicurean Vegan at http://epicureanvegan.com/2011/12/04/vegan-calzones/