Italian Baked Hamburgers with Cheese

Name: Italian Baked Hamburgers with Cheese
Prep time: P1H
Total time: P1H
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: pizza dough; ground beef; tomatoes; mozzarella cheese; spinach; garlic; olive oil; parmesan, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, grated; salt and black pepper

Submitted by Katie Jean

Italian baked calzones stuffed with seasoned ground beef, sun-dried tomatoes, wilted spinach, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Hand-sealed pizza dough pockets that bake up golden and crisp.

YIELD

1 batch

PREP

1 hrs

COOK

30 min

READY

1 hrs

Despite the name, these are proper calzones: rounds of pizza dough folded and pinched around a savory ground beef filling, then baked until the crust blisters and the cheese melts into the meat inside. The filling leans Italian pantry staples all the way. Garlic sauteed in olive oil, browned beef, rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, and a spoonful each of wilted spinach, mozzarella, and aged Parmesan in every pocket.

Sealing is the make-or-break moment. Keep the filling a clear half-centimeter from the edge and wet the dough rim with warm water before pressing. The rope-twist method (rolling the bottom edge up and over the top) takes an extra minute but is nearly leak-proof. A 30 to 60 minute second rise after shaping gives the dough a light, bread-like chew once baked.

Kitchen Tips

Use a pizza stone if you have one; preheat it with the oven for a crisper bottom crust.
Drain the ground beef thoroughly; excess fat will seep through the dough seam during baking.
Brush the sealed calzones with olive oil before baking for a burnished, glossy top.
Slide a piece of parchment under them for easy cleanup and no sticking.

Variations

Swap the beef for Italian sausage and skip the extra seasoning; the sausage carries it.
Add a few slices of fresh basil to each pocket for a brighter, fresher flavor.
Serve with warm marinara on the side for dipping.

Ingredients

LOAVES PIZZA DOUGH
or thawed frozen dough *

225

G GROUND BEEF *

CUPS TOMATOES
dried

CUP MOZZARELLA CHEESE
shredded *

CUPS SPINACH
washed, cooked, chopped

CLOVES GARLIC *

ML OLIVE OIL *

PARMESAN CHEESE
to taste *

SALT AND BLACK PEPPER
to taste *

Directions

Refresh the tomatoes in hot water and chop them.
Crush and sauté garlic in olive oil. Add the ground beef. Cook.
Drain off excess oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Take each loaf of pizza dough or bread dough and cut it into 4 pieces. Pat, roll or stretch each piece into a 15 to 20 cm circle.
Filling the calazones: Be sure to keep all filling at least ½ cm from the edge or else you will have trouble sealing them. Place 1 to 2 Tbls of meat on half of the dough. Add some tomato bits and spinach. Top with 1 Tbls cheese and a bit of parmesan.
Dip your fingers into warm water. Wet the edge of the dough. Stretch half of the dough over the filling and press the edges to seal. Either use your fingers or a fork to seal them. Or you can roll the bottom edge up over the top edge, twisting them together like a rope around the edge. This method is slightly more time consuming, but the calazones generally don’t leak.
Place calazones on a baking sheet that has been greased or covered with cornmeal. Let them rise in a warm place for 30 to 60 minutes. Brush lightly with oil. Bake 20 to 30 minutes at 180 ?C .