Preparation

• In a bowl, sift the flour for the pre-ferment. Dissolve the fresh yeast in the water and add it to the flour. Mix with one hand until a dough forms. Cover the bowl very well with food wrap and let it rise.

  Prepare the dough. In a large bowl, place the pre-ferment (which, in the meantime, will have doubled in size), half the water, and half of the sifted flour. Begin to mix roughly. Then add the remaining water and flour, salt, and oil and knead until you get a soft, easy-to-work dough. Personally, I prefer to work the doughs in the bowl to avoid adding more flour. If the dough is too stiff, add a few teaspoons of water, without overdoing it, until the desired consistency is obtained. Let it rest for about 30 minutes, covered with an inverted bowl. After the time has passed, take the dough and divide it into 8 pieces, approximately the same weight, roll them on themselves and form spheres, which we will let rise for about two hours or until doubled.

  Now we can focus on the filling. Wash and remove the tougher outer leaves of the artichokes, then cut off the tip of the artichoke. Cut them in half, remove any internal fuzz, and slice them thinly. Clean the stems too, remove the tougher outer part, and cut them into chunks. In a non-stick pan, brown the onion. When it is well browned, add the artichokes, stems, marjoram, and sauté everything for a few minutes. Pour in the wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Salt and pour in the already hot water, cover, and let the artichokes cook over a low flame until they become tender but not mushy. Let them cool, draining them perfectly from the cooking sauce, then mix them with ricotta and grated cheese; set the obtained mixture aside.

  Now let’s form the calzones. Take the leavened and soft spheres and stretch them with your hands, trying to form a circle (helping yourself with a little flour on your hands). You can also use a rolling pin, but do not press the dough too much. On half of the calzone, place a spoonful of artichoke and ricotta mixture, close by overlapping the other half, press the edges with your fingertips to prevent the filling from coming out, and open a small hole in the calzone: it will help the steam escape and prevent them from inflating too much. Put them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. We can bake them immediately in a preheated oven at 428°F, on the lowest shelf, for about 12-15 minutes maximum. In this case, the consistency will be crunchier. Alternatively, once filled, we can let them rise for another couple of hours and bake them in the same way as described above. In this other case, the calzones will be fluffier and have a softer consistency.