Calzones are delicious, gooey inside, and soft. They are pizzas folded in half and filled with ingredients we love, in this case, I opted for the classic taste: tomato and mozzarella. They also have the characteristic belly with sauce, just like those from pizzerias.
The recipe for air fryer calzones is very easy, you just need to make a simple dough and wait for it to double in size. With these quantities, you’ll get 2 calzones, but you can halve them (if you want to make just one) or multiply them as you wish.
To cook the calzones, I’ll teach you all the tricks for perfect cooking in an air fryer: as you’ll see, it’s much faster; alternatively, you can bake them in a hot oven, increasing the temperature and time: below you’ll find all the instructions, no matter which cooking method you choose.
Check out these recipes with LEAVENED DOUGHS:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2 calzones
- Cooking methods: Air frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 14 oz pizza flour (or type 0, 1 flour, gluten-free mix)
- 1 cup water (room temperature)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dry yeast (or 9g fresh)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 3.5 oz tomato sauce
- 4.2 oz mozzarella for pizza
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste oregano
- to taste fresh basil
Tools
- Air fryer
Steps
In a container, pour the water and add the extra virgin olive oil and salt. In a bowl, pour the pizza flour and along with the dry yeast (if using fresh yeast you can add it to the water: in this case add the salt afterward); gradually mix in the liquids and knead for a few minutes with oiled or wet hands on a work surface. The dough will be slightly sticky, so cover it with a bowl and let it rest for 10 to 30 minutes.
Take it back and work it again with oiled hands for a few minutes: now you’ll notice it’s easier because it will have more gluten structure. Fold it, form a dough ball, and transfer it to an oiled bowl; cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled (it will take from 2 to 4 hours depending on the room temperature).
In the meantime, prepare a quick sauce: in a bowl, mix the tomato sauce with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and oregano. Also, cut the mozzarella for pizza into matchsticks or cubes.
Take the dough again, divide it, and form two round dough balls. Now a trick for you if using an air fryer: cut a sheet of parchment paper to the size of the air fryer’s basket; spread the dough on it with your fingers or a rolling pin until you form a round pizza.
Top with the sauce along half of the disc, leaving the edges free by at least 1 or 2 cm: this is necessary because this way we’ll be able to close it well; if there is sauce on the edges, we won’t be able to close it completely. Then add the mozzarella and fold into a half-moon, using the parchment paper. At this point, seal the edges well: as I said, there shouldn’t be any liquid on the edges to close them without problems.
AIR FRYER COOKING:
Transfer the calzone by lifting it with the parchment paper directly into the air fryer’s basket and cook at 374°F (190°C) for 10-12 minutes. Midway through cooking, remove the parchment paper (it won’t be needed anymore) and turn it over; at this point, add the tomato sauce on the belly of the calzone and continue with the last minutes of cooking.OVEN COOKING:
Transfer the calzone onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; spread the tomato sauce on the belly of the calzone and bake in a preheated fan oven at 392°F (200°C) for 20 minutes: 10 on the lower part of the oven and the remaining 10 on the upper part.Finally, garnish with fresh basil. Enjoy your meal!
Tips for you
✔ For a perfect result of calzones in an air fryer, here’s a summary of the tricks:
– cut a sheet of parchment paper to the size of the basket: this way you’ll make the calzone directly on the paper, which you’ll then transfer to the air fryer, avoiding the risk of breaking it by lifting it with your hands (the dough might tear or puncture, so it’s always better to season it directly on the surface where it will cook).
– turn it halfway through cooking and add the tomato sauce on the belly of the calzone only at that moment
✔ If you use fresh yeast, you’ll need 9 grams. In this case, you’ll add it directly to the water, while the salt should be added at the end of the dough (not in direct contact with the yeast).
✔ You can also choose a different topping, whichever you like best!
✔ Flour: you can use pizza flour, type 0 flour, type 1 flour, half integral (if you want), or a mix of gluten-free flours.
✔ I recommend using the BBQ mesh to insert directly into the non-stick basket of your air fryer: the mesh protects the basket’s non-stick surface (keeping it like new) and allows the food to cook evenly, with 360-degree air circulation. You can find it on Amazon by clicking here.
✔ For this recipe, I used the PHILIPS 7000 Series XXL air fryer, 8.3 liters. It’s amazing, with incredible capacity, the ability to choose fan intensity (depending on the food), and total control even from the App! You can find it by clicking here: link.
Don’t miss the latest recipe of the 👉 bread medallions pizzaiola style in air fryer: super easy to make, with simple sandwich bread, and they are super delicious!
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