Mini fried calzones. They are a tasty street food to enjoy at any time! Perfect for a cheerful dinner with friends.
Little pockets of softness and goodness. I’ve made your mouth water, admit it!
They are a typical preparation of Italian cuisine, perfect for a dinner with friends.
There are many variations of these little golden and crispy pockets, common throughout Southern Italy: Apulian panzerotti, the classic Neapolitan baked calzone, and its variation, the Neapolitan fried calzone.
For my mini calzones, I chose a classic but really tasty filling, cooked ham and melting mozzarella. Frying makes them crispy and golden on the outside and very soft inside. A true delight!
However, if you prefer, you can follow the same recipe but finish cooking in the oven; the calzones will be just as good.
Prepare the dough for pizzas, let it rise.
The timing varies depending on room temperature. Roll out the dough and cut out many circles to fill as you like.
In any case, be careful to add the water a little at a time, pay attention to the amount of yeast, add the oil at the right time, and allow the dough the proper time to rise for a perfect result.
Salt slows down rising, so be sure to add it to the dough after the other ingredients (along with the oil).
The amount of water depends a lot on the flour you use: the more gluten it contains, the more water it will absorb. It is important that it is about 72°F, not too hot (tap water or mineral water is fine, whichever you prefer).
Also ideal to prepare for a buffet or to pack in a picnic basket. But let’s prepare the mini fried calzones together.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 8/10 people
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Mini Fried Calzones
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups Manitoba flour
- 1 1/4 cups water (warm 72°F)
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh yeast (or 1 tsp dry yeast)
- 2 1/2 tbsps olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsps sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 10 1/2 oz fresh mozzarella
- 12 slices cooked ham
- as needed peanut oil (for deep frying)
Tools
- Work Surface
- Frying Pan
- Rolling Pin
- Skimmer
- Paper Towels
- Bowl
- Plastic Wrap
Steps for Mini Fried Calzones
First, I recommend cutting the mozzarella into chunks and placing it in a strainer because it needs to lose its whey.
To prepare the fried calzones, sift the flour into a bowl, add the sugar, and dissolve the fresh yeast in half a cup of water taken from the total.
Gradually add the water (it should not be too hot, otherwise it will stall the rising process), the oil, and finally the salt. Work it a bit.
Knead all the ingredients until you obtain a soft but consistent dough, kneading it for at least 10 minutes on the work surface.
“You can also knead with a stand mixer or a Bimby”.
Place the dough back in a floured or oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place (ideal temperature 81°F) for about 2 hours or until doubled.
Until it doubles in volume.
(You can put it in the turned-off oven with the light on), in about 2/3 hours it will rise.
Flip the risen dough onto a lightly floured work surface, press it down a bit with your hands, and form a sausage by rolling it on itself.
Cut pieces of about 50/60 grams each (you can make the calzones larger or smaller, as you prefer) and form rounded balls.
Line them up on the work surface.
Let them rest covered by a cloth while you prepare the ingredients for the filling.
With the help of a bit of flour, roll out each piece with the rolling pin into discs that are not too thin and let them rise for another ten minutes.
Fill the calzones.
Wrapping a piece of mozzarella inside the slice of cooked ham.
Close them into a half-moon, press well.
Seal the edges well.
Let them rise again for half an hour before frying, always covered with a cloth.
In a pan, heat plenty of oil for frying to 340°F.
As soon as they start to puff up in the oil, turn them immediately to the other side with a fork.
I recommend cooking a few calzones at a time.
Continue frying until they are golden on both sides.
Place them on kitchen paper towels.
Ready and steaming to be enjoyed.
Enjoy your meal.
Tips
If you have the chance to prepare the dough the day before use, it will be possible to further reduce the amount of yeast used, making the dough taste more pleasant.
They are eaten hot to enjoy the softness of the dough with the melting mozzarella (also good the next day; just reheat them in the microwave).
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Notes
Starting from this base, you can get creative with variations, for example, replacing the mozzarella with ricotta or provola, adding cubed zucchini to the potatoes, and adding other ingredients of your choice like capers, olives, basil, etc.
