I stumbled across this dish on Instagram and was instantly hooked! After a bit of research, I found out that this is a very popular Sicilian street food from the town of Messina. 

To me, street food = yummy, and I must say it delivered! It’s not quite a calzone as the dough is softer and kind of crispy on the outside from frying, but it is equally yummy. The Internet is full of different recipes not only for the dough but also for the different kinds of fillings, but I settled for simplicity. Hope I’ve done it justice! 

Now let’s talk about the dough. As different flours soak liquids differently, therefore I can’t give you an exact amount of water you need to use, rather a range. Go with your instinct – it can’t be a dry dough and not a sticky one either. You can also replace the lard with oil, but as a result, you will probably have to use less water. The dough is lovely to work with but the more you handle it, the more tense it becomes, so after the rest just roll it out without handling it too much. 

For the fillings, I chose Prosciutto Cotto, pepperoni and Mozzarella, but tomato sauce wouldn’t go amiss inside to make it more like a calzone filling. As I mentioned above, these are usually filled with all sorts of different fillings so don’t be afraid to use sautéed vegetables and other meats and cheeses, but remember, as these are fried for about 2 minutes, make sure that your fillings are already cooked.

Ingredients:

• 500g flour (00 or Strong White or mix)

• 2tsp dried active yeast (or 20g fresh yeast)

• 300-350ml tepid water

• 30g pork lard + 20g Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 15g caster sugar

• 12g salt

Method:

1. Add flour, yeast, water, lard and sugar into a mixing bowl with a kneading hook attached. Start with less water and add more as needed. Mix on a medium speed for 8-10 minutes. Add salt and mix for a further 2 minutes.

2. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead for another 3 minutes by hand. Return back to the bowl, cover and cling film and let it proof for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size. The amount of time it needs will depend on how warm your room temperature is.

3. Take the dough out and divide it into 10 equal pieces (my dough weighed 870g so 1 piece weighed 87g). Cover them with a tea towel and let them rest for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, get your fillings ready.

4. Line a tray with baking paper and start rolling each dough out into an oval shape (using extra flour to dust the surface), filling them with your chosen fillings as you go. Close them by pinching the edges together. Lay them on the prepared tray, covering them with another tea towel.

5. Fill a pan with sunflower oil about 3-4cm up from the bottom. Set on a medium heat. I tested how hot the oil was with a tiny amount of dough – when it started babbling, the oil was ready. Gently drop the calzone in the oil (I had space for two at a time). Once you see that the bottom is browned, gently turn them over (careful, the oil might splash as you’re turning them!). They will need about a minute each side (but that will depend on the temperature of your oil).

6. Once browned on both sides, put them on a plate lined with paper towel to soak up the excess oil.

In Czech, we have something called Langoš which is a similarly fried dough, which is then topped with garlic oil, grated cheese, ketchup or mayo (or both!), so I feel like these are asking for some garlic oil too. Give it a try!