Cook's Illustrated. Here are their notes: We reimagined the calzone as a pie with a top and bottom crust for a crowd-size version of this party favorite. Store-bought pizza dough and the high sides of our cast-iron skillet made assembly easy: We lined the pan with dough and added layers of cheese, meat, and sauce. Low-sodium marinara prevents the calzone from being too salty. Room-temperature dough is much easier to shape than cold dough, so pull the dough from the fridge about 1 hour before you plan to start cooking.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
4 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni, quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (1-pound) balls pizza dough, room temperature
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (4 cups)
8 ounces (1 cup) whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup low-sodium marinara sauce, plus extra for serving
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add oil and heat until shimmering. Add sausage and pepperoni and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until sausage is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Using slotted spoon, transfer meat mixture to paper towel–lined plate. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
2. Knead dough balls together on lightly floured counter to create 1 large ball, 8 to 10 turns. Divide dough ball into two-thirds and one-third (one 22-ounce piece and one 10-ounce piece).
3. Press and roll larger piece of dough into 16-inch round. (Keep remaining dough covered with greased plastic wrap.) Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto now-empty skillet, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into skillet by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into skillet bottom with your other hand. Some dough will overhang edge of skillet; leave in place.
4. Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella over surface of dough. Combine ricotta, basil, pepper, and meat mixture in bowl. Dollop ricotta mixture over mozzarella and press into even layer. Spread marinara over top, then sprinkle with remaining 2 cups mozzarella.
5. Brush overhanging dough with some of egg wash. Press and roll remaining dough piece into 14-inch circle; loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto skillet. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond edge of skillet. Pinch edges of top and bottom crusts firmly together. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of skillet. Crimp dough with tines of fork.
6. Brush top of calzone with remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Using paring knife, cut eight 1-inch vents in top of dough in circular pattern. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking.
7. Transfer skillet to wire rack and let calzone cool for 30 minutes. Using spatula, slide calzone onto cutting board. Slice into wedges and serve, passing extra marinara separately.