Pizza Pockets

jainemake July 10, 2022

Wonderfully tasty. A creation that deserves multiple thanks- to my sister Rachel and her husband Tom, Michalle and her husband Matt, and, of course, the origins behind my love for Homemade Pizza Nights- my parents who handmade them for us Dynes kids almost every Saturday night for as long as my childhood memory can recall. It was something that never grew old, and I think we kids all looked forward to it all week long.

Okay, so I don't replicate the Dynes Saturday Pizza Night tradition, and homemade any-kind-of pizza in our home is a real treat. I simply don't make it too often because the pizza crust I use contains yeast and potato flour, and I can never resist including the cheese in my portions. (And I always end up eating the left overs as a late night snack. There's something about my reality TV shows that triggers my brain to crave pizza, so it's just best not to have it around too often!)

And for those out there avoiding dairy- I DID manage to willfully force myself to make one without adding cheese as a topping to see how I liked the dairy-free version. It was still quite tasty. (Of course not AS tasty as the ones with cheese, but not as much of a sacrifice as I would've figured it to be).

One last note (you know I always have one): I'm giving you the portions for making 4 calzones. And you can see from the above picture that two were smaller than the other two. I ran out of doughYou could easily double this recipe and make approx. 4 more OR a small approz. 12" pizza as well. I actually plan to do that next time, making the calzones for Keith and I and a pizza specific to my kids' likings.

INGREDIENTS:
THE DOUGH:

1/2 a 16 oz. Package of Gluten Free Pizza Crust (I LOVE Bob's Red Mill brand and I think Keith will even agree that it's actually tastier and more flavorful than some of the non-gluten free pizza dough kits out there) OR your choice of making or buying your own regular pizza dough

THE SAUCE (the secret sauce used on the Dynes pizzas all these years) OR use your own- I actually used an opened jar of a Paul Newman's marinara sauce this time, worrying that it'll go bad before being used:

1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
dash red pepper

THE TOPPINGS AND SIDES:

Your choice toppings- I used diced red peppers, sliced red onion, sauteed spinach, cooked sausage, pepperoni, and shredded mozzerella for all of the pockets as well as black olives on mine and sauteed mushrooms and bits of goat cheese on Keith's
Simple Salad- we made salads consisting of lettuce and halved cherry tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing for myself and blue cheese yogurt dressing for Keith.
3+ TBSP olive oil (man I love that stuff)

DIRECTIONS:

STEP ONE- THE DOUGH:

Yes, I cheat and use a Bob's gluten-free pizza mix. My family actually all use start-from-scratch, true homemade dough, but I'll save that attempt for a later day. For now, I follow the directions on Bob's package, using the included yeast, and let it sit covered for at least 20 minutes.

STEP TWO- THE TOPPINGS:

Of course, it depends on what you're using. First I chopped the veggies- diced the red pepper, sliced 1/4 of a red onion, chopped 1/4 of a portabella mushroom, and opened a can of pre-sliced black olives.

IF I hadn't cheated and used a pre-made marinara sauce, I would now make the sauce in a small or medium pot over medium high heat. Mix all the ingredients and then let it simmer while I prepared everything else.

Next I heated a large frying pan over medium high heat, waited a minute, then added 1/2 a package of sausage (I like Jimmy Dean's Natural Pork Sausage). Cooked that until it began to brown (about 4-5 minutes).

While the sausage was sizzling and adding a wonderful aroma to the room, I also heated a small frying pan over medium high heat, added 1/2 TBSP olive oil, waited a minute, threw in a few handfuls of baby spinach. Sauteed until wilted (~2-3 minutes). Set the spinach aside on a plate, and used the same pan to saute the mushrooms just until softened (~2-3 minutes).

Finally, I chopped the sauteed spinach and quartered some pepperoni. More than likely, you'll end up cutting and dicing and chopping more than you need, but that's the beauty of it. Save those and make yourself a pizza-esque salad for lunch within the next few days.

STEP THREE- THE POCKETS:

By now, your dough should have had plenty of time to rise. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Pour a TBSP or so of olive oil onto the dough to make it easy to handle. Feel free to add more if it's still not moist enough and giving in to your commands. Divide dough into 4 balls. I then spread aluminum foil out onto a flat baking dish and sprayed with cooking spray. (NEXT time, I'll follow Rachel's recipe's advice- It's easiest to roll the disks onto individual aluminum foil sheets, prepare the pockets, and then use the sheets to move them onto the baking sheet.)

Spread tomato sauce on dough, leaving the edges uncovered. Add your toppings, piling high in the center of the dough. Bring up 4 sides/corners to the middle. Pinch together. Bake for 10 minutes. Then pull out and drizzle olive oil over each of them. Bake for another 5-10 minutes until golden brown.