Sometimes you just crave those old school pizza pockets from the freezer.  As kids, our tastes were definitely a lot different than as adults and as our taste buds grow we find that maybe our old favourites are not our favourites anymore. Maybe we know how many preservatives and other things go into it that we can’t eat them anymore or maybe they just don’t taste the same. But fear not, this will help satisfy those long lost childhood memories!!!

Ok, so these aren’t really pizza pockets. These are closer to a calzone (or sometimes a stromboli). A calzone is dough stuffed with filling similar to a turnover. Usually its half-moon shaped but you can make it however you like. Let’s start by making some pizza dough. I have a bunch of sourdough starter in my fridge so this is a sourdough pizza crust but you can use any pizza dough

Start with 1 1/2 cup sourdough starter making sure it has been fed beforehand.  If you don’t properly feed your sourdough, you get a dough that is more bit more sour than normal. It may also taste a bit off.

The next step is to mix the starter, olive oil, salt and flour all together. Mix everything together until it forms a ball. After that you need to let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Choose your favourite pizza topping. For these pizza pockets, I filled one with hawaiian (ham and pineapple) and one with spinach, mushroom and cheese. When you choose raw veggies, make sure to cook them to soften them a bit because they won’t cook fully in the dough.

Saute the spinach and mushrooms in olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Don’t over cook the spinach!! Just cook it until its slightly wilted.

For the other filling, drain pineapple tidbits and chop up some ham.

After 30 minutes, the dough will have rested enough to be easier to work with. Taking small balls of dough, create mini pizza crusts and make sure you have an even layer of dough.  I normally don’t roll out my dough for this, just take a ball of dough in your hand and pull it out to form a disk. I leave it a little thicker so that it is easier to close it up.

For each piece of dough, add a layer of tomato paste or tomato sauce. Spread some filling on the tomato paste and of course sprinkle a generous amount of cheese. I also add a nice grating of fresh parmesan just to add a bit of a nutty cheesy flavour.

Gently fold the dough over the filling and press the edges together. Coat the tops of the pizza pocket with an egg wash. This will create a nice brown crust. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until it turns a golden brown. What you’ve just created is a homemade pizza pocket to bring back those memories!!

http://www.food.com/recipe/sourdough-pizza-crust-98733

Sourdough Pizza Crust
By Sue Lau on August 30, 2004

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
4 -5 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour ( plus a little more or less to adjust consistency)
Directions
Preheat oven to 500°F.
Mix starter, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and flour together in a mixing bowl until it blends and forms a ball (add more or less flour to adjust consistency; if you get it too dry just add a little more starter).
Allow dough to rest for about 30 minutes (don’t look for it to rise, just to get the dough where it is easier to roll).
Roll out mixture on parchment paper or a lightly floured surface until it fits the size of your pan, turning the dough as you roll (if you want a more even circle).
Par-bake the crust on a pizza stone or pizza sheet for about 7 minutes, then remove from oven.
Before topping your pizza with any sauce, cheese, or toppings, brush the top of the crust all over with remaining olive oil (as needed), using a pastry brush (this helps keep soggy moisture out of the crust as it bakes).
Top as desired and cook until browned and cheese is melted.
If you use certain vegetables as a topping (onions are the first thing that comes to mind) you might want to cook those about halfway before topping the pizza with them (or they will be too crunchy).

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