Hawaiian Style Aloha Calzones

I could probably dedicate an entire blog to fermentation.

My family teases that I'm one of the few girls in the world that thinks fermentation is sexy.

Sourdough starters make me giddy and I can tell by one wonderful sniff, the difference between a French and Italian sourdough.

I am addicted to Bulgarian yogurt and make kraut in 5 litre batches. We brew beer, make obstler and scrumpy. I mean, why wouldn't we?

The first time I made kraut for Tsunami, he was utterly speechless and questioned whether or not we'd actually be able to eat that much sauerkraut by ourselves. He looked at me with total disbelief and said, "So... sauerkraut is actually a pickle??!"  Oh, yea baby. It's a pickle!

Me, I could only snicker at him, knowing that he'd never had real sauerkraut before... I mean, not like THIS sauerkraut. My sauerkraut is the real deal.

First time he tried it, he was blown away and as we literally fought over who would get to finish the very last bit left we were eating straight out of the jar with chopsticks.  He then joked that perhaps we need to move up to our 10 litre crock just to make sure we had enough next time. You know, to keep the family peace and all.

I had such a good Italian starter going in New Zealand that I used it in trade with my girlfriends who were just toying with sauerkrauts and kimchi. I even had a kimchi maker from China that could be used for making sake, kimchi, annatto and yogurt that I traded for an Asian pear tree. I mean, I love my gadgets but I also know that I didn't need another device just for those things. Novel, though, and I loved it.

You kinda get the picture...

So when our kids were here for the summer, we made plenty of hot sauce, pickles, bread, cinnamon rolls, buttermilk waffles and pancakes, you name it. And of course, pizza. But not just any pizza...pizza made from my certified sourdough starter from Naples, Italy.

Used for generations to make their world renown pizzas, it was now a staple in my own house. And although no one in my house really knows why, or can quite put their finger on it, my homemade pizzas are money.... and so are my calzones. Our youngest son says he can no longer eat store bought frozen pizzas; he was ruined. No small wonder, though.

Kind of a huge deal for me because when we first started eating pizzas together, they were so skeptical about a homemade pizza that I had to have a backup dinner planned just in case it didn't fly. But fly, it sure did. And now, it's not only the norm, it's a pretty frequent request and it's why it's super easy for me to maintain my very healthy, very active starter.

When I make pizzas, they each get their own. And while this may seem extravagant, the truth is it is also another family peace-keeper. 3 man-children can devour 6 14 inch pizzas in no time. I take the made-to-order pie requests and Tsunami preps the pizza fixings. And the pizza buffet is in full swing.

Tonight however, we were feeling the calzone spirit and opted for this kinda sourdough love instead. It was such a huge success that calzones are the new backpack lunch of choice on the long flights we take to and from the mainland. And it's also become a beach lunch staple, left to heat up in their foil packets on top of the cooler while we do our beach things. (But don't leave them too close to your dog because they like them, too. lol!)

This dough was made with my Italian Camaldoli sourdough starter and left in the fridge for well over a week. Aged dough or fermented dough is outstanding and I never worry about making too much because it keeps and develops even more flavor if it's allowed time to do so.

It also freezes beautifully so even when it's just Tsunami and myself, I always make a double batch and freeze some. In fact, I will freeze calzones whole, uncooked of course, using my FoodSaver vacuum sealer. Makes a quick dinner a snap if you are in the mood for something like that.

Here's how I roll:

1 cup of starter
1 tbsp of salt
6 c of flour
2 tsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 plus 1/3 cup warm water

I made 4 calzones, 2 large pizzas and it was so freaking good we were almost sad we were so proactive in putting the other two in the fridge. (These, didn't even make it to the freezer they were destined for as someone in my house had planned for another calzone round later in the week.)

We made meat lover's and Hawaiian. The Hawaiian is one of Tsunami's favorite styles of pizza and this one was pretty freaking special given that we made it with our first white pineapple grown in our mini pineapple field in the back papaya grove. I mean, I had hoped... but having recently had another pineapple from a plant grown close by, I thought it would be the Hawaiian Gold. Which, sorry, is nothing to sneeze at and no matter how much you love your Dole...homegrown, ripened and ready fresh pineapple is an absolute wonder of nature. God's food, no doubt about it.

So imagine my utter delight when I opened the fridge to discover that Tsunami had cut up and prepped the pineapple for our pizza lover's feast. It was white. White?! Omg. I squeaked out an indecipherable bunch of mouse chatter over my excitement and quickly snagged a bite. Freaking delightful! Fragrant, perfumey but not overly syrupy sweet. Perfect!

Just in case you aren't familiar, Hawaiian style pizza or calzone toppings goes something like this:

• pineapple chunks
• jalapeno slices
• red onion slices
• ham, bacon, canadian bacon or char siu (something porky; char siu is easy to find on the island)
• spam (yep, here the Hawaiians are just mad about spam but that's not my jam)

Really, you can do anything you like but a Hawaiian style definitely has pineapple regardless of which type of meat you use or don't.

And if you ever get a chance to have or use white pineapple, you should definitely give it a go. Rule of the thumb for gaging a pineapple's ripeness is that if you can smell it, it's ready. And something kinda cool to know is that white pineapple, you can eat the whole thing, including the core as it is sweet and edible, just like the rest of the pineapple flesh you normally eat.

We let none of it go to waste and once a pineapple has flowered and fruited, it will fruit again but it will also multiply! So from one little pineapple, an entire pineapple field will emerge! Pineapple tops can be successfully rooted and grown into full blown pineapple plants to also create a whole pineapple family. Pineapple pups will come from a fruited mommy plant. Where once I only had a handful of plants, I now have a field. If only I can get my lawn guy to avoid them with the lawn mower and weedwacker, all will be right in the Universe.

So even if you don't think you can grow pineapple, you should definitely try it anyway.

And if that's just too much crazy, then just eat it like a Boss.

Oh, and if you need to know how to cook it, just do it like I do the other pizzas I've posted about. I roll out the dough and in the case of calzones, I will fill it then bake at 450 F until golden brown. Usually about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. If you are making a pizza, then I roll it out let it rise and then prebake it for 7 minutes. Add sauce and toppings then bake at 450 for about 12-15 minutes at 450 F. This is just a guide, as you know, so a lot depends on what style you are making (Calzone or pizza, say), how thick of a crust you've rolled and how dark you like your crust and cheese.

One other idea I forgot to mention is that these calzones.... are great deep fried!

Homemade Pizza

This year, I have obsessed a little with cultured foods. Cultured foods haven't gone to college or studied abroad or married a foreigner...  They are just super healthy foods that have natural probiotics, or the healthy bacteria your gut needs in order to fight off illness or infection.

Most of us are familiar with probiotics in dairy products, especially, cultured dairy we have grown up with our whole lives such as yogurt, sour cream, butter, cheese and buttermilk. What we probably didn't know until recently is what made these dairy foods good for us, such as the probiotics they contain because of the fermentation process they undergo when these products are produced. Probiotics was a term I was unfamiliar with until several years ago when the vitamin supplement companies started touting probiotics as a way of healing a digestive track that was a bit off track.

Now, I see this term everywhere and know what it means and what it can do.  It can make a really bad tummy and digestive system right again. Even if you know this, you may not know that all cultured foods have this ability, not just dairy.  If you are lactose intolerant, don't fret.  There are loads of other foods you can consume with these same wonderful and natural side effects such as, yes, you guessed it, pizza!  How you say?  Let's identify some cultured and fermented products we know and love: pizza, beer, sourdough bread, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi,  pickles of all kinds, sake and of course, most of the dairy products we have already mentioned.  

The important part of the pickle equation, however, is that they are naturally fermented pickles. This means that the American pickles which are processed using vinegar, are not exactly the kind of pickles that are good for you, although they are not bad, they just don't have the healthy probiotics which come from the natural fermentation process used in making old fashioned pickles. The Germans and many of the Asian cultures still ferment vegetables the old fashioned way and that is the style that is quickly making a comeback, both for health reasons and of course, for the very fact that it is an excellent way of preserving your summer crops for winter eating. It is not only healthy, it's practical. It's green!  Make your own and not only will you be blown away at how much better a naturally fermented pickle is but you will giggle at how easy it is to do once you know how.

For today, though, I thought I'd introduce you to another fermented and cultured product that most Americans adore in um, large quantities. :)  Pizza. The simplest way to explain how pizza IS good for you is to talk about it in terms of sour dough bread.  This pizza is made with an Italian Pizza culture I bought from Cultures for Health.  I buy all my cheese and sourdough cultures there and have found them to be easy to follow, as well as very educational with videos, recipes, etc.  They make learning about this way of preparing healthy food really fun.  But being that this is still a cultured food, it means that some of the sugars in the flour are already broken down into a form the body can more easily digest and of course, they are also loaded with the beneficial bacteria your body needs for long term healthy digestion and natural immunity.  

Try, then trust and as always, do your own research and self-validation, like I like to do.  Sourdoughs are also supposed to help people with gluten intolerance who really miss their breads.  Couple this with the best and freshest flour you can find and you might just see gluten intolerance disappear all together, but that is for you to explore and I wish you all the best.

To make the pizza culture:
A packet of Italian Calmodoli sour dough starter (or fresh if you have this going already)
1/4 c lukewarm water
1/4 c flour
Large quart mason jar or other wide mouth jar (NO METAL TOP, very important)
Clean coffee filter and rubber band for sealing the jar to allow gases to escape and to keep out critters. 

**Metal tops will rust and are generally bad when fermenting food as the acids can essentially eat the metal which is simply put, bad eats.

Care and Feeding:
That's it. Use a large glass quart jar to get it started and feed your starter once or twice a day with 1/2 c water, 1/2 c flour.  When the starter is happy, it bubbles and grows or rises. You can see it. If you forget to feed it, a shallow film of liquid will pool on top. Not to worry, just pour this off and continue to feed. If you forget to feed it for a long while, you may need to start over if the film is green, white or moldy. I won't go into the education behind sour dough starter, but if you have questions, let me know and of course, check out Cultures for Health, a wealth of information. I'm a student, too. :)

Pizza Party:
This recipe is a work in progress but how I did this one...

• Liquids = sourdough starter, equal part water (if you have 3/4 quart of starter, use 3/4 quart of water)
• Flour = Double the amount of liquids above (if you have 1 1/2 quart of liquids above use 3 quarts of flour)
• 1/2-1 tablespoon of instant yeast (optional)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt

Mix it however you normally would. I use my Kitchenaid mixer and once it comes together, I put it in my proofing container and let it double.  The yeast is optional. Why? Because natural sourdough will rise if given enough time. However, most people don't want to wait 6 hours for bread to rise. If you have time, try it at least once.  I personally, need to control the rise and timing, so I use yeast... I know, sacrilege, but seriously, it is up to you.

Once it has doubled in size, the dough is ready for shaping and it's final rise. I divide the dough into balls, depending on whether I want large or small pizzas and then roll them on a floured surfaces to the desired shape and size. If you like sheet pan pizza, do that. If you like round, do that.  

My favorite pizza pan is an old perforated (yep it has little holes in it), round 12" pizza pan that arrived in my house from a delivery pizza that was so hastily boxed that the pizza dude left the pan right on the pizza. We haven't had delivery pizza in like 15 years, but this pan is a keeper. I use that pan all the time and recently bought one for my niece. What is special? I don't know exactly. But if you grease the pan or forget, the crust never sticks to this pan. It isn't a non stick pan, it is just some aluminum cheap pan that looks well used. I grease it just in case and the crust is crispy and perfect.  Mine looks a little like this one.

Baking:
450 degrees 12-17 minutes, depends on oven and whether you like a semi-burnt cheese or just gooey. I like mine a little crispified.

One last tip: I prebake my crust for about 5-7 minutes on 450 degrees.  THEN, I add the sauce, cheese, etc. You don't want to overload the pizza with cheese and toppings or maybe you do. I just find that with thin crust pizzas, less is more and with Chicago or deep dish style pizzas more is usually expected. It all depends on what "load" your crust can handle so experimentation as always, is my best recommendation.

*Please comment!  I am learning, too, and would love to know how this works for you or if you find some helpful tips to share, I will be happy to include them here.  Thanks!