Fried Calzone, called Panzerotti (or Panzarotti), is a turnover pizza dough folded with the filling inside. While the Calzone is baked, the Panzerotto is deep-fried. You can add any filling you like: the classics are tomato, mozzarella, and basil, or ham, ricotta, and Parmesan, and sometimes also mushrooms and bacon. Panzerotto (singular) is smaller than regular calzone and can be eaten by hand, perfect for a street food party.
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It is not because you will get a big belly if you eat too many of these (which is probably true), but it refers to the swelling of the dough due to the filling.
Compared to the large Calzone, Panzerotto is smaller in size and deep fried.
Why deep-fried
It is a traditional dish originating after World War 2 in Naples. As most wooden ovens were destroyed during the war, Neapolitans fried their pizza instead of baking it.
After the second world war, food was scarce. Many houses were destroyed, and wooden ovens to cook traditional pizza were limited.
Some women started lighting up fires on the streets with large pans of frying oil and fried pizza dough to earn extra money.
Pizza Fritta and Panzerotti started as street food and were very successful.
Another recipe made with fried pizza dough are Crispelle: an Italian appetizer served at Christmas. Small fried pizza dough filled with anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes or ricotta.
Making the dough
The Panzerotti dough is the same as regular pizza dough. You can make it from scratch or use store-bought pizza dough.
If you have one, you can easily make the pizza dough in a bread machine. You can find the instruction here: Authentic Italian pizza dough (bread machine)
The ingredients
To make the pizza dough, you will need:
- 3 cups flour (450 gr)
- 1 cup lukewarm water (250 ml)
- 1.5 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 Package of yeast (½ tbsp)
Tip: The best flour to use is All purpose in USA, Plain in UK, Type 0 in Italy, Type 55 in France.
How to activate the yeast
- Mix the yeast with ¼ cup of water.
- Make sure the water is lukewarm.
- Add ½ teaspoon of sugar
- Let it rest until it becomes foamy
Mixing the pizza dough
Once the yeast is activated, you can start making the dough:
Strain the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl, ensuring they are completely mixed. Make a ‘well’ in the center of the flour mix Combine all the wet ingredients: water and the frothy yeast. Slowly pour them into the ‘well’ of the flour and mix them with the wet ingredients using your fingers. Once they are thoroughly mixed, you can either continue mixing the flour with your hands or put it into an electric mixer with a dough hook. Mix it until the dough becomes a smooth ball Shape it into a smooth ball and place it in an oiled bowl with a wet towel to rest. Let it rise for 1.5 hours. Let the dough rest overnight (or at least 8 hours) in the fridge covered with cling film before making your pizza
Hint: the pizza dough should rest overnight; if not, the pizza will keep rising in your stomach, making you bloated and thirsty!
How to make the panzerotto
- Roll flat the dough
- Add ½ tablespoon of ricotta
- 1 teaspoon of Parmesan
- ½ slice of ham
- Fold the dough, making sure all the air is removed
- Tighten the edges
- Fry in the oil, turning it on both sides
- Lay on a paper towel to absorb the oil
Hint: the secret to a perfect panzerotti is ensuring all the air is taken out before frying it.
How to serve it
Both fried pizza and Panzerotto should be served warm.
They can be prepared
They are perfect for buffet parties as they can be eaten by hand.
Variation
Top tip
- The pizza dough should rest overnight
- They can be eaten immediately (which we did) or warmed up before serving
- The secret to a perfect panzerotti is ensuring all the air is taken out before frying it.
FAQ
Fried Calzone started as street food after the second world war. Many houses were destroyed, and wooden ovens to cook traditional pizza were limited. Some women started lighting up fires on the streets with large pans of frying oil and fried pizza dough to earn extra money.
Calzone is a large pizza folded in half with the filling inside and baked. Panzerotti is also a turnover but smaller in size, and it is deep-fried instead of baked
More of my favorite fried recipes
If you are craving fried food, you may want to check out these other recipes:
- Deep-Fried Eggplant Balls
- Deep fried mozzarella sticks and balls
- Fried Zucchini Flowers Recipe
- Homemade chicken nuggets recipe
- Pasta a Frittata: Italian Fried Pasta
- Classic Veal Milanese
- Rissole à la Dauphine
For more pizza recipes, check out the category: Pizza
- Pizza Fritta Fried Pizza
- Pizzette Mini Pizza Bites
- Italian flatbread Piadina
- 10 Pizza with Fresh Vegetables
- Pissaladiere Nicoise
- Focaccia Pizza
- Pizza with Nutella
If you are making the Fried Calzone Panzerotto, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, or sign up to my newsletter.
📋Fried Calzone Panzerotto
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 cup Caputo flour 00 if you can find Manitoba, Type 55, All purpose, Plain, Type 0
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 package yeast 2 tsp
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoon caster sugar to activate the yeast
- vegetable oil for frying
For the topping:
- 1 cup homemade tomato sauce
- 2 cup fresh mozzarella (fior di latte o bufala)
- 1 clove peeled garlic cloves
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the Panzerotti filling
- 1 cup ricotta
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 3 slices cooked ham
Equipment
Looking for kitchen gadget gifts?Instructions
Making the dough
- To activate the yeast, mix it with water. The water should be lukewarm or at room temperature. Add ½ teaspoon of sugar, and let it rest until it becomes foamy.1 cup lukewarm water, 1 package yeast, 0.5 teaspoon caster sugar
- In the meantime, strain the flour along with the sugar and the salt into a bowl, ensuring they are completely mixed. Make a ‘well’ in the centre of the flour mix.3 cup Caputo flour 00, 1.5 teaspoon salt
- Slowly pour the yeast and water mixture in the ‘well’ of the flour and mix it with the wet ingredients gradually, using your fingers.
- Once they are thoroughly mixed continue mixing the flour with your hands until the dough becomes a ball that comes away easily from the side of the bowl.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on a flat surface. Shape it into a smooth ball and place it into an oiled bowl covered with a wet towel to rest. Let it rise for 1.5 hours.
- For the best result, let the dough rest in the fridge overnight, well-floured and wrapped in a plastic bag, otherwise it will crawl all over the fridge.
- The next day, divide the dough into 8 balls. They should be around 60 gr each and let them rest for 30 minutes
Preparing the tomato sauce
- Stir fry the garlic clove with 2 tablespoon of olive oil1 clove peeled garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Add the tomato sauce and 2 leaves of basil, letting it simmer until it thickens1 cup homemade tomato sauce, 10 fresh basil leaves
Frying the pizza
- Flatten the balls into circles, with the centre thinner than the sides and deep fry them in hot oil (about 180 C)vegetable oil for frying
- Cook the pizzas for 2 minutes on each side, until the crust is golden.
- Remove from the frying oil and place it on a paper kitchen towel to absorb the oil.
To serve
- Slice the mozzarella2 cup fresh mozzarella
- Put a spoon of tomato sauce over each pizza, a slice of mozzarella, a basil leaf and sprinkle with parmesan½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, 10 fresh basil leaves
Frying the panzerotto/calzone
- Roll flat the dough
- Add 1//2 tablespoon of ricotta, 1 teaspoon of parmesan and ½ slice of ham1 cup ricotta, ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan, 3 slices cooked ham
- Fold the dough making sure all the air is removed and tight the edges
- Fry in the oil, turning it on both sides
- Lay on a paper towel to absorb the oil and serve still warm
- Serve the pizza and the panzerotti while still warm
Video
Notes
- the pizza dough should rest overnight
- They can be eaten immediately (which we did) or warmed up before serving
- The secret for a perfect calzone is to make sure all the air is taken out before frying it.
Nutrition
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